Summer Rolls

Food isn't something I talk about much, at least not on the internet, but I love food and I actually cook 3-4 times a week! I am pretty adventurous when it comes to food and always trying out new things to eat and to cook. So, here is my first attempt at food-blogging! I never realized how difficult it is until I actually did it. Photographing food step-by-step while cooking is tricky, the whole process probably lasted about thrice as long and it seemed like I had to wash my hands a million times! Nevertheless I present to you... summer rolls! Summer (you might know it as spring) rolls are delicious, healthy, and sooo easy to make. They make the perfect snack or appetizer! Bon Appétit!

What you need:

Rice paper

Shrimp (cleaned, deveined, sliced in half horizontally)

Vermicelli (cooked and drained)

Red leaf lettuce

Carrots (cut into small stripes)

Cilantro

Creamy peanut butter

Coconut milk

Hoisin sauce

That delicious peanut sauce you have at restaurants is really just a combination of three things - creamy peanut butter, coconut milk and hoisin sauce. How much of each you use really depends on how you like your sauce to taste. Personally, I like mine with 1 tbsp of peanut butter, 1/3 cup of coconut milk, and about 2 tbsp of hoisin sauce. I also add a squirt of sriracha for a little kick. Add more peanut butter if you want it thicker and more peanutty, add more coconut milk if you want it to be creamier. Just mix all three things in a little bowl.

Once the sauce is made and all the ingredients are prepared, the trick is having everything ready and set up before you begin wrapping each roll.

Place a clean, damp kitchen towel on a work surface. Fill a frying pan or a shallow dish large enough to hold the rice paper with hot tap water. Working with one at a time, completely submerge the rice paper until it is soft and pliable, about 15 seconds. Remove the wrapper from the water and place it on the towel.

Working quickly, lay 5 shrimp halves in a row, cut side up, on the center of the rice paper. Layer a the rice noodles over the shrimp, followed by some carrots and cilantro. Place one piece of lettuce on top of the noodle pile. Then, roll it up with the rice paper with the side tucked in. Turn the roll so that the seam faces down and the row of shrimp faces up. Voilà!