Asian Style Rice Wraps

These wraps are so fun to make and so versatile. There are probably a thousand combinations of different flavors you can include! I bought my rice paper at my local international market, but if you can't find it or you don't want to bother with such an interesting ingredient, you could use traditional flour wraps for the same type of effect. I like these wraps for their simple, fresh flavor. Included with a dipping sauce, they are like summertime comfort food. In the example below I used salmon and veggies with a doctored up sweet chili sauce, but you could easily add in left-over rice, or baby shrimp, or left-over chicken, or radishes, or spinach or make a peanut sauce or a hoisin sauce. Uhhh, you get the idea!

Oh, I wish I would have checked to see how blurry this picture was before I started chowing down!

Ingredients:

Wraps -

• 5 to 6 rice wrappers
• 2 small carrots, cut into small sticks
• 1/2 small cucumber, cut into small sticks
• a few slices of white onion
• handful of lettuce greens
• 1 large piece of broiled salmon (I cooked mine in the oven specifically for this meal, but you could use a left-over fillet or even a canned fillet!)

Sauce - 

• 2 Tbsp sweet red chili sauce
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp water

ONE: Organize your ingredients onto your work space so it will be easier to grab them when you're ready to start rolling the wraps. Pour a bit of warm water onto a dinner plate to use for softening the rice paper.


TWO: When the wrap is soft (it should feel like a wet noodle!) take it out of the water and place on a dry plate or cutting board. Immediately put another dry wrap into the water so it can soften while you work on the assembly. Layer the softened wrap with a little of each of your prepared ingredients. Drizzle with a little of the sauce.

 
THREE: Wrap the rice paper over the meat and veggies by first folding in the sides (perpendicular to your filling) and then fold the top down. Make sure you're wrapping tightly as you go, and keep in mind the rice paper is super sticky, so you can't really unfold. Finish rolling the wrap by bringing the partially covered filling down onto the bottom portion of the paper.

FOUR: Serve whole wraps (I don't recommend cutting them because they fall apart!) with any remaining sauce. If you don't want to bother making the wraps yourself, let your family make their own. It's fun!

Posted by Barb! :)


:)

Clean Eating Perfect Peanut Sauce

Makes about 1 cup of sauce
This really is as good as the name sounds and very easy to make. I could eat this every single day and never get tired of it :) If you’re really pressed for time, you can even just combine all of the ingredients and heat in the microwave. I usually quadruple the recipe to make a big batch and then freeze it in 1/2 and 1 cup portions for a quick throw together meal.

Perfect Peanut Sauce over pasta and veggies

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup smooth natural peanut butter
• ¼ cup light coconut milk (or skim milk and 1 tsp coconut extract or even just plain milk/water if you don't like coconut)
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sucanat/honey
• 1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 1 clove crushed garlic

ONE: Throw everything into a small saucepan (or medium if you're making more than one batch at once) and whisk well.

TWO: Heat over medium heat until sauce begins to bubble and thicken. You only want the sauce to thicken slightly until it just starts to coat the back of a spoon because it will thicken quite a bit more while it stands and once you've poured it over your pasta or whatever you're serving it with. If it gets too thick, thin it with a little bit of chicken broth or skim milk.

JUST coating the spoon... as soon as you see this get it off of the heat ASAP :)

Freeze using the small portions method to use as a dip or medium/large portions method to use as a sauce. Serve hot or cold.

NUTRITION INFO:

Per 1/4 cup - 150 Calories (104 Calories from Fat), 12g total Fat, 4g Saturated Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 152 mg Sodium, 9g Carbohydrates, 2g Dietary Fiber, 6g Sugars, 5g Protein, 0% DV Vitamin A, 4% DV Vitamin C, 1% DV Calcium, 4% DV Iron

:)