Shrimp Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Makes 16 rolls and 1 cup sauce

For the rolls
1 pound cooked small shrimp, peeled and tails removed
4 cups rice stick vermicelli noodles
1 cup mint leaves
1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
2 carrots, julienned
Lettuce leaves, julienned
Rice paper wrappers

Cook the noodles according to package directions, and then rinse them under cold water. Chop them into one-inch pieces, and set them aside in the fridge to chill.

Place one rice paper wrap in a large dish full of warm water for 30 seconds to one minute to soften it. Remove it from the water and place it on a dry surface. Layer it with a pinch of rice noodles, four small shrimp, two mint leaves, 1 tablespoon cilantro, and several slices of julienned carrots. Top it with a torn lettuce leaf.

Fold the spring roll up like a burrito – first fold the right and left sides of the wrapper over the filling in the middle, and then pull the bottom edge of the wrapper up over the filling and finish by rolling it up. Set it aside, and continue filling rolls until the filling runs out. Serve with spicy peanut dipping sauce.

For the sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and diced

1 clove garlic

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon chili paste or ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup natural smooth peanut butter

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Pulse the ginger, garlic, and sugar in a blender or food processor. Add the chili paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil and pulse until smooth. Add 1/3 cup of water to thin out the sauce, then taste and add salt if necessary. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour.