Shrimp Summer Rolls

I make these gorgeous shrimp summer rolls all the time and love them. They are healthy, creative, versatile and best of all are fun to make. I sometimes use cooked leftover chicken which I shred in place of the shrimp or marinated diced tofu. Traditionally these rolls have cooked vermicelli noodles as the filler but I prefer them this way with fresh crunchy julienne vegetables, fresh herbs and ripe avocado.

Ingredients

3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled, de-veined, cooked (or ground pork, cooked all the way through in 1 Tb. vegetable oil with 1 Tb. fish sauce)

8 to 12 leaves red leaf lettuce

1 package small spring roll skins, eight inch rounds- also called rice paper wrappers

½ cup packed cilantro, rinsed, dried

½ cup packed mint, rinsed, dried

½ cup packed basil leaves, rinsed, dried

1/2 English cucumber, seeded, julienne

1 red pepper, julienne

2 ripe avocados, cut into thin slices

Lime Dipping Sauce

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Juice of 3 limes

1/4 cup fish sauce

3 Tb. sugar

1 Tb. minced garlic

Procedure

1. Slice the shrimp in half lengthwise. Set aside.
2. Remove the center rib of the lettuce leaves and tear leaves into large chunks. Set aside.
3. Soak a few wrappers at a time in warm water until pliable.
4. Fill the summer rolls as demonstrated.
5. Place seam side down on a baking sheet until they are all finished. Cut on the diagonal and serve with dipping sauce.
6. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes to dissolve the sugar. You can store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.

* You can substitute the tofu for the shrimp, drained and finely diced.