VEG PAD THAI SPRING ROLLS (gf, V, Sf)

I can’t even look at these spring rolls without swooning. They are so beautiful. ALL THE COLORS. ALL THE GOODNESS. This recipe was inspired by the Vegetable Pad Thai from Minimalist Baker but with a few tweaks and then turned into a spring roll. Pad Thai you can eat with your hands without looking like a 2 year old eating spaghettios? I’ll take it.

Lovely carrot and collard ribbons {instead of rice noodles that you usually see in Pad Thai} and a few other things you probably have in your kitchen already, are thrown together to create this divine + spicy + earthy yet bright + healthy dish that you will want to make ALL THE TIME. This is one of those dishes that would work so well for a dinner party where you have a lot of different diet preferences to accommodate. It will make your vegan and GF loves’ toes curl right on up and your carnivores can eat one up right next to their bowl of curry with crispy duck or Momofuku style chicken wings.

Everyone can be happy and hold hands and sing campfire songs. See? World peace just from some Pad Thai Spring Rolls. We are making miracles around here, loves.

I also included a generous grating of fresh turmeric and ginger to boost the nutritional value even more in this already through the roof healthy dish. Whole Foods always has a basket full of fresh turmeric so grab a handful when you’re there and use it for things like this dish or an immune boosting Golden Milk Latte. If you don’t have access to fresh turmeric, you can absolutely substitute the dry version that is available in just about every grocery store!

LOOK AT THOSE COLORS.

These are great to pack in your lunch for the office or in your kids’ lunch boxes if they are adventurous. My Reagan would eat these up – my Rylee? Not so much. PB&J every damn day.

Let’s talk details.

You’re going to gather up all your vegetables – if you don’t like this list, feel free to sub the vegetables that you have on hand or go shopping for the ones that make you think happy thoughts.

You’re going to slice everything up into ribbons and then saute them up real easy and quick like. Then you’re going to douse them with a fast almond butter pad thai sauce that is just so fantastic! Then you will wrap them up into a rice paper wrap {or a collard wrap, or just plate over some greens if you are Whole 30-ing it up these days}. I also made this recently for Todd and served it over some simple quinoa for protein!

The only tricky part to this recipe is wrapping the little babes up in the rice paper. If you haven’t done this before, don’t panic. You will get the hang of it after a couple of weird looking ones. Maybe you’ll have a couple of rolls that just look plain phallic – it’s ok. Deep breaths. Laugh at yourself and then try again.

I’m sorry {not sorry} you had to see that up there. This dish is fantastic – but it makes me giggle, too.

Ok, enough of that. Back to the important details.

The trick is to make a compact mound of filling in the lower third of the softened wrap, wrap the bottom part over tightly… fold the sides over and then roll the rest of the way over. You can double roll if it makes your heart a little calmer.

This is an extremely easy and versatile dish that you will keep in your back pocket and find in your weekly rotation of go-to meals. I hope you’ll make it this week! Be sure to snap a picture and tag @saltandcharm on Insta if you do! {have you followed @saltandcharm yet? Come on over and chat with us there if you haven’t already!}

* To make this Whole 30 compliant, omit the maple syrup from the Pad Thai Sauce and adjust seasonings to your liking then serve over a bed of greens instead of wrapping them in rice paper, add some chicken for protein and you’re set!

* I use coconut aminos because I can’t have any soy products. You can use GF or regular soy sauce in the same proportions if that suits your fancy better!

* To make this a little less spicy, reduce the amount of crushed red pepper in the sauce and be sure to remove all seeds and membranes from the serrano peppers.

* Full detailed recipe is found below – scroll to the bottom of this post!

Talk to me – use the comment box below and introduce yourself… I’d love to get to know you a bit!

I sure do love you all! (especially YOU!)

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WHAT YOU NEED {10-12 rolls}

For the sauce:

5 tablespoons creamy almond butter

7 tablespoons lime juice

6 tablespoons coconut aminos

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

3 tablespoons maple syrup or agave (omit if on Whole 30)

For wraps:

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 serrano peppers, seeded + sliced thinly

2 cups red cabbage, sliced thinly

1 red bell pepper, seeded + sliced thinly

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded + sliced thinly

6 carrots, peeled into ribbons

6 fresh collard leaves, stems removed + sliced into ribbons

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh turmeric

8 1/2 inch spring roll wrappers

2 tablespoons coconut aminos or GF soy sauce

Fresh cilantro, washed and picked

WHAT YOU DO

For the sauce:

1. Whisk all ingredients together and set aside. If you are on Whole 30 or have eliminated sugars from your diet, omit the maple sugar and adjust seasonings to your taste.

For the filling:

1. Prepare all of your veg. Seed and slice everything up before you start! This cooks quickly so you don’t want to get caught chopping while your filling is cooking.

2. For the carrots, use a vegetable peeler and slice them into long thin ribbons. For the collards, cut out the thick stem, stack them all up, roll up and then slice into ribbons.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the sesame oil (or water if you are not using oils)

4. Add the serrano peppers, red cabbage, red and yellow peppers and 1 Tablespoon coconut aminos. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

5. Add the carrots, collards, ginger, turmeric and remaining 1 tablespoon coconut aminos. Saute for an additional 5-6 minutes or until everything is cooked through.

6. Add enough sauce to coat well, reserve the remaining sauce for dipping!

7. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before you wrap in rice paper.

To assemble:

1. Fill a container that is slightly larger than your rice paper with hot water. Submerge one wrapper at a time into the hot water. Flip it over. Leave in the water just long enough to make sure the whole thing is wet. It will continue to soften a little when you take it out.

2. Remove from the water and lay flat on a cutting board or clean counter. Place a mound of filling in the bottom third of the wrapper. Add a layer of fresh cilantro leaves on top of the filling – as much as you want!

3. Wrap the bottom over the filling tightly and then fold the sides in. Continue to roll away from you, tucking the ingredients in tighter as you go.

4. That’s it – you’re done! Serve immediately with extra sauce for dipping!

All images by Matthew Ray.

FULL TABLE

VEG PAD THAI SPRING ROLLS (gf, v, sf)