pack a picnic: summer rolls with spicy peanut sauce.

June 29, 2015

pack a picnic: summer rolls | reading my tea leaves This take on traditional Vietnamese summer rolls are the perfect thing for making on a summery day when even looking at the stovetop will make you break out into a sweat. They require nothing in the way of additional heat to make and they’re perfectly portable.

Even though the process is simple—and dare I say, therapeutic—summer rolls take a little bit of time to put together, but if you prepare your fillings ahead of time and set up a little mise en place assembly line for production, you can make quick work of the task.

Maybe best of all, you can experiment with different fillings that suit your taste. If you’re a meat eater, grilled chicken or shrimp would work nicely, but I prefer fresh tofu in mine. If you want to add a little bulk, you could fold rice vermicelli into the roll, too. For veggies, I like to include a variety of colors and textures. For these rolls I used carrots, cucumber, avocado, mixed greens, and brightly colored radish greens. Basil and mint leaves added on top of the veggies help give the rolls their signature fresh, bright taste.

For dipping, I like to make a creamy, spicy peanut sauce. You can buy a bottle of the stuff, but it’s super easy to make at home. Last week I made a full cup and used half for dunking summer rolls and saved the rest in the fridge to mix into cold noodles to enjoy later in the week.
pack a picnic: summer rolls | reading my tea leaves Cut all of your vegetables into long, thin strips for easiest assembly.
pack a picnic: summer rolls | reading my tea leaves I used fresh mint and sweet basil but you could also swap in Thai basil and cilantro.
pack a picnic: summer rolls | reading my tea leaves Perelandra sells brown rice paper wrappings. I dunked each wrapper in a tray of water for just about 10 seconds and let it soften slowly as I build the roll. 
pack a picnic: summer rolls | reading my tea leaves I generally used the same formula for each roll, but you can decide the order of appearances for ingredients in each roll.
pack a picnic: summer rolls | reading my tea leaves To roll, start by folding up the bottom edge of the wrapper around the pile of veggies, then fold in each side and continue rolling. The paper is slightly sticky and will stay stuck together in a tight roll. 
pack a picnic: summer rolls | reading my tea leaves You can get as precious as you want with the rolling, but I think it’s nice to face some of the leaves on the bottom layer outward so that they look nice in the finished roll.

Summer Rolls
Makes 6

1 package of rice paper wrappers (I used the brown rice papers that Perelandra keeps in stock.)
1 block of fresh tofu, cut into thin sticks (I typically use about half the block)
1 medium bunch mixed salad greens
1 small bunch rashish shoots or other tasty green for variety and color
2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 small bunch fresh basil
1 small bunch fresh mint

Begin by preparing all of your fillings first: slice your carrots, cucumbers, and avocado. Rinse and dry your herbs and salad greens. Slice your tofu into thin fingers. Arrange everything in piles according to type to help you remember to add a little bit of everything into your summer roll.

The rice paper wrappers come hard and you’ll need to soak each one in warm water to moisten it. I use a cookie sheet filled with water for this step and I prepare each roll on a round wooden cutting board. Prepare each roll individually by first soaking one rice paper wrapper at a time and filling it with a neat pile of your fillings. I like to keep like with like when adding to my roll but anything goes.

Once you have all your ingredients stacked, lift the bottom of the wrapper up over the fillings. Fold in each side and roll the wrapper, keeping it tight around the ingredients. Chill your finished rolls. Slice in half before serving.

Peanut Sauce
Adapted from this recipe from Food52.
Makes about 1 cup
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled

2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Sriracha or otherwise—red pepper flakes would work here, too!)
1⁄2 cup peanut butter (I get mine from Perelandra’s bulk section and refill my own glass jar)
1⁄8 cup soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari)
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

scallions, for garnish

 

You can make any style of dipping sauce that suits your fancy, but I prefer a creamy peanut sauce because it makes a light meal feel a little bit more substantial.

To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a bit of warm water until it reaches your desired consistency. When we take summer rolls on picnics, I pack a container or two of the sauce separately for dipping.
pack a picnic: summer rolls | reading my tea leaves This summer picnic series is sponsored by Perelandra Natural Foods Center, our favorite neighborhood grocery store. Since their opening in 1976, Perelandra has been committed to supplying the Brooklyn Heights community with nutritious, sustainable, and delicious food. Perelandra prides itself on stocking 100% certified organic produce and all of their grocery products are hand-selected by their on-staff nutritionist. 

 
Perelandra is currently offering Brooklyn-based Reading My Tea Leaves readers a free delivery when you place your grocery order online with the code FREEDELIVERY. Visit them at PerelandraNatural.com to place an order.
 
Thanks so much for supporting the thoughtful, sustainable brands that help support original editorial content on this site.

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12 Comments

  • Reply Sarah Spitz June 29, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    That looks amazing! Thank you for sharing!

    Love from Germany and a peak at our brand new site:
    http://www.fatcatconnection.com
    XO, Lisa

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  • Reply Anonymous June 29, 2015 at 4:08 pm

    perfect. I'm going to shamelessly order what I need from this grocery store to make this tonight 🙂

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  • Reply Sarah M June 29, 2015 at 4:43 pm

    I recently purchased the ingredients to make Summer Rolls, but hadn't quite organized the next step. This post is timely! I'm diving in today.

    1
  • Reply Eva June 29, 2015 at 5:41 pm

    Looks delicious! A nice alternative to sandwiches 🙂

    1
  • Reply Abby June 29, 2015 at 5:46 pm

    I just bought some rice paper wrappers last night – perfect timing! I love Perelandra.

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  • Reply Elle June 30, 2015 at 3:11 am

    Yum! I love to add mango (or sometimes strawberries) and kelp noodles to mine!

    Elle
    http://www.heydandelion.com

    1
  • Reply Emma June 30, 2015 at 8:22 pm

    Just made this-delicious! The flavors work so well together, and this is one of the best peanut sauce recipes I've tried. Thank you for sharing! I also love that it's vegan (if you substitute something for the honey).

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  • Reply Anonymous July 13, 2015 at 12:34 pm

    Hey Erin, I love your blog a lot! However, this post made me a little sad because you did not mention Vietnamese culture as the inspiration for this recipe. I know you meant no harm, but cultural appropriation has been all over the news lately and I just felt the need to point this out.
    Still though, keep up your beautiful writing and photos!
    Cassie

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    • Reply Erin July 13, 2015 at 2:38 pm

      Oh, gosh. No cultural appropriation intended!

      0
    • Reply admin July 13, 2015 at 2:38 pm

      Oh, gosh. No cultural appropriation intended!

      0

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