New Year Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Happy 2019!

The first Sunday of the new year ushers in new beginnings, and there is no better way to start the year than with these New Year Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce! This East-meets-West (Indies) take on fresh Vietnamese spring rolls is a bright, colorful recipe that takes only 10 minute to make and tastes amazingly delicious.

The start of another year has inspired me to try some new things, and this dish is one of them. For one thing, this recipe is Asian inspired, a first for the blog. I liked the idea of starting the new year by trying to make food from a different part of the world, and the challenge of trying to add Caribbean flavors to an Asian dish was pretty exciting.

It was also surprisingly easy as Vietnamese and Caribbean food actually overlap quite a bit! Fruits like mangoes and herbs such as mint are commonly used in both cuisines and both are featured in this recipe.

The second new thing about this recipe is that it uses brown rice paper wrappers, which I had never tried before. They are great! To me, they have more flavor than traditional rice paper wrappers and they are also a bit stronger, making them easier to work with. All you have to do is dip the wrappers in warm water for a few seconds and it’s ready to roll! (ha, I had to).

I enjoy spring rolls you can honestly just roll up what ever you want. Today, I decided to go with shrimp, mangoes, spinach, bell peppers, carrots, mint, and cabbage. And because every roll needs to be dipped, I made a quick peanut dipping sauce from natural peanut butter and a few additional ingredients. The dipping sauce takes seconds to make but it is a perfect compliment to these spring rolls. Even with the peanut butter, this is a pretty healthy dish. You can easily swap out the shrimp for tofu to make the recipe meat-free.

I hope that like me, you’ll use this year to try something new. Even better, I hope you start by making these rolls!

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If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know by rating it and leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you. And don’t forget to tag #sweetandsorrel on Instagram!

Ingredients

For the Spring Rolls

• 1 package Vietnamese brown rice paper wrappers (about 24 wrappers)
• 2 lbs jumbo shrimp, cooked and chilled
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 1 small purple cabbage, finely diced
• 1 large mango, peeled and sliced thinly
• 12 mint leaves, torn loosely

For the Peanut Dipping Sauce

• 1/4 cup natural smooth peanut butter
• 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
• 1 tbsp water (plus more if needed)

Directions

1. Fill a large mixing bowl with warm water and set aside. Working with one wrapper at a time, dip wrapper into the warm water for about 10-15 seconds. Work slowly and rotate the wrapper in order to make sure the water coats it evenly. Remove the wrapper when it becomes soft and place on a clean, damp surface.
2. Place three pieces of shrimp in the middle of the wrapper, followed by a few pieces of spinach, carrot, mango, mint, and cabbage. Bring one end of the wrapper towards the middle of the roll, then join the opposite end and seal the sides. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. While you work, cover the completed rolls with a damp towel to ensure that the rolls will not dry out.
3. To make the peanut dipping sauce, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. If you desire a thinner sauce, add more water.
4. Serve immediately.