As we’re getting a first real taste of summer with the hot temperatures, you might feel like having a refreshing and light meal that doesn’t require a long cooking time on the stove. These fresh spring rolls with a peanut sauce make the perfect meal for those kinds of days!

You can use a variety of veggies and protein sources to customize your rolls according to your preferences and the ingredients you have at home. If you have a peanut allergy, you can substitute the peanut butter with a nut butter such as almond butter or a seed butter such as sunflower seed butter.

Once you have all the ingredients prepared, all you need is to assemble them on the rice wrapper and you’re ready to roll! The rice wrappers can be found in most grocery stores in the ethnic food aisle.

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Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Quantity: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

Spring rolls

• 9-10 rice wrappers
• 125g uncooked rice vermicelli or about 3 cups of cooked rice vermicelli
• ½ big cucumber (thinly sliced in juliennes)
• 1 red pepper (thinly sliced in juliennes)
• 1 cup carrots (thinly sliced)
• 1 cup (250 ml) mint leaves or coriander leaves or basil leaves
• About 30 medium sized shrimps

Other proteins sources: Instead of shrimps, you can use cooked leftover chicken, beef, pork, tofu or tempeh.

Other vegetables: Beet, cabbage, lettuce

Peanut sauce

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) peanut butter
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) soy sauce or Tamari sauce
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) sugar or maple syrup (add to taste)
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) lime juice (approximately ½ lime)
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) sesame oil
• 1/3 cup (83 ml) of water or more to thin out the sauce

Instructions

1. Boil some water in a pot and add the rice vermicelli. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain the water and rinse the cooked noodles with cold running tap water to stop the cooking process and to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other. Set aside.
2. Cut all the vegetables (carrots, peppers, cucumbers) into thin strips about 3 inches long and set aside.
3. Wash your herbs (mint/coriander/basil) and set aside.
4. Add some water in a shallow dish, big enough to fit a wrapper. Dip a wrapper in the dish and soak for about 10-15 seconds to soften it. Be careful not to over-soak it as it will tear apart.
5. Lay the soaked wrapper flat on a kitchen towel or a plastic chopping board to do the rolling. In a row across the center of the wrapper, place a handful of cooked vermicelli, making sure to leave about 2 inches uncovered on the sides.
6. Add the other ingredients on top of the row of vermicelli (the vegetables, the shrimps and the herbs), still making sure to leave about 2 inches uncovered on the sides.
7. Fold inward the uncovered 2 inches on the sides to seal the wrapper. Then fold the bottom half of the wrapper over the ingredients and roll tightly like a burrito. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
8. Prepare peanut sauce by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Adjust the quantity of water according to the texture preferred. You can also add more soy sauce or sugar according to your taste.

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