Vegetable Spring Rolls with Tahini Dipping Sauce

I’m a huge fan of fresh spring rolls, also known as summer rolls. They offer a delicious way to stuff lots of veggies into a small package and they can be paired with a number of different dipping sauces. This recipe is basically just a little different twist of my previous recipe on spring rolls. What I do here is cut the rice wrappers in half after dipping them in water, making them more of an individually-packed appetizer rather than a whole roll cut in half. This just lets the veggies burst out of the ends.

I also really wanted to share my tahini dipping sauce recipe with you, not just because it’s delicious but because tahini, which is a paste made from sesame seeds, is full of nutrients that are good for you.

Vegetable Fresh Spring (Summer) Rolls with Tahini Dipping Sauce Recipe

While it’s hard to say exactly the quantity of veggies and noodles you’ll need for rolling these, this is approximately what I used for 24 small spring rolls. A lot will depend on how much you stuff into each one of them. 🙂 Try not to over-stuff them too much as that makes the rice paper wrappers more likely to tear.

Try and slice your veggies thin and uniformly, keeping them about 2-3 inches long when possible. Don’t make yourself crazy here – they’re all getting stuffed into rolls, for Pete’s sake.

I like to make my dipping sauce ahead of the rolls, so it’s ready to go.

Tahini Dipping Sauce Recipe

• 2 large cloves garlic
• 3/4 cup tahini – make sure it’s been stirred very, very well before using
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• Juice of 1 large lemon; about 2 tablespoons
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. In a food processor, blend garlic until finely minced.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until well blended, about 2-3 minutes.
3. If sauce is still a little thick, add a tablespoon of water and blend well again.
4. Transfer to a small ramekin or serving bowl and set aside.

Vegetable and Rice Noodle Spring Rolls Recipe

• 10 spring roll rice paper wrappers (I find these next to the tofu, sprouts and egg roll wrappers at my local store). These are typically refrigerated but if you bring them to room temperature about an hour before using them, you’ll find they’re less brittle and easier to work with.
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice noodles
• 6 medium asparagus spears, thinly sliced
• 10 snow peas, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
• 1/2 medium sweet bell pepper, thinly sliced (I used an orange one here, but you can use yellow or red)
• 3 scallions, trimmed to white and tender greens, thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
• 1/2 cup julienned zucchini
• 1/2 cup julienned cucumber that’s been peeled and seeds removed
• 3/4 cup cilantro leaves

Directions:

• Cook the rice noodles, run under cold water until cool. Drain very well and set aside. (I heat boiling water, add my noodles, cook about a minute and then set aside for 10 before draining and cooling)
• In a small pan or microwave steamer, add asparagus and 1/4 of water, cover and steam about 2 minutes
• Add sliced snow peas to asparagus and steam about 1 minute more.
• Drain asparagus and snow peas, run under cold water and drain well. Set aside.
• Fill a bowl or large plate (I’ve found that a large plate works best for this) with lukewarm water, for dipping your wrappers in.

Here’s where you need to have everything ready to go.

• Have all of your veggies, noodles and cilantro ready to go
• Have a large cutting board or serving platter ready, to place your finished rolls on
• Have your plate of lukewarm water ready for dipping the spring roll wrappers
• Have a sharp knife and cutting board ready to use solely for the spring rolls

Are you ready? Let make some spring rolls!

1. Dip 1 spring roll wrapper in the plate or bowl of lukewarm water, swishing it around to make sure all of it’s moistened. Flip and do the same to the other side. Hold the wrapper above the plate for a couple of seconds, to let the excess water run off.
2. Lay the dampened wrapper on a cutting board and, very carefully, using a very sharp knife, cut the wrapper in half.
3. Add a few noodles and then a couple of each of the prepared veggies and a few cilantro leaves on top of the bottom third (towards you) of each of the 1/2 wrappers.
4. Like you’re rolling a burrito, wrap one end around your fillings and use the end of the wrapper you’re holding to pull all of the fillings toward you tightly and then tighten your wrap around the filling. Roll once, fold up the round end and then continue rolling until complete.
5. Place on serving platter and repeat with remaining rolls.

Spring rolls are always best served fresh or at least within an hour or so. The wrappers tend to dry out and become crispy and weird again if left to sit too long. I’ve covered them with damp paper towels to extend their time and this works better than just leaving them to their own devices.

If you want to save yourself the trouble of wrapping these, turn them into a fun party appetizer by creating a spread and letting your friends roll their own. Maybe not so appropriate for a formal dinner but great for a casual get-together and definitely a conversation starter.

Crunchy, antioxidant-packed, delicious and fun! If you’ve ever wondered how to make spring rolls, now you’re a pro. Don’t be discouraged if your first roll or two don’t turn out – this still happens to me sometimes and I make these pretty often. Just keep pushing on and you’ll get the hang of them in no time.

And of course, don’t be afraid to play with these – mix up your veggies and herbs for a new flavor every time you make them. The prep work in these is really most of the work, so it’s easy to have fun with changing them up.

Enjoy!