Summer rolls.....

I LOVE summer rolls...the rest of the family, not so much. So I don't make them that often. I made them the other day, though.

If anyone cares, here's basically the recipe:


Summer Rolls

Assorted veggies, shredded or julienned as appropriate (carrots, green onions, cucumbers, lettuce etc)

Shiitake mushrooms, dried or fresh (dried, soak in hot water til soft, and slice. Fresh, just slice)

Bean thread (cellophane noodles, bean noodles, whatever they are called in your area of the world)

Seasoned tofu, sliced into sticks

Toasted sesame seeds

Rice paper wrappers


Sauce

Soy sauce

Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow chilli oil (more about that in a second)

Chinkiang vinegar (ditto)

Sugar



Prep all the veggies and have them laid out on the board, ready to go. Get a bowl of hot water ready, wide enough for the whole wrapper to settle in at once without cracking.

Dip one wrapper in, hold there for 30 seconds or so til it's soft enough to bend without cracking, lay it on your plate or board, and fill with a little bit of everything, laying in a short line at the bottom. Don't overfill, or you won't be able to roll it. To roll, fold the bottom up over the filling and pull it all firmly in. Fold the sides in on each side, and then roll the filling up the rest of the way. Continue with the rest.

Mix the sauce together, and enjoy. :)


Note: For the sauce, I used two easily available Asian ingredients, but I don't know what the English terms would be. The chilli oil is the same stuff you get when you go to a sushi or Japanese dumpling place, for dipping in. This is what the bottle looks like:

I *know* the bottle looks all greasy and cruddy. I use it all the time, what do you expect!? Hmmph. (I make an unreal brown rice salad using it..I'll post that recipe one of these times, too :D )

Anyway, it's not the same as normal chilli oil; it's seasoned, and has a fairly distinct, yummy flavor.

I also used a vinegar...I think it's what might be called black vinegar, but don't quote me on that. This is what *it* looks like:


It's also a fairly distinct flavor.

That all said, you can make whatever sauce you want, as long as it's nice and strongly flavored. My dh prefers peanut dressing, anyway. :p