Spring Rolling Accident

What do you bring to a potluck hosted by a good cook? Something easy to serve, uncomplicated and tasty. We rolled the dice and opted for a never tried rice paper roll recipe with a straight off the i-net well reviewed peanut dipping sauce. Niki was right, the sauce failed miserably. It lacked peanut taste and had too much satay which covered up the flavors instead of enhancing them. I got so distracted by the botched dip, I made a Rachel-bakes-a-trifle error with two different elements of the recipe, resulting in the best accidental recipe of the century.

Here's how to make your own tasty mistake:

Cook brown rice vermicelli as per package instructions, usually for a minute in boiling water. Rinse, drain well, let cool completely, toss in a bit of rice wine vinegar and refrigerate for now.

Arrange ingredients in a small neat row on rice paper in an assembly line fashion: cut brown rice vermicelli (easier to assemble), julienned carrots, julienned peeled cucumbers, crisp rinsed bean sprouts, basil leaves.
Roll up as tightly as possible without compromising the rice wrap.
Add two large shrimps, continue rolling, folding in the edges.
Completed tucked in package.

Devilish* sauce mishap:

1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh chopped chives
1 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped unsalted peanuts

mix.
* devilish as in, playful in an appealingly bold way (insert high pitch Michael Jackson grabbing sound here.)
cut rice rolls in half. double dip. push away large crowd gathering for their share.

I was glad they held up their own around the rest of the delicious international fare! A complete success.


Worth pointing out: sinful spanakopita and mini baked samosas.