Vegetable Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

It is hot and humid.  How is Seattle more hot and humid than San Diego?  The heat has me wanting a cool refreshing meal.  The work is worth it.  If you want to do this as a salad you can skip the wrapper (it is a really good noodle salad as well).

Ingredients
For the Spicy Peanut Sauce:
2 T peanut butter
2 T rice vinegar
1 T soy sauce
2 t sugar
1/2 t of red pepper flakes
1 to 2 T water, to thin sauce, if necessary

For the noodle filling:
1 1/2 ounces cellophane noodles (also called bean threads)
1/2 t sesame oil
Red pepper flakes

For the vegetable filling:
1/3 seedless cucumber
1/2 medium carrot, peeled
1/2 red bell pepper
2 to 3 medium radishes
1 scallion, chopped

For the vegetable dressing:
1/2 T rice vinegar
1/2 t sugar
1 t fish sauce
1/2 lime, juiced, about 1 tablespoon

To assemble the rolls:
8 rice paper wrappers
2 T cilantro leaves
16 to 24 fresh mint leaves

Tools
Separate bowls for sauce, herbs, noodles, and vegetables
Mandoline or box grater
Cake pan for softening the rice wrappers
Instructions

Spicy peanut sauce

Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce until smooth and creamy, and set aside.

Noodle filling

If the cellophane noodles are very long, break them into smaller bits. Cook the cellophane noodles according to the package directions.  We heated a medium saucepan full of water until almost boiling, then turned off the heat, added the noodles, and let them sit for about 10 minutes.  Drain the noodles, put them in a bowl, and toss with the sesame oil and a dash of red pepper flakes.

Vegetable filling

Use a mandoline or box grater to slice the cucumber, carrot, and red pepper into thin strips — or simply julienne by hand.  If you are using large radishes, you can slice them on the mandoline or box grater.  Or just slice into thin rounds by hand.  Whisk together the rice vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice in a large bowl.  Add the vegetables and the scallion, and toss to coat.

Soften the rice wrappers

Fill a round cake pan halfway with warm water.  For each wrapper, immerse it in the hot water bath until it softens, which takes about 30 seconds.  Watch for it to begin curling, then immediately flip it over and continue flipping until it is just softened.  Use both hands to pull it up out of the water, being careful so it doesn't collapse on itself, and spread it immediately on a plate.

Filling

Fill the center of the softened wrapper first by laying about 3 to 4 herb leaves down the center.  Then lay down about 1 to 2 tablespoons of noodles (you want to have enough for 8 rolls).  Then, add 1/8 of the veggie mixture.  Add a few sprigs of cilantro and 2 to 3 mint leaves, depending on how large they are.

Rolling

To roll up your roll, first fold the top and bottom edges of the wrapper over the filling, then fold in the edges towards the center and continue rolling the filled wrapper until it's closed and snug.  Continue this process with each of the wrappers.  You may need to change your hot water halfway through.  As you finish each roll, place it on a cookie sheet and cover the rolls with a damp towel.