Vietnamese Summer Rolls

Yummy vegetarian summer rolls

It was a particularly hot day here in M-town and I really didn't feel like cooking anything after work, or rather turning on the oven and making the apartment even hotter. So I figured some summer rolls would be a great idea, plus T-Rex can also help roll them.

I made vegetarian version for Meat-free Monday and had an addictive spicy peanuty dipping sauce to go with it. I think I crave the sauce more than the rolls.

Here's what you will need.

Ingredients:

• Rice paper
• Vermicelli
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Mint
• Basil
• Spinach/Lettuce
• Hard tofu
• Peanut butter
• Hoisin sauce
• Fresh chilies

Directions:

• Start by julienne the carrots, cucumber and tofu
• Cook the vermicelli according to the direction on the package (soak in hot water) and then drain
• Get a big bowl and fill it with cold/room temperature water for the rice paper, if you use hot water the rice paper becomes too soft and tears very easily.
• Lay out the damp (but still "rigid") rice paper on a plate/board and add a handful of the noodles to the lower third of the paper, top up with the other fillings and herbs, be careful not to overload, else it's very difficult to wrap it up.
• By this time, the paper would have soften enough, fold the bottom up, then the two sides and then just roll it up. TaDa!
• For the sauce, I usually use a ratio of 2 spoons of peanut butter to 1 spoon of hoisin sauce, top with hot water to your desired sauce consistency and add fresh chopped chili to your spice level, I added about 4 chilies.
• Enjoy! You can try other cooked fillings as well, maybe smoked salmon, prawns, chicken slices. Be creative :)