Veggie Spring Rolls

Ah, spring rolls. This was a fun way to spend an evening. Ethan and I had a lot of laughs trying out this recipe, and I wouldn't say we've quite mastered it. Although, this recipe mixed with some adult beverages and good music made for a great date night at home. We're cool like that.

Really though, these veggie filled rolls are a great way to add a ton of nutrients and roughage to your diet in one tidy little wrap. They're great to stick in a to-go container for lunch with some spicy peanut dipping sauce and will keep for about a week in the fridge. Ethan and I have been trying to pack as many fruits and veggies into our meals as possible. We rarely eat meat or dairy. When I saw this recipe on the blog "The Mostly Vegan", I had to give it a try. It caught my eye because I feel like the name describes us perfectly. We're mostly veggie eaters. But we do have our days. Kristie does a fantastic job at walking you through the process (her photos are gorgeous) and she makes rolling these babies look super easy. 

So here's a disclaimer for ya, because I wasn't aware until I started making these spring rolls and then it was too late to turn back. The rice paper and rice noodles are a different texture than you might be used to, if you've never had them before. They're very... sticky when wet. We'll leave it at that.

But we love to try new things around here, so I encourage you to give this one a shot. 

So start by collecting your veggies. I'd say this is completely up to you as to what you use and what is available to you. Here we've got asian lettuce, carrots, red bell peppers, bean sprouts, asian cucumber, and a head of purple cabbage all rinsed and ready to cut. 

As you know, we live in South Korea, and guess what? All of these veggies were purchased on the economy, which is pretty exciting. When we first arrived here, we really struggled with the prices of produce at our local commissary (military installation grocery store). They were and still remain ridiculously overpriced. ($3 for an avocado? $6 for a pack of Korean strawberries? I don't think so.) So we've ventured out of our comfort zone and have had great success! The bean sprouts and lettuce are from the 4/9 market down the street, and the rest of the vegetables are from our local grocer around the corner. I think that's pretty awesome! What leftovers we had from this recipe, we made into a salad that we've enjoyed every night this week. Heck yes. (Who knew one could get so worked up about vegetables? This girl!)

Ah! Look at those colors! I'm in love. It's February here, guys.

After you've cut your veggies, you'll want to cook your rice noodles. I used these brands from our local grocer. Heat a pot of water to boiling, add the noodles for about 3-4 minutes. I took mine out at 2 minutes and they were still hard, so I had to boil another pot of water. I think this depends on the type of rice noodles you have. Learn from my mistakes.

You'll also want to get out a plate with a curved lip around the edge. Add some water. This is what you'll use to wet your rice paper. Count to five Mississippi and then remove the rice paper. Add your veggies and roll. Slowly and carefully. One edge rolled into your veggies, fold the sides in, and finish the roll. The rice paper sticks to itself. It's very sticky. Did I say that already?

Ethan's giving the roll a go. It's harder than it looks, so take your time! And don't get frustrated if the paper rips. They'll taste the same, I promise.

Soon you'll be a rolling pro and it won't be as frustrating. You won't want to just throw all of your cut veggies into a bowl and eat it as a salad. We did not do that after rolling a couple of spring rolls. 

...Just keeping it real.

And then you have your spicy peanut dipping sauce. Mine is a mixture of peanut butter, rice vinegar, honey, low-sodium soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce. I liked it. Ethan did not. So take that for what you will. Those are peanuts, by the way, because creamy peanut butter is disgusting and I refuse to buy it.

Have I convinced you to give this recipe a go? Yes? No? Haha!

Thanks to Kristie at The Mostly Vegan for the inspiration!

I'm glad I tried these veggie spring rolls because I can roll spring rolls now, and that's a very important skill to have in life. So, yeah. I think I'll go have a salad now.

Veggie Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Spring Rolls

Veggie amounts depend on how many rolls you'd like to make, that's your call.

- cabbage, sliced

- carrots, shredded or julienned

- red bell pepper, sliced thinly

- bean sprouts, halved

- cucumber, sliced lengthwise

- lettuce, romaine or other, halved

- vermicelli rice noodles

- New Vietnam rice paper

Spicy Peanut Sauce

- 1/2 C peanut butter

- 1/2 C rice wine vinegar

- 1/4 C raw honey

- 1/4 C low-sodium soy sauce

- 1/4 C chili garlic sauce

Instructions

1. Rinse and cut your veggies: cabbage, carrots, pepper, bean sprouts, cucumber and lettuce.
2. Cook the rice noodles in a pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Snip with kitchen shears or cut with a knife through the noodles a couple of times to cut them into smaller pieces.
3. Prepared a plate with cool water to wet the rice paper. 
4. Gather all ingredients in a central workspace. Start with one piece of rice paper. Wet it for 5 seconds and transfer to work space. Layer on the ingredients starting with the lettuce. Try not to overstuff. 
5. Roll the rice paper, starting on one edge. fold in the sides and finish the roll. The rice paper will stick to itself, so sealing is pretty easy. You'll find that this is a trial and error process, so try to be patient. You'll get the hang of it.
6. Prep your sauce by mixing peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, raw honey, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce. Whisk to combine.
7. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to one week. Enjoy!