Shefali’s Scrumptious Spring Rolls
Spring rolls, made with rice paper rounds, are lighter than the usual sandwich wraps, and very versatile. The young Falmouth chef who concocted this recipe, Shefali Singh, mostly uses regular rice wrappers from Amber Waves. She gets tofu from Windfall Market; unless you’re vegetarian or vegan you could use shreds of cooked chicken for protein instead. In place of bean sprouts, try crisp local radishes or small sweet turnips, cut into matchsticks or grated, or even micro-greens to spice up the mix. Tweak the peanut sauce with a hint of ginger and/or chili if you like.
Here’s Shefali’s recipe, which you can vary depending on what you find at the market or grow in your garden.
Shefali’s Scrumptious Spring Rolls
- 8 round rice-paper wrappers
- ½ (half) cup carrots, shredded or in matchsticks
- ½ (half) cup cucumber in matchsticks
- ½ (half) cup tofu in matchsticks, or see suggestions above
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- ½ (half) cup bean sprouts, or see suggestions above
- 8 mint leaves
Peanut Dipping Sauce:
- ¼ (quarter) cup peanut butter
- 1 Tbs. or so hot water
- 1 tsp. vinegar
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
Fill a round pie dish with warm water. Immerse a rice paper round in warm water for about 15 seconds, or until it’s pliable. Place rice wrapper on a cutting board.
Put some carrots, cucumbers, tofu and bean sprouts in the center. The filling should amount to about 2 tablespoons. Add a mint leaf on top.
Fold bottom of wrapper over filling, then tuck in both sides (burrito-style) and roll up tightly to form a roll. Put the finished spring roll on a dish and keep covered with a damp paper towel while you make the other spring rolls.
For the sauce: mix all the ingredients together in small bowl. Add more hot water if needed to thin sauce to desired consistency. Serve with the spring rolls. Makes 8 rolls, serves 2 to 4.