Easy veggie summer rolls

I always think of veggie summer rolls as being a food-present wrapped in transparent wrapping paper; bright, vibrant vegetables rolled in delicate rice paper with a peanut and soy-ginger dipped sauce on the side. It just makes me smile and feel happy.

A lot of times we roll them at the dinner table. The kids get to choose what to put in their summer roll theirselves; no whining, no ‘I don’t like that’, so happy mommy!

How I make these veggie summer rolls

There is actually not much to it. The soaking and rolling might be a bit tricky in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, it is easy peasy (so just make sure you have enough rice paper so you can make a few mistakes (practice makes perfect!).

I either make them and serve them pre-rolled with peanut and soy-ginger dipping sauce on the side or I serve it deconstructed; all the veggies out on the table and everybody gets to wrap their own spring roll.

Whichever way I serve it, this is how to do it:

prepare the peanut sauce

I start by preparing the dipping sauces.

The best peanut sauce in my opinion is an Indonesian peanut sauce made on the stovetop. This is how I make mine: I sauté finely chopped onion and garlic in a saucepan. When the onion turns translucent, I add a tiny bit of sugar and sambal (an Indonesian chili paste) and stir. Then I add peanut butter, ketjap (an Indonesian sweet(er) and thick(er) soy sauce, which can be replaced by regular soy sauce), coconut milk and stir until combined and smooth. I finish it off with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime juice.

When I am short on time I make a simple and quick peanut sauce like this: I whisk together peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice, a few drops of sriracha or other hot sauce and a pinch of salt.

prepare the soy-ginger dipping sauce

This simple dipping sauce is quick to make. I mix soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos), finely chopped ginger and sesame seeds. The ginger will infuse the soy sauce. So sometimes I make this ahead of time so the ginger flavor will be stronger.

cut the veggies in match sticks

The options are endless, but these are the veggies I usually put in my spring rolls:

• carrots
• bell pepper
• cucumber
• avocado
• mango
• red cabbage
• fresh ginger (I leave it out for the kids… too ‘spicy’)

All these vegetables I cut in match stick-size strips (ginger in even tinier thin strips). Then I put them in front of me on a large cutting board sorted by color.

prepare fresh herbs and/or lettuce

I either use mint or coriander (or sometimes even both). And/or butter lettuce. I wash the fresh herbs and lettuce. I take off the leaves of the herb twigs and detach enough lettuce leaves. Then I put the leaves in separate piles next to the veggie sticks on the cutting board.

prepare the noodles

I usually use brown rice (vermicelli) noodles that I soak in hot water for about 5 minutes and rinse in cold water (as per the instructions on the noodle package). I transfer them to a bowl and place it next to the cutting board I am using to wrap the rice paper on.

set out everything on a large cutting board

Before I start rolling the summer rolls, I set everything out in front of me. It is not hard to roll them, but you do need everything within arm-reach to quickly wrap the rice paper after it is soaked.

So all the veggies, herbs, lettuce and toasted sesame seeds and/or chopped peanuts (optional) are in front of me on the edge of a large cutting board. I make sure there is enough space to put out the soaked rice paper.

Right next to the cutting board I put a large bowl with some water in it.

soak the rice paper

I slide a sheet of rice paper in the water and leave it in there for 30-60 seconds or until the rice paper has softened enough (I make sure to not leave it in the water too long. The rice paper will break and fall apart).

Once soft, I transfer the rice paper, using both hands with spread out fingers, to the cutting board. What I often do is wet the cutting board by wiping a wet hand over it before transferring the soaked rice paper to it. This is to prevent the rice paper to stick to the cutting board.

Wrap the veggies in the rice paper

Working quite quick, I arrange veggies and the noodles in the middle of the soaked rice paper, making sure all the veggie sticks point the same way. And I top it with mint/coriander/lettuce/sesame seeds/peanuts.

Now I start with gently folding the left and right side of the rice paper over the filling like this:

Followed by folding over the bottom side:

Now I roll it up from bottom to top:

And that’s it! So simple, so easy, so fresh and so delicious! I am so happy my kids finally like summer rolls. So now we get to eat them all the time! I hope you will enjoy them as well. They are:

crunchy – wholesome, veggie-packed – fresh & vibrant – full of flavor – and SO delicious

I love a summer roll party because I get to dip them in delicious peanut sauce. Have you tried my Gado Gado – steamed veggies with peanut sauce – yet? In need of more vibrant vegetable dishes? Try this Niçoise salad, these cauliflower tinga tacos or wild rice, roasted sweet potato and kale salad. Enjoy!

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