Remember when I said I was too lazy for a complicated dumpling recipe? Apparently that doesn’t apply to spring rolls, so hold on for a long post! The full recipe is after the jump.

Half of the sauce ingredients in one photo!
Since the peanut sauce needs a chance to sit, it needs to be made at the beginning. For 6 ingredients (rice wine vinegar, water, chili oil, minced garlic, chopped roasted peanuts, sugar), it packs a lot of flavor.
After the ingredients sit for around 10 minutes, they somehow mix into a spicy, peanutty dipping sauce!

The first step in making the spring rolls is soaking cellophane noodles in hot water for around 30 minutes. That’s not very pretty, though, so before I get to the spring rolls, here is a glamour shot of my cilantro from this week’s CSA share. The newsletter had a good tip that you should treat fresh herbs like flowers and keep them cut and in water. Look how beautiful this cilantro looks!

Along with 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro, add 1/3 cup chopped mint and 1/4 cup basil. This smelled wonderful.

Next, quarter green onions lengthwise and chop. This makes really fine pieces.

Next, blanch 1 cup bean sprouts.

Once the noodles are soft and pliable, cut them into 2 inch lengths.
Then, to all the other ingredients, add the cabbage and shredded carrot.
Finally, make a paste of garlic and 2 Serrano peppers in a food processor. (Take out the pepper seeds for a less spicy taste!) Mix the paste with lime juice, and add to the filling, tossing to coat.

For the wrap itself, dip a rice papering a big bowl of warm water. Spread the paper out on a towel, and pile a handful of the filling on the bottom third of the wrap. Fold the bottom up over the filling once, then tuck in the sides. Roll the wrap all the way up and set aside.
And the finished product! They’re lumpy and uneven, but that didn’t affect the taste. Fresh and delicious, these wraps are definitely worth all the steps.
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