Asian vegetable rice-paper rolls with citrus chilli sauce
Rice-paper rolls are a fun and delicious option for a healthy lunch or entree.
Ingredients
- 1 large avocado quartered then thickly sliced
- ½ lemon juice
- 1 pack rice papers 22cm-diameter
- mint large bunch leaves only
- 3 medium carrots trimmed then julienned
- 1½ large red capsicums julienned
- 1 telegraph cucumber julienned
- 3 spring onions trimmed then julienned
- ½ cup cashews lightly salted (I used Native Cashews from East Bali Cashews)
- coriander large bunch leaves only
Citrus chilli dipping sauce:
- ½ teaspoon ginger finely grated
- 2 oranges juice
- ½ lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce check label if eating gluten free
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce check label if eating gluten free, omit for vegan
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon soy sauce check label if eating gluten free
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- ½ red chilli finely sliced
Instructions
- Cover a large board with a damp linen tea towel. Fill a dinner plate with water. Sprinkle lemon juice on the avocado. Make the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Dip a rice paper into the water, leave for 30 seconds to soften then transfer to board (the paper will continue to soften while you work). Place a couple of mint leaves in centre of paper. Top with some carrot, capsicum, cucumber and spring onion. Add an avocado slice, a couple of cashews and some coriander. Fold ends in then roll up from bottom into a firm roll. Place, seam side down, on a plate and work quickly to make other 11 rolls.
- Cut rolls in half and arrange on a plate. Serve with dipping sauce on the side.
Top tips:
- The rolls can be made a few hours ahead. Dampen paper towels and tuck over rolls then cover with plastic wrap to stop them drying out. Refrigerate.
Notes
Rice-paper rolls can be a bit fiddly to make, so I’ve included some tips below in the method to help you out. If you’re not into spicy food, remove the seeds from the fresh chilli or leave it out altogether. Fresh herbs make a huge difference to this recipe, so don’t be afraid to use plenty!
If you find julienning vegetables tricky, get a julienne peeler or a mandolin – they make it much easier!
These rolls are naturally vegetarian, and if you omit the fish sauce (replace it with more soy), they’re vegan too! If you like these, check out my fresh prawn, avocado spring rolls.