Salad Spring Rolls with Thai Peanut Sauce

A few black sesame seeds sprinkled on the skins under the other fillings give an interesting visual appeal

I can't seem to get enough of these this time of year, and although they are usually very affordable at Thai restaurants, we don't have any of those here, so I have to scratch my itch myself.  Luckily they're as easy to make as they are delicious, refreshing and nutritious.

We love our peanut sauce and once we have a batch made, it can go on all kinds of things.  I even use it as a pizza sauce for Thai chicken pizza.  This recipe is super easy and very authentic.  Make it as mild or as spicy as you want by adjusting the amount of Thai red curry paste you add.

The only tricky part can be rolling the rolls themselves.  Crisp julienne vegetables tend to want to poke through the sides and can cause the whole thing to fall apart.  Therefore, I recommend that beginners use 2 spring roll skins for extra reinforcement.  Once you are practiced at how to stack your ingredients before you roll, you can work with only 1 skin at a time.  Personally, I've become fond of the texture of the double wrap, and I can stuff a lot more goodies inside with the double, than I can with the single and make much larger rolls.  Of course this is all up to personal preference.

I love mine crammed with very flavorful leafy herbs such as cilantro, basil and mint along with the lettuces and whatever crisp vegetables are coming on in the garden.  Right now we have radishes and snow peas coming on, and they go wonderfully in a salad roll.  People are always asking me what to do with so many when the radishes come on (besides just sliced on salad) and this is one of my favorite ways to enjoy them.  This is also another way to utilize some of your edible flowers.  The peppery flavor of nasturtium goes beautifully with this preparation, and I always have them growing on the porch this time of year.  Just use what sounds good and what you have on hand or what looks good at the market.

Traditionally, there is usually fried, sliced tofu or shrimp used in these.  I always have Oregon bay shrimp frozen and on hand, and they are by far the easiest to use to save time.  A small handful simply thawed in cool water will make two good-sized rolls for myself.  Sometimes I use larger shrimp I have poached and cut in two lengthwise.  I find I don't want the shrimp pieces too big (or the fried tofu if I use that), it's all about the veggies and greens with these.

Bay shrimp (aka salad shrimp), basil, nasturtium leaves and flowers, Siberian dwarf kale, flashy troutback lettuce, Bavarian crisphead lettuce, French breakfast radishes, tapioca spring roll skins, bean thread noodles and peanut sauce are what I'm using today.  We grew the radishes and greens ourselves.

Ingredients

For the rolls:

• Protein: either cooked shrimp or fried, sliced tofu.  Crab meat can be great too.
• Assorted greens:  spring mix is a good one to use if you don't grow your own.
• Leafy herbs:  I love the combo of basil, cilantro and mint.  You can use any combo you like.
• Cooked bean thread vemicelli noodles:  Don't confuse these with the rice vermicelli.
• Julienne vegetables:  again, use what you like.  Shredded carrots, snow peas and radishes are great.
• Tapioca spring roll skins:  Don't confuse these with the flour spring roll skins that need to be fried.  These are meant to be served cold.  Plan on 2 skins per roll.

For the Peanut Sauce:

• 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk:  use the kind that is meant for cooking as opposed to cocktails.
• 4 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp organic sugar
• 2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste:  for medium spice.  Use less for less spicy, or more for more spicy heat.
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• Salt:  to taste.

Ingredients for Peanut Sauce

Procedure

For the Peanut Sauce:

Combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, sugar, curry paste and vinegar together in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat.  Whisk together until smooth.  Slowly bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, until the peanut sauce has had time to gelatinize and thicken the sauce.  Salt to taste.  Serve warm.  *If you want it spicier, add more curry paste.  More sugar added will tone down the heat if you accidentally make it too spicy.

For the Salad Spring Rolls:

Add 1 nest of bean thread noodles to 6 cups boiling water.  Boil for 3-4 minutes.  Drain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking and cool the noodles.  1 nest will make about 4 rolls.  Use more for more rolls.  Set aside

Select a bowl large enough to accommodate the spring roll skins.  Add enough hot tap water to be able to immerse them.  Soften them 2 at a time for 1-2 minutes in the hot tap water.  Remove to a sheet of plastic wrap, 1 at a time, allowing them to drain thoroughly.  Smooth out as many wrinkles as possible.

Rolling on plastic wrap makes the rolls easier to handle

 Add the protein to the center.  Top with lettuces, noodles, julienne vegetables, herbs and more lettuce focusing on keeping all centered.

Try to keep the crisp, julienne veggies on the inside to avoid poking through the skins and tearing them

Fold the bottom of the skins up over the fillings, followed by each side and roll toward the top, the same way you would roll a burrito.

Stuffed, rolled and ready to eat

The rolls may be served immediately, or wrapped individually in plastic wrap, refrigerated and held for up to 6 hours.  Serve cold with warm peanut sauce.

There are many combinations of lettuces, veggies and herbs that can be used in these refreshing rolls.  Have fun and experiment!  Who says salad has to be boring?!

Gotta love food that still looks beautiful when you bite into it!