How to make Spring/Summer Rolls and peanut sauce recipe
Summer Rolls Vegan Lunchbox-Style
Gluten-Free Soy-Free Chinese Fried Rice Recipe
Soy-free Szechuan Chinese Pea Recipe
Soy-free Szechuan Chili-Zucchini Brown fried Rice Recipe

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Gluten-Free Soy-Free Living- Challenge #3 Gluten Free Vegetarian Sushi without the soy sauce (and without missing it!)
Recipes, Tricks and tips for gloriously yummy (and healthy) Japanese dining- out AND at home!
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Gluten-Free Soy-Free Living- Challenge #1 Gluten-Free,Soy-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soy-Free Chinese Jicama Stir Fry Main Course  Vegetables  Chinese

Ingredients 1/2 cup Canola Oil (or peanut, if allergies don’t forbid) 1 tbsp. szechuan peppercorns a few slices of fresh ginger 2 large garlic cloves 2 scallions, just the white part 1 small jicama or 3/4 large jicama, peeled and cut into sticks 2 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks 8 med-lg. mushrooms (white or crimini), washed, stems removed, sliced 1/4 tsp. salt (NO LESS! Chinese food NEEDS the saltiness, and remember, you’ve already cut down on sodium by not using soy sauce) 2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced Sauce: 1/2 cup vegetable stock (or make from vegetable bullion) 1 tsp. mirin 1 tsp. brandy 1/2 tsp. rice vinegar 2 tsp. honey a touch of salt 1 tsp. cornstarch (the important measurements here are the VEG STOCK AND CORNSTARCH. proportions of the alcohol and honey etc. are estimated- just add until you’ve created a balance in sauce that you like. This isn’t a lip-smackingly yummy sauce on its own- it is to add depth of flavor to well seasoned vegetables that are already flavorful) Directions Szechuan oil: Heat a wok on high and add Szechuan to pan, tossing lightly. Turn heat to low and toast peppercorn lightly, stirring frequently- about a minute and a half. Add the peanut oil and raise heat to medium or medium high, depending on your stove. Once oil begins to bubble lightly (if it ever does), add ginger, and garlic cloves. Lower heat and let cook until the garlic cloves and ginger turns brown. You may want to turn them in the oil to get them brown on both sides. When they are golden brown remove them and discard. Add in the white part of the scallions and let it brown, and then remove it from the oil and discard. You should have nicely flavored oil by now. If you have the patience, let cool and strain into a glass container (with a lid). If you don’t have the patience, strain with heat resistant metal strainer after letting it reach a cooler temperature into a heat resistant metal or glass. You don’t need to clean your wok if you are planning on immediately making this stir fry. Mix your sauce ingredients in a small bowl and reserve. Add cornstarch last by mixing it with a small amount of the sauce first and then adding it to the sauce. Take two tablespoons of the flavored oil and heat in your wok over high heat. Toss in your salt and then, a few seconds later, your fresh minced ginger. As it starts to brown, throw in your jicama sticks. Move them in the wok with cooking chopsticks or other wooden cooking device (I have a wooden paddle thing I’m rather fond of) to allow them to brown evenly and not burn as well as get evenly coated with the yummy oil. After two minutes or so, add in the mushrooms, and then the carrots. You do NOT want to overcook the carrots, so watch them carefully. You want the mushrooms to be nice and soft and melty and the carrots to be crisp tender. Continue moving the food around as needed. When the dish seems ALMOST done, stir your sauce one last time and create a well in the center of the wok. Add the sauce to the center of the wok and then fold in the veggies as it thickens. Make sure the sauce has evenly coated all the veggies and then turn off the heat. Remove from wok and place in serving dish. Notes If needed, you can add more oil right before you add the mushrooms and carrots, but try to let the oil heat up a little before adding the next ingredients, and keep the jicama away from it on the sides of the wok. You can also experiment with LESS oil, but it adds a lot of flavor and the interest to the dish, so I would try it first with the given amount and then adjust for your own tastes. Steamed veggies are an alternative for the super-health conscious- but I’ve never been keen on them and the goal here is to achieve lip-smacking Chinese restaurant style tastiness without soy or gluten. You can serve this with rice (white or brown), rice noodles, or even in a summer roll rice paper wrap. Craziness, I know. :)

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission or I will have to send Ra and his minions after you. Recipe ID:  1286 Added:  August 23, 2008 Last Modified:  September 6, 2008

I think the first time I ever had summer rolls with peanut sauce was at this little vegetarian cafe in Boulder, Colorado called “The Creative Vegetarian Cafe.” That place was responsible for introducing me to many new foods, including breakfast dosas, tempeh that actually tasted good, and last but not least, the summer roll. The combination of crisp, fresh vegetables in a soft rice wrapper and creamy rich peanut sauce was swoon-worthy; and being me once I tried it and figured out how good it was, I wanted to have it all the time. The only problem was, one just wasn’t enough. I could find them as snacks in the local health food store, but they were quite expensive- being almost $4 for one little roll. And, often the peanut sauce had wheat based soy sauce in it, making my favorite part of the whole experience off limits. So, I decided I needed to learn to make my own.

I was a little confused by the name, though. Some restaurants seemed to call them fresh spring rolls, and other called them summer rolls. But which were they? The consensus seems to be that spring rolls originated in China, and are always fried, while summer rolls developed in Vietnam or Thailand and are generally served fresh. After some time consulting vegetarian and vietnamese or Thai cookbooks, I figured out how to make my own. Happily, once you have the ingredients prepped, it doesn’t take that much time to make a batch. They keep reasonably well for a day or so, although with the right fillings they could last longer. And they are extremely portable- although packing the sauce takes a little planning.

Fillings can really vary depending on your individual preference, but my standard includes rice noodles, crisp lettuce, carrot, mint, and some kind of sauteed tofu. But honestly, it’s all about the sauce, isn’t it? “Summer rolls are normally dipped in either a simple sauce consisting of hoisin sauce, garlic, peanut butter, and water which are boiled until well blended or a combination of fish sauce, garlic, sugar, lime, and carrot.” (source: Wikipedia) Personally I like to make a peanut sauce, but if I have extra time, a sweet chili sauce or prepared plum sauce goes nicely as well.

Here’s how I generally make my summer rolls…

I season pressed, sliced tofu sticks to taste. Usually I baste Chili garlic sauce on the tofu, but tonight I mixed wheat free teriyaki sauce by Edwards and Sons with my Chili Garlic Sauce. Then I sautee the tofu slices in a little oil in a frypan, adding salt or other seasonings if desired. You could substitute seafood or chicken if that is more to your taste.
I prepare all of my vegetables, cutting cucumbers, carrots, and green onions into matchsticks. (You can add anything though- I often add avocado slices, and today I used yellow pepper that I needed to use up from the farmer’s market.) Then I rinse and dry any greens, such as lettuce and fresh herbs (mint is mandatory for me, but you can use cilantro, fresh basil- or anything that inspires you). I also prepare Thai rice noodles by adding them to boiling water and turning off the heat. I think it takes about 3 minutes, but let them soften until no longer crunchy. Then I rinse them under cold water and let them drain. I lay all my filling ingredients out on plates for easy access, and prepare a wide bowl/ plate for softening the rice wrappers. I heat some hot water in a teapot and keep it close. Then I briefly soak each rice paper wrapper in the hot water, put them on a nice flat surface (some recipes suggest a damp towel, but either way is fine), pile the ingredients neatly at the bottom of the round rice sheet, roll it over once, tucking the veggies in, fold the sides like a burrito, creating an envelope, and finish rolling the package to make a little cylinder. I then place the prepared summer rolls carefully on a flat surface to dry NOT touching each other if possible (or they could stick together). They should dry and seal themselves shut. You then have beautiful little packages of flavor and freshness, that you can take just about anywhere.

You could put anything in them of course- at a yuppie deli in Chiba-shi, Japan they had ones with potato salad inside, prawns, smoked salmon and cream
cheese… even bits of beef or chicken! Of course you have to change the sauce to suit the filling, but that’s all part of the fun, isn’t it?

If you’d like to see someone making one of these, and some professional tips for making them as a carry along snack, watch this:
An excellent instructional video showing how to make summer rolls

I like any sauce, but my personal favorite has to be the sauce below; it is the product of many comparison tests. It’s an interesting recipe because it doesn’t use high calorie, high fat coconut milk like many recipes do, but yet it still manages to be delightfully creamy and decadent. It’s all about caramelizing the onions… If you’re going to make spring rolls, you gotta make a sauce to go with them. And if peanuts aren’t your thing- sweet chili sauce is the next best thing. Enjoy… And remember, if you have sauce left over- you can use it in a killer Thai salad with rice noodles and veggies! I know it’s not summer yet… But any time of year is a good time to enjoy a crisp, delightful summer roll.

Thai Peanut Sauce Sauces & Condiments  Thai

Ingredients 1 sliced small onion 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 2 cloves crushed garlic 3/4 cup NATURAL peanut butter or 1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons lime juice Directions Saute onion and garlic in oil til tender. Cool. Place in blender, add everything else, and blend carefully. Slowly and carefully add enough boiling water to form a thick paste. (I like it about the texture of slightly thinned peanut butter.)

Rating:  9 Original Source:   Recipe ID:  1029 Added:  March 3, 2007 Last Modified:  March 3, 2007