Friday, May 31, 2013

Easy Spring Rolls w/ Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce

 
     Its about summertime (with these 90 degree days it definitely feels like summer) so I'm starting to crave, ya know, summery food......duhhh. I want crunchy, crispy veggies and fresh and light meals (alongside a greasy grilled burger or hotdog, but we'll get to that another time). These spring rolls are so simple, a great food for summer with no oven necessary, and not to mention they're healthy and low calorie, so you won't feel like a beached whale laying out on your towel after eating a few of these ;)

Colorful deliciousness!




       This recipe has no meat added, but of course you could add chicken, shrimp or even tofu. Without adding meat, however, these suckers are sooo cheap! A package of 40 rice papers is under $2 and a package of broccoli slaw is also under $2. It doesn't get much better than that! Plus it's a great change up from the usual snack and an easy way to get your veggies in. Making these once was all it took to convince me to do it again....alllll summer!

       It's a simple recipe because of the pre-shredded vegetables. The only thing I had to cut myself besides the avocado was the jicama (pronounced: ji [like an "h" sound] - ca - ma), and let me guess, you're asking yourself "What the heck is a jicama?!" (Maybe you already know, but I was clueless) My sister, who is vegan and often eats random foods like this, claims it's halfway between a potato and an apple, which seemed pretty accurate to me. If you're looking for a more scientific answer, an random anonymous person on yahoo answers says that "it's a sweet, root vegetable that looks like a turnip. It can be eaten raw and is often found in salads." Seems trustworthy enough to me, so there you have it people!

        I made a hoisin peanut butter sauce to dip it in and the sweet nutty flavor went great with the veggies, and also made it more filling. It was so good that both my mom and I said we could eat it by the spoonful.....I'm not gonna lie, I definitely snuck in a few finger dips ;)



         You could also try other variations of vegetables to stuff in the rolls, and rice goes great inside them as well. Get creative with it!


Easy Spring Rolls
Makes approximately 25
Ingredients:
12 oz package broccoli slaw (carrots, cabbage, broccoli etc)
1 additional cup shredded carrots
1/2 jicama, peeled and shredded
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
2 avocados
1 tbsp lemon juice
pepper
Rice paper for wrapping

Directions:
Put broccoli slaw, shredded carrots and jicama (can easily use cheese grater to shred) in large bowl.
Mix together rice vinegar, sugar and salt in small bowl, add to slaw mixture and toss to coat.
Cut avocado, remove pit and slice into thin strips, mix with lemon juice and season with pepper. 
Dip one rice paper at a time in a large bowl of warm water for 5-10 seconds, until they're flexible. Put flat on plate, top with broccoli slaw mixture and avocado. Roll up the wrapper, folding in the sides halfway through.



Hoisin Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp sesame oil
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tbsp water
Hot sauce - optional

Directions:
Mix it all together!
(add more water if desired for consistency)


Happy Summer Eating!








No comments:

Post a Comment