An Elite Spread

Peanut butter is elite, a monarch in its category, liege of spreads and saviour of poorly seasoned dishes. In the summer of 2020 a friend and I confirmed our theories on the near magical properties of peanut butter. New to cooking vegan dishes, we were nearly undone by our chickpea curry, it was lacking in many categories; texture, colour, smell and most importantly taste, but several heaped spoons of that golden paste later and we were set. This was a summer of discoveries, experimentation is the key to development no matter the genre and we were on a warpath; peanut butter in coffee, in soup, on bread with banana (a classic to be fair), or on particularly lazy nights simply adding a scoop to boiled rice, hell we were ready to start moisturising with it at this point. Later that summer was when we found the pièce de résistance of our dishes to date, rice paper rolls. In all honesty I had been making them for years, and had loved them since my introduction to them whenever that had occurred, but the addition of peanut butter to my usual sauce had brought a wholly other love for them to light.

Now I would like to acknowledge the existence of rice paper rolls in Vietnamese culture and their genius behind the creation (alongside my limited knowledge there-of) and note that I am fully aware that this recipe more than likely exists in the world and has since well before my ability to wield a spoon, however this tale pertains specifically to my own enlightenment on the matter, not as a proclamation of original discovery. Also, the beauty of rice paper rolls is that they are a uniquely customisable dish, capable of satiating a variety of pallets, and therefore also open to constant improvement. They are more flexible than a contortionist so can suit most dietary needs, vegan to carnivore, and are pretty healthy. With that said, to the recipe.

The usual set of veggies get prepped and arranged on a cutting board, I am one for a conga-line of build-it-yourself style creation but however you roll. Carrots, cucumber, sprouts, spring onions (green onions), capsicum (peppers), if it’s to your taste and can be eaten raw it is pretty much included for the veggies. It all gets julienned (it can be grated or diced as per textural requirements). I’m a fan of a little spice so I have some thin strips of green chilli prepped also. Herbs are always a bonus, I am a coriander (cilantro) gal so that's also present in this line up, parsley would make a lovely replacement, even chives would add a good earthy bite. Here is where you can add shredded chicken or even tofu, honestly whatever protein takes your fancy but it works well without, if you need extra bulk vermicelli noodles are key. With the filling ready, the sauce is next. My former recipe was a fairly standard Asian mix: soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, lime juice, chilli. Fresh is always best but substitutes are more than ok. But of course this recipe found its final form with the addition of the embodiment of all that is spreadable, peanut butter. Again we find flexibility in the sauce, this can be left with the ingredients diced and even using chunky peanut butter for the more dynamic texture or deposit all in a blender and blitz until creamy. This sauce can be cosy with the filling on the inside or set aside to dip if that's more your style but build to your heart's content and enjoy your refreshing, customisable dish for the enlightened.

Rice Paper Roll Recipe

(Rediscovered by an Australian whilst in Canada)

Filling: (Raw veggies of your preference)

Carrot, cucumber, sprouts, capsicum/pepper, shallots/spring onions/green onions, vermicelli noodles, chicken or tofu, green chilli.

Preparation: Cut all into thin strips to fit within the rice paper, leaving an inch of room either side to fold.

Sauce: (I measure with my heart but will add approximations)

Peanut butter (½ cup), soy sauce ( ½ cup), sesame oil (1tsp if normal, 1Tbsp if you're like me), lime juice (1 lime or a quarter cup) , *garlic (2 - 10 cloves it's really your choice), *ginger (1 inch, I don’t even know how to measure ginger). Optional: Chilli and coriander/cilantro stalk.

*Note* Fresh is best, jar is fine but I am not sure powdered would work here

Preparation: Finely dice all and mix together or blend until smooth. Use water to thin if needed.

Building: Prepare the rice paper as per instructions on the packet. Add desired toppings. Roll into a beautiful log (I fold the sides over the ends of the filling, fold the bottom over the ingredients then tuck and roll. Watch a video if needed.) Then dip for sauce or just more sauce and ENJOY!