Thai Salad Rolls

Thai salad rolls bring the freshness of the garden to the table. They are easy to prepare, and great with peanut sauce. A healthy snack or elegant appetizer.When all the ingredients aren't in season, some substitutions can be made. But they taste best when all the flavors come together; so I consider this a seasonal dish.

Ingredients

• Rounds of rice paper*
• Rice noodles (vermicelli)*
• Cucumber strips
• Basil leaves
• Carrot strips
• Mint leaves
• Cilantro leaves
• Lettuce leaves
• Steamed, shelled shrimp **(or strips of tofu)

* Many Asian cooking stores sell kits with the rice paper and noodles together.
**Shrimp can be quite environmentally harmful, or quite sustainable, depending on how it is raised or caught. When shopping, consult a guide to ecologically safe seafood.

Assembly

1. Prep all the veggies and herbs.
2. Cook or thaw the shrimp (if jumbo, also cut them in half).
3. Soak the rice noodles in hot water, and set aside in a bowl.
4. In a low, wide bowl of hot water, let each rice paper round rest for 45-60 seconds.
5. Each time a wrapper comes out of the water, either lay it on the assembly plate to fill, or place in a stack between damp paper towels.
6. Onto each wrapper, lay out a little of each ingredients, letting the long thin strips poke over one end, and leaving a bottom section empty for folding over.
7. To close, fold the bottom up over the 'feet' of the filling and roll the sides of the wrapper snugly around the middle, pulling lightly to avoid tearing the wrapper.
8. Set the new roll aside, and start again.

Notes:
Expect to eat a few mishaps before getting the technique down.
To better visualize the process, you may want to watch the video of Angelina making Thai salad rolls.