Summer Rolls

A few weeks ago, I made my first attempt at making spring rolls. We first had these at a restaurant in Baton Rouge, and we love them. Here is the recipe that I used:

1 lb. cooked shrimp
cellophane noodles
1 Tbs. seasoned rice vinegar
Boston lettuce leaves, separated and dried
fresh mint, basil, and cilantro coarsely chopped (no quantity was given for the herbs in the original recipe that I had, so I just grabbed a handful of each our of my garden)
carrot, coarsely shredded
Rice paper rounds (8.5 inches in diameter)

To prepare the cellophane noodles, cover them with boiling water and let soak for 15 minutes. Drain well and pat dry between paper towels. Toss with Rice vinegar.

Fill a pie plate with lukewarm water. Immerse one rice paper round in warm water for a few seconds, just until it is flexible. Remove from pie plate & let rest on a kitchen towel for about 30 seconds until it is more pliable.

Arrange one piece of lettuce on bottom half of soaked rice parer, folding or tearing to fit. Leave a 1 inch boarder along edge. Top with shrimp, herbs, cellophane noodles, and carrot.

Pressing down on the filling with your fingers, fold the bottom end of the rice paper over the top of the fillings and roll into a cylindrical shape halfway. Fold the left and right sides inward and continue rolling.

This is served with peanut sauce, here's the recipe.

1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1/2 c soy sauce
3 Tbs. sugar
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs. hot chili sauce
1 Tbs. rice vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.