Summer Rolls with Spicy Nut Butter Dip

With a spicy ginger garlic soy dipping sauce.

Opened and with a peanut sauce.

So I think I may be the last food blogger on Earth to use rice paper wrappers!! Hurrah, I've finally done it!!! Seriously though I've been wanting to try using these for so long, having never even tasted them before. There are so many recipes out there....and names! Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Summer Rolls, Crystal Rolls etc.... I opted for 'summer rolls' here as my fillings are indeed very summery and really, I don't think these ones are authentically Vietnamese in any way:)

Well, they turned out delicious and I'll definitely be making them again. Loved the basil in there - yes, basil! They just had such a light fresh taste and went well with the dipping sauce. Now, about the sauce, the recipe I loosely followed called for a peanut dipping sauce, which sounded great.... I wasn't keen though - way too sweet! I much prefer my dipping sauces salty/spicy and savoury so whipped up a dip of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and birds eye chili. We both much preferred that one to the peanut one, but to each their own! 

2013 EDIT - I have now perfected the peanut sauce - you can use any natural nut butter you like and I have updated the recipe below, it's gorgeous!! I based it loosely on this recipe from the rawthentic facebook page where I also made her summer rolls using large green leaf instead of rice paper and stuffed with carrot, cucumber, red pepper, red cabbage, avocado and fresh basil and mint - they are gorgeous!!! The largest leaf I could get in the shops was romaine which are not very wide so mine are not as thick as hers but they are delicious - another great summer roll option :-)

Rough recipe for the rice paper rolls:
rice paper wrappers
thin rice noodles
carrot, cut into matchsticks
red pepper, cut into matchsticks
spring onion, thinly sliced vertically
whole fresh basil leaves

Soak the rice noodles in hot water until soft, drain well then toss in some sesame oil. Set aside. Prep all veg and set aside. Soak the rice paper wrappers in room temperature water until soft. Place on a flat surface and place some noodles, carrot, pepper and onion in the middle, slightly closer to you. Fold the end close to you over, then the sides. Place the basil in the middle then roll up.


Spicy Nut Butter Dip - serves 2

• 2 Tbsp nut butter - (all natural, I use cashew butter but peanut or almond would work too)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• ½ Tbsp fresh lime juice
• ½ Tbsp Sweet Freedom Syrup*
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp finely grated ginger
• cayenne pepper to taste - I used a scant 1/8 tsp and it was nice and spicy.

*Sweet Freedom is a vegan fruit based syrup which tastes incredibly like honey. If you can't find it any syrup sweetener will work - agave or maple syrup for example.

I place all the ingredients into a mortar and pestle and grind and mix it up until smooth but I'm sure a spoon or whisk would work just fine ;-)

Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce:
soy sauce
few drops of sesame oil
slices of ginger, garlic and bird's eye chilli (deseeded)

Mix all together and let sit a little while. Sorry for no measurements but it really doesn't matter too much here. Just make sure you don't add too much sesame oil, really just need a few drops for 1 little dipping bowl.

Recipe based on BBC Good Food's