We're still trying to introduce more veg into the diet. This entry is by Gwynie for Robin who enjoyed the rolls and mum who wants to know what I did this weekend.
Ben, Robin and Noah flew up from San Diego to visit family and friends. We planned on meeting up at Golden Gate Park for a picnic this Saturday. While the weather was clear, it was overcast and a little cold so we ended up at Sara and Sid’s place which was close by. Since it was a picnic and I had wanted to provide something salady, self contained and did not require plates, I made fresh vegetarian spring rolls. They are super easy if a little labor intensive. I washed all the herbs, mint, cilantro, green onion, sliced lettuce (next time I’ll use cabbage, a nod to Robin’s 2 cabbages in her farm box), carrots and radishes (shredded) and bean sprouts. In any case, shred & julienne your veggies into thin long strips. Returning players- cabbage green & purple, carrot, radishes, cucumber (but you can use any veg that's shred-able and not super chewy). It's a lot of washing/rinsing and I find the thing that takes the most time.
Then I put super hot water in a bowl (note either use tongs so as not to burn yourself or let the hot water cool to a point where you can stick the wafer in without burning your fingers). We use the 6" round tapioca flour sheets, there are larger ones that are a mix of tapioca and rice flour. Either will work. I put the spring roll skins in one at a time and dip until the skin has slightly softened. On a flat surface spread the skin and sprinkle the various veggies and herbs lengthwise onto the end closest to you and roll up. I haven’t quite worked out how to get the roll really tight and I’m sure there’s a technique but we’ll go with this method until we use up the 6 inch round skin’s. Now I see why the bigger ones are available if you like to tuck things in and enclose everything, but for munching purposes this works.
The sauce is also easy. See the above picture for ingredients. We use one that Astrid got at cooking school in Thailand. I do like the tart accent so you can substitute in 2 tsps lime juice if you don't have tamarind.
8oz Coconut milk (separated into cream and milk)
1 Tbs Red curry paste (Penang/Massaman are fine)
1/2-3/4 Cup Peanut butter
1 Palm sugar cone (2Tbs brown sugar)
2 Tbs Fish sauce
3 Tbs Tamarind sauce
By now Astrid doesn't really measure things any more, just kind of throws things in until it tastes "right" (altho Astrid and I often debate the "right" amount of heat- I wasn’t sure how hot people could take and 1 Tbs was a good compromise). The first step is important- the cream in the can of coconut milk rises and separates while it sits. So you want to take advantage of that by maintaining the direction of the can, not shaking or jostling it be fore you remove the lid and then scoop off the cream, leaving the thinner milk layer behind for later. Heat the coconut cream on medium high until it starts to turn a beige-y brown and streak glassy as the sugars caramelize and the oils heat up (aka "breaking"). Mix in the curry paste controlling the heat so as not to burn. (For a spicy kick you can add an extra Tbs of curry paste or adjust at the end with Siracha chili sauce). Add the peanut butter and the rest of the coconut milk. Stir well until dissolved into the milk and continue to heat until it starts to thicken again. Then add the fish sauce (for a salty taste, so add more or less depending on how you feel), tamarind for the sour and the sugar for a deeper sweet note. The fat will ooze out of the peanut butter and coconut milk but a quick whisk or stir will bring it back together.
We then dipped the rolls into the sauce but I had a thought that if I put it in a squeeze bottle and was able to not stuff the rolls so big and get them closed I would squirt the sauce inside before finishing rolling to have an even less messy salad roll, plate free and hopefully napkin free.
