Vietnamese Rice Paper Spring Rolls

Rice paper spring rolls are a summer favourite in my house. They are fresh, quick, fun and a great way to use up garden veges! I buy the rice paper wrappers from the Asian section of my supermarket; there are about a million per box, so they last forever. We usually have our spring rolls with pork mince, veges and a satay dipping sauce. But, they could just as easily be made with chicken mince or vegetarian. I am certain they would be equally as yummy! I always end up with tons of satay sauce leftover, so often make a simple noodle salad with diced veges for lunch the next day, and use the sauce as a dressing. Yum!

Satay Dipping Sauce

1 cup peanut butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp fish sauce (optional; can add more soy sauce as substitute)
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1/2 tin coconut cream

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

To make the pork mince, I fry the mince with finely diced red onion and garlic until browned. Then, I add the other half of the tin of coconut cream to the blender that is now emptied of the dipping sauce, but not cleaned, and blend. Then, pour this mixture over the browned mince and cook until the sauce has reduced right down. I add more of the sauce ingredients to taste e.g more lime if it needs more citrus or more sweet chilli if it is not spicy enough. This mince mixture is different every time, and I encourage you to play around. I have yet to make a bad batch so I think this is a pretty safe recommendation... :)

Assembling the Spring Rolls

These spring rolls vary every time and often seem to be a garden and fridge empty! This batch had:

• raw carrot  
• raw zucchini
• raw beetroot
• avocado
• red capsicum
• mint leaves
• cos lettuce 
• pork mince
• satay sauce

To assemble:

1. Place the sheet of rice paper in a bowl of hot water for 30 seconds or until softened.

2. Lay rice paper on your plate and make a small pile of ingredients in the centre, as shown by the picture. Don't put too much in or it will explode! Paddy is an expert spring roll maker; I am still learning...

3. Fold the sides up. With the ingredients facing vertically, fold the top and bottom in, then, the left side, then, roll the bundle to catch the last remaining side, forming a parcel of amazingness.

4. Eat and enjoy!!

Sauce recipe from here.