Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Nearly Vegetarian GF Spring Rolls


Hubby has decided to give up salt and reduce his meat to almost zero. I refuse to stand by and suffer with just flavorless beans and rice. He has had to go without all sorts of other things for my diet, so I think it's only fair to take a good stab at finding us something delicious and uber healthy. I only used organic items for this dinner, but you could go conventional if you wanted to.

This dish is basically vegetarian, but definitely not vegan. I also have to say that the rice helped this dish to be very filling, and the sauces added plenty of flavor. I did not miss the salt or the meat. It seems like it might be difficult, but it was surprisingly easy to make.

Ingredients
Spring Rolls
Spring roll skins (i.e. rice paper wraps found in Asian markets/sections)
2 TBSP chopped pickled ginger
2 cups cooked rice (I like Jasmine or Basmati)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup finely chopped purple cabbage
1/2 cup cucumber, julienne
1/2 cubed avacado
2 sweet peppers, cored and chopped
1/2 cup zucchini, julienne
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce
1 cup Asian sweet chili sauce (Asian aisle)
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP fish sauce (anchovy)
3 cloves garlic,  chopped (tip - smashed the clove with your open palm and the peel will come right off)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp chopped ginger (fresh or pickled)
1 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp serrano pepper, chopped

Mustard Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 TBSP Sugar

Directions
Make both sauces first, by combining the ingredients for each sauce in it's own small container with sealed lid (I used 1 quart mason jars). Shake vigorously and refrigerate until spring rolls are ready to eat.

Bring two cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add one cup of rice and bring back to a boil. Cover and reduce to low heat. Cook for 15 minutes. Add chopped, pickled ginger and fresh cilantro. Cook for five to ten more minutes until soft and moist. Keep covered and set aside. In a wok or large skillet, pre-heat olive oil on med-high heat. Sauté cabbage until lightly softened. Set aside.

Fill a large bowl with warm water and dampen a clean kitchen towel to lay out on the counter. Take a rice paper spring roll wrapper and submerge into the warm water for a few seconds until it begins to soften (don't over moisten). Lay flat on the moist dish towel. Layer rice, cabbage, and other chopped veggies (add one or both sauces if you want it contained). Fold the spring roll wrapper over the food like a burrito. The wrapper will be sticky and will hold. Plate and serve. Put dipping sauces in bowls for diners to dip their spring rolls if the sauce was left out of center of the spring roll.

1 comment:

Joe and Lora Leigh said...

Sounds like a delicious recipe! Way to be creative. Good luck with your healthier endeavors. :) How's the rest of your life going?