A couple weeks ago Rae asked our Try it Tuesday friends what their favorite summer food was.
It got me thinking, and I started compiling a list of my family’s favorites that I’m going to be sharing with you over the next month!
First up is summer rolls.
These are delicious, but really the best thing about them is you do not have to heat up your kitchen in any way to make them. So when it’s over 100 at 8 pm and you just realized that you haven’t eaten dinner you can throw them together without adding to the already miserably hot day.
Summer rolls are crazy easy to make, and to customize. The version I’m showing today is veggie, but shrimp is a great addition.
You’re going to need rice paper wrappers, which might be something new to you so this is exactly what mine look like. I found them at our local Kroger store. They’re not expensive, and while it doesn’t say how many wrappers are in there, there’s got to be at least 25, maybe 30. They seem to go on forever.
Then you’re going to need your fillings.
Fresh vegetables is the perfect (traditional) choice. I like cucumber pealed and cut into thin sticks, thinly sliced red pepper, avocado slices, lettuce and thin rice noodles (prepared according to package directions).
You can get creative with your protein, or completely leave it out. Our favorite is shrimp.
I made a video to demonstrate how to build your summer rolls:
Now, for a confession, and no it isn’t that I’m secretly a cooking Youtube star.
I KNOW RIGHT? But I’m so good! (this is sarcasm)
I’m a lot like a 2 year old when it comes to eating, in that if I can dip my food in something I WANT TO! I WANT TO!
So I have 3 fantastic dipping sauce options for you as well!
That’s all there is to it my friends! Enjoy your summer rolls, and get creative with the fillings, Ben has been bugging me to try BLT summer rolls….maybe next Tuesday. 🙂
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce (or honey if you don’t have hoisin or don’t care for it)
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
- About 1/2″ chunk of pealed, fresh ginger
- 2 pealed garlic cloves
- In the bowl of a food processor combine the ingredients.
- Process it until it’s all combined and your ginger and garlic are incorporated
- 1/2 Cup Mayo
- 2 Tablespoons sriracha (to taste)
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- Stir to combine
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or other mild flavored oil)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1″ chunk of fresh ginger, pealed
- 1 large clove of garlic
- In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the ingredients.
- Process until it’s all combined and your ginger and garlic are incorporated.