Spring Rolls from Thug Kitchen

My brother in law got me this hilarious cook book for Christmas. It's all healthy, vegetarian food but the descriptions are all riddled with cursing when talking about things like oatmeal. It's great. I made the spring rolls the other night. They're so fresh and the ginger and dipping give sauce have such a great kick. A perfect healthy treat/light dinner/appetizer. 

Ingredients:

Filling

8 oz mushrooms (enoki, button, shiitake - anything)

3 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp neutral-tasting oil like grapeseed or canola

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/3 cup minced scallions

2 tbsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

2-3 tbsp chili garlic paste (3 if you want it spicier)

1 tsp lime juice

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Rolls

6 lettuce leaves

1 cucumber

1 carrot

1 cup fresh herbs (basil, mint, and cilantro)

1 pack of large spring roll rappers/rice paper wrappers

Directions:

Trim and slice the mushrooms into strips no thicker than your finger and mince the garlic. Heat of the oil in a skillet over medium. Add the mushrooms and salute until they start releasing their liquid, 1 or 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, scallions, ginger, and garlic and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes more. Add the toasted sesame oil, stir to combine, and turn off the heat. Put the filling on a plate and let it cool.

Make the dipping sauce now. Mix the vinegar and sugar in a small sauce pan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Let it cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the hili paste and lime juice and turn off the heat. Once it cools, pour it into a bowl and coo and put it in the fridge. (No peanuts yet.)

For the veggies, chop everything into thin 2 inch strips. Rip the lettuce leaves into thirds. 

Warm up a few inches of water in a skillet. You want it hot but not too hot to put your hands in it. Turn off the heat. Put one spring roll wrapper flat in the water at a time until it becomes soft and bendy, about 10 seconds. 

Put a lettuce leaf on half of it, then about 2 fingers worth of the veggies and herbs, then a scoop of the mushrooms. Roll it up like a burrito. Fold up the bottom onto the veggie mix, then fold the sides up and stick them to the bottom flap, then roll it all up tightly. Line them up on a plate as you make them and don't let them touch - they can stick and rip. I like to cut mine in half diagonally. For the sauce, put in the peanuts and serve.