This week has been a write off as far as getting any work done… PA days, sick kids, doctors appointments, and I could go on, but I won’t. So! Three people (with very different ideas about delicious) home for lunch today. How to make one meal that everyone will eat and enjoy? Salad rolls is one of my favourite answers to that question. A bit more work than I usually put into lunch, but worth it for the fun.
To start, whip up some peanut sauce. For this one, I fried some chopped garlic and onions, added some chilli powder, water, brown sugar, and natural peanut butter. Let it thicken, then cool a bit, stir in fresh lime juice and set aside. Cook rice vermicelli, and set it aside to cool. Julienne your favourite fillings. We had carrots, yellow pepper, cucumber, lettuce, and avocado. For protein, I thawed out some pre-cooked shrimp, and for a flavour zing, there can never be enough fresh cilantro. All of this goes in the middle of the table. Bring a bowl of hot water, big enough to immerse the rice paper. Put them in one at a time, and when soft, pass them out to the assemblers/eaters. The kids get to pick their own fillings and have a blast making all sorts of unconventional ‘rolls’. My daughter likes to make ‘noodle purses’, while my son excels at ‘everything mash-ups’. No matter what the shape, it was all delicious.