Vegan Spring Rolls

I, Fenway Bartholomule, am a vegan: of course I only eat plants, not people! My human is too, so I'm sharing my blog with her today so that she can participate in the 2014 Virtual Vegan Potluck! When you're done perusing the recipe for these delicious spring rolls, click "back" or "forward" for the entire potluck experience!

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Spring Roll Appetizers

Beautiful? Check. Healthy? Check. Delicious? Check. Easy? Check. Fancy? Check. Quick to clean up after? Check. Vegan? OF COURSE! If you're looking for something portable, colorful, and crowd-pleasing for your next potluck, look no further than these simple vegan spring rolls! The best part? You can substitute ANYTHING. I never make these the same way twice, so play around with cilantro, kale, cabbage, scallions, or whatever you think sounds good!

Ingredients

• Veggie mix:
• 2 carrots (grated)
• 4 oz mung bean sprouts
• 1/3 cup chopped peanuts (raw, or roasted and salted) or other nuts
• 2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• the juice from half a lime
• 3 tbsp mae ploy sauce (sweet chili sauce), or sub 2 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp organic sugar
• 1 tbsp ume plum vinegar (or substitute soy sauce)
• 10 spring roll skins
• 3 oz. thin rice noodles or glass noodles
• 2/3 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 oz. fresh basil, removed from stems

Directions

Prepare veggie mix, cucumbers, and avocado while bringing 2 quarts of water to a bowl in a medium saucepan and an inch of water to a boil separately, in a large iron skillet. 

When water boils, turn it off and prepare noodles according to package instructions—usually, by soaking them in hot water for just a few minutes. Rinse with cool water, and drain.

Allow a spring roll wrapper to soak in the skillet, with heat off, until pliable. 

Gently spread wrapper on a cutting board, then place the next wrapper in the skillet to soak.

Layer ingredients, about 2 tbsp. of each, in this order: basil leaves, then noodles, then veggie mix, then cucumber and avocado.  

Close the spring roll wrapper by tucking in the sides, then folding up the bottom and rolling it into a tidy package. 

Serve with peanut sauce or sweet and sour sauce. 

I recommend this dipping sauce: 

• 6 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons ume plum vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
• enough water to make consistency dippable, about 1/4 cup
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger; all ingredients whisked over a low flame until warm. 
• Cilantro or crushed peanuts for garnish.

For more great recipes, continue on! Go back for Edamame-Coconut Trifle with Spelt Crumble by Juicy Dishes, or forward for Walnut Falafel sliders with pickled beetroot and a lemon mayo by VegHotPot!