Spring Wrap to Wrap up Spring

As Spring is wrapping up, I thought I would share this version of spring rolls that I find much easier to make, less chance of breaking the wrapper and definitely much more attractive to look at. Spring in Texas is short lived. Now that it is getting hotter and we won't have our lettuce for very much longer, visit the farmers' markets, grab some lettuce and carrots before it's all gone. You can pretty much put anything in there, the more colors, the better. In the summer, bell peppers are great for these wrap.

In these ones that I made, I had fried tofu, cooked rice vermicelli noodles, bell peppers, carrots and arugula. They were a big hit at the party.

To make these, you need spring roll wrappers, drop the wrappers in hot tap water for 10 seconds and lay them on your counter and let it soften on its own. If you soak them until they are soft in hot water, your paper will be cooked and mushy. Lay your ingredients on the top half of the round paper. Fold the bottom to create a half moon, fold both side to finish the wrap.

You can serve them with either sweet fish sauce or peanut sauce.

Sweet Fish Sauce

1/2 cup Water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

3 tsp minced garlic

2 tbsp grated carrots

2 tbsp fish sauce

a pinch red pepper flakes

Put everything in a sauce pot, bring to a boil and make sure all sugar is dissolved. Let cool before serving.

Peanut Sauce

3 tbsp. Vegetable oil

2 tbsp. Panang Curry paste or Red Curry paste

2 cups Coconut milk

3/4 cup Coarsely ground peanuts

2 tbsp. Sugar

2 tbsp. Tamarind juice or lime juice

1 tsp. Salt

Put the oil in a saucepan and heat up. Add the curry paste when the oil is hot and fry until fragrant, being careful not to burn the curry. (Use medium heat) After a minute or so add the dry spices and continue frying for another one or two minutes. Add coconut milk and the rest of the ingredients except the tamarind juice and salt. Bring the ingredients in the pot back to the boil for a few minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Adjust the seasoning with tamarind juice and salt. The sauce should taste slightly sweet followed by a touch of tartness and saltiness.