Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls With Two Sauces

This is an easy, fun recipe that kids of all ages will love to help you prepare. If you don’t feel like cooking a big meal or just want something light, healthy, and also filling, this one is for you. It’s very versatile, so you can always swap one ingredient for another one and use whatever veggies your fridge has to offer. When you already enjoyed wrapping up these little power packages, get ready for the best part: drowning them in your rich, delicious sauces and devouring every single bite.

Ingredients:

For the Spring Rolls:

• 1/2 cup white quinoa, rinsed
• 1 cup water
• 1 eggplant (about 1 lb/470 g), cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch (1 generous cm) slices, then 1/2 inch sticks
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• 1 sheet Nori, crumbled into pieces
• 8 brown rice spring roll wrappers
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeds removed, sliced thinly lengthwise
• 1/2 European cucumber, peeled, sliced lengthwise, then cut into 1/4 inch (1 cm) sticks
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced lengthwise, then cut into very thin sticks
• 4 leaves of green leaf or romaine lettuce, cut in half lengthwise
• several leaves arugula
• 8 sprigs of parsley

For the Peanut Butter Sauce: 

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 – 1 tsp crushed red pepper (omit, if you don’t like it hot)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce (optional gluten free)
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) unsweetened, plain plant milk (I used soy)
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro

For the Tahini Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) tahini
• 1 large garlic, finely minced (almost resembling a paste)
• 3/8 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp freshly pressed lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp maple syrup
• about 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 1/8 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 generous Tbsp finely chopped parsley

• serve with sliced avocado (optional)
• chopped herbs to garnish

Preparation:

Follow instructions on package to cook 1/2 cup of quinoa with one cup of water. Don’t use broth or salt.

Wash and cut all vegetables, lettuce, herbs.

Bring 1 cup water in medium size pot to a boil, add Nori and the eggplant sticks. Bring to a boil again, then turn down heat, and simmer covered for about 10 minutes while stirring occasionally. The eggplant should be tender, but don’t overcook. It should not fall apart. Pour cooked eggplant in strainer, and dump the water. Let drain and cool down completely.

While quinoa and eggplant are cooling down, prepare your sauces.

For the peanut sauce, gradually whisk together all the sauce ingredients, except for the cilantro. Once a rich, creamy consistency is achieved, stir in the cilantro.

For the tahini sauce, whisk tahini, garlic, Celtic sea salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and maple syrup until you have a thick, chunky paste that almost looks like peanut butter. Gradually, tablespoon by tablespoon, add the water and keep whisking. You will soon have a smooth, white sauce. Once the desired thickness is achieved, stop adding water. Season with paprika and and stir in chopped parsley.

For the spring rolls, fill a large, shallow dish with very warm water. Don’t use hot water when kids are helping! I used a saucepan and reheated the water once.

Place dish with water and all the spring roll ingredients, including quinoa and eggplant, around your work surface.

Place a clean, damp kitchen towel right in front of you and make one roll at a time. Submerge the rice wrapper completely in water. It takes less than a minute until it is soft. Then place it on your kitchen towel.

Now comes the fun part! Layer all the ingredients lengthwise slightly above the center of each wrapper and leave about 2 inches (5 cm) at each end uncovered. Use about 1/8 of each ingredient for one wrapper. You can either fill each wrapper in a different order or make them all look the same. I played a little with it, but filled most of them in this order: arugula, 1/2 lettuce leaf, 3 Tbsp quinoa, cucumber, carrot, eggplant, bell pepper, parsley. I used arugula and parsley on the bottom and the top so they would be visible. To finish your roll, fold in the small parts you left uncovered, 2 inches on each end. Now tightly, but carefully pull first the slightly smaller side of the rice paper over the filling, then roll it up completely. Enjoy with some avocado and your sauces!

Notes:

• Additional ingredient suggestions for the spring rolls could be: bean sprouts, sliced tempeh, marinated tofu, sweet potato, celery, kale, zucchini, sushi ginger, mint leaves, basil leaves …..
• This really is a fun project for kids to help prepare a meal.