Make Ahead

Summer Rolls with Thai Dipping Sauce

by:
May  9, 2011
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0 Ratings
Summer Rolls with Thai Dipping Sauce
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

I love cold foods in the summer! A salad or sandwich with cool, crisp veggies--this is my idea of heaven! To make it more substantial, you can add cold shrimp, but it's easy to omit in a few of them for your vegetarian friends.

This has been our favorite sauce to use whenever we need a semi-sweet sauce. Goes great with spring rolls or fish.

The Sauce is just a simple syrup. Equal parts sugar and liquid. I have substituted 1/2 c. splenda and 2 T. raw sugar for my diabetic mother and that did taste okay.

I received a lot of help from the food pickle blog when I first started making these rolls. My package directions on the rice paper called for warm water...there were several ideas on HOW to keep the water warm, but the best advice was to use COLD water and just soak a minute more.

For the summer rolls, take Sagegreen's hint and use double wrappers if you are a novice like me. The secret is getting a tight roll up! The picture is from my first attempt--No one seemed to mind my lack of skill--they were all eaten up and I've gotten better at it since then! —lorigoldsby

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 1/4 cup orange muscat champagne vinegar (Trader Joes)
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange or tangerine juice
  • tangerine or orange zest
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • 1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 12 Rice paper wrappers
  • 1 cup Cold rice noodles
  • Assorted matchstick cut vegetables like carrots, zucchini, jicima
  • 1 Avocado, thinly sliced
  • 12 (optional) Jumbo shrimp, cooked & chilled
  • 24 Cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup Fresh pea shoots
  • 12 Butter lettuce leaves
Directions
  1. In small saucepan, dissolve sugar, zest and liquids to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer until thick and syrupy.
  2. Don't add flakes until syrup consistancy is reached or heat will infuse the sauce.
  3. Leftover sauce will keep in refrigerator 2-3 weeks.
  4. Prepare all vegetables so you can assemble the rolls one after another. Lay out one or two softened rice sheets, on middle third of paper start stacking two cilantro leaves, shrimps (unless vegetarian) avocado and place all matchstick veggies and softened rice noodles* inside of the butter lettuce leaf. Fold sides in and then tightly roll up the rest. You can use a little bit of water on your finger to seal the outer edge.
  5. Chill the rolls with a damp paper or tea towel on top to maintain freshness. When ready to serve, slice in half with a diagonal cut.
  6. * cold softened rice noodles(glass noodles) --some people don't like them--can omit...but if you do use them...only use a small tablespoon in ecah roll. It is quite funny that I have taught several groups to make these, and even though I show them an example, I demo the process...invariably one person still adds enough of the noodles to make a burrito sized spring roll!
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lorigoldsby

Recipe by: lorigoldsby

I learned to cook with my Gran. I can still see her reading a recipe and figuring out how she would make it better. She was fearless about substituting ingredients--but also knowledgeable. She approached food in the same way she built her antique business--appreciate quality ingredients and workmanship, but don't be a snob. I think I carry those same beliefs in my approach to cooking. I love family style dinners, I love a fancy ladies' luncheon with my wedding china, or a backyard seafood boil to celebrate my husband's birthday...I love to share food with others.

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20 Reviews

lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Just realized I forgot the butter lettuce!
 
boulangere
boulangere June 27, 2011
Oh don't feel bad. I posted a cake recipe, and after it was an EP, a kind person pointed out that I'd neglected to mention when to add the dry ingredients.
 
lapadia
lapadia June 27, 2011
Love these but haven't made them before, thanks for sharing your recipe! Will get back with my feedback as soon as I can.
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
I look forward to your comments! If you find a secret method or veggie combo, please post!
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen June 27, 2011
Love these! Aren't they fun to make?
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Yes, I really like these "salad rolls"
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen June 27, 2011
Ever since I went to Thailand I have been a huge fan of these kinds of rolls. I am so glad that you found my garden rolls helpful. I find it easier just to make them than to describe how to make them.
 
boulangere
boulangere June 27, 2011
totally agree
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Sagegreen--I totally forgot it was you that suggested the double wrapper method--I corrected my text to give you the credit you deserve!
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Sagegreen--I totally forgot it was you that suggested the double wrapper method--I corrected my text to give you the credit you deserve!
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Sagegreen--I totally forgot it was you that suggested the double wrapper method--I corrected my text to give you the credit you deserve!
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Sagegreen--I totally forgot it was you that suggested the double wrapper method--I corrected my text to give you the credit you deserve!
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Sagegreen--I totally forgot it was you that suggested the double wrapper method--I corrected my text to give you the credit you deserve!
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Sagegreen--I totally forgot it was you that suggested the double wrapper method--I corrected my text to give you the credit you deserve!
 
boulangere
boulangere June 27, 2011
They look vastly better than my first attempt! I think they're beautiful, and these are one of my summertime favorites.
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Thanks! One of my favorites as well. One of the things I love about food52 is that we can be "real" about our trials and tribulations in the kitchen. Cooking is all about the journey!
 
boulangere
boulangere June 27, 2011
Seriously, my first (and second and.....) attempt at these looked like I'd been blindfolded while making them. They might have been better if I had been. And the expletives flying around . . . . well, one of my son's early words began with s. What can I say? Sometimes you're just in the moment.
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
I tell everyone our daughter's first word was "horse", and it might have been, but she did have an "advanced" vocabulary from being in the kitchen with me! But I couldn't brag about that!! LOL
 
pauljoseph
pauljoseph May 17, 2011
Excellent
 
lorigoldsby
lorigoldsby June 27, 2011
Thanks PJ!