Spring Rolls (Summer Rolls) with Peanut Sauce {Video}

Three years ago, I ordered summer rolls at a Granville Island Farmer’s Market in British Columbia and my life was forever changed. OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but really – they rocked my world. How can something as simple as summer rolls taste so good? It’s just some raw veggies wrapped in rice paper. Of course, there’s also the delicious dipping peanut sauce, which really is the showstopper of this recipe. It’s good! I mean, really good.

When I lived in Vancouver, I would order these veg rolls at least twice a week for lunch from the most amazing food stand in Granville Island. Note to you, if you are ever in Vancouver, going to Granville Island market is a must. Not just for the spring roll stand but the market in general. You could spend a whole day there … easily. As the locals themselves would point out, the market is a jewel in the Island’s crown.

Tips for Making Summer Rolls

Ingredients

While the ingredient list for the summer rolls recipe is quite long, don’t let it intimidate you. It’s mostly just vegetables and fresh herbs. You can use a variety of veggies but ideally it would be a mix of crunchy and soft vegetables. The vegetables I used in these veg rolls are lettuce, bell peppers, carrots, cucumber, and red cabbage. To booth the flavor, I also added fresh mint, basil, and spring onions.

If you prefer more filling spring rolls, you can use vermicelli noodles. They are totally optional in case you want to add body to the veg rolls. 

What holds the summer rolls together is rice paper, which comes in various shapes and sizes and so do spring rolls. The most widely available rice paper comes in an 8 1/2″ (21.5 cm) circle. It’s the easiest to manipulate, and most recipes use that size. Smaller circles and triangles are more difficult to work with; larger circles are meant for long rolls that are usually cut up into smaller pieces. Though rice paper thickness varies as well, the difference isn’t very significant. As far as the ingredients go, rice paper should only contain rice, water, and salt. That’s it. Avoid super thin all-tapioca starch paper. It lacks flavor, tears easily and becomes limp quickly.

Keto Summer Rolls

If you’re following a low-carb, ketogenic, paleo, or even raw diet, I would recommend using coconut paper as the wrapper. The one and only ingredient in coconut paper is coconut meat, so it works for all kinds of diets. 

Technique

Working with rice paper can be tricky at first. So, don’t get discouraged if the first couple wrappers rip or the finished rolls are a little lumpy. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be churning them out by the dozen. Here are a few tricks for working with rice paper:

• Rice paper is delicate and only needs a quick dip in water to soften and become pliable. Do not soak the rice paper for too long because it will stick and tear, making the rolling impossible. I usually fill a wide shallow bowl with warm water and dip the rice paper for about 3-5 seconds (the thicker the rice paper, the warmer the water needs to be). The rice paper should come out still slightly firm because it will continue to absorb water as you lay the filling ingredients on top of it.
• After dipping, put the rice paper on a damp towel or a wet cutting board (if you put the softened rice paper on a dry surface, it will stick).
• If you’re using circle rice paper, start laying ingredients at top 1/3 to have enough room for rolling. The more rotations of rice paper you have, the thicker and stronger the roll becomes. I would recommend laying the noodles or lettuce on the rice paper first to avoid any sharp veggies to tear the soft rice paper. Then add all the other ingredients. Just be careful not to over-stuff the roll or it might burst. When you’re ready to roll, bring the top edge up and over the filling, then fold in the two side flaps, and then roll the entire thing up. Keep tucking all the ingredients together as you roll. You want to end up with a tight and straight summer roll.
• If you’re worried about your rice paper tearing, you can double up the rice paper. It’s much easier to handle when rolling. The downside is that the ends are a bit chewy because there are multiple layers of rice paper.
• To store the summer rolls, wrap each finished roll in plastic cling wrap to prevent the roll from drying out. Make sure you wrap each roll individually, so they don’t stick together. If they stick, the rice paper will tear when you try to separate them. You can also wrap the summer rolls in a moistened paper towel, but just keep in mind that as soon as your paper towel dries out, it will stick to the rolls.

Tools You’ll Need

1. Mixing Bowls (Set of 3, Pyrex, Glass) | 2. Knife Set (6 Pieces, Utopia, Stainless Steel) | 3. Cutting Board (24″x 18″, Michigan Maple Block, Maple) | 4. Mesh Strainers (Set of 3, Cuisinart, Stainless Steel) | 5. Measuring Cups (Set of 6, Stainless Steel) | 6. Measuring Spoons (Set of 6, 1Easylife, Stainless Steel) 

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