Jeremy and Autumn came over for dinner one night this week — Lisa made these fresh rolls, which filled us up much more than the tiny seafood salad I made. The peanut sauce was also really, really good.

Chris says:

Yay, I love these; we haven’t made them in a while…

Lisa says:

I’m glad I made as many as I did. That dinner you made was barely enough for one, let alone four!

Autumn says:

How’d you get the tofu to not get all mushy?

Lisa says:

Apparently the trick is to roll it in a bit of flour first. It works really well!

Jeremy says:

These are tasty, thanks!

Chris says:

Um, did the four of us just eat 17 of these things?

Vietnamese Summer Rolls
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12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 ounces rice noodles/sticks
4 Ounces firm tofu
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp oil
16 round rice paper sheets
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add shrimp; cook until pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Slice cooked shrimp in half lengthwise. Set aside. In a medium bowl, cover rice noodles with hot water by 2 inches; let soak for 15 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Set aside. Cut tofu into sticks, roll in flour and lightly fry in oil. Place on paper towel to drain.
Fill a shallow dish with warm water. Working with 1 rice-paper wrapper at a time, soak in water for 30 seconds; immediately lay flat on a work surface. Place 3 reserved shrimp halves, cut sides up, on bottom third, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Place 1 piece of tofu over shrimp. Top with 1/4 cup assortment of rice noodles, carrots, cucumbers, mint, basil, and cilantro. Fold bottom of wrapper over fillings; roll over once, tuck in sides, and finish rolling.
Place finished roll on a plate; cover with a damp paper towel. Repeat process with remaining ingredients. Serve with peanut dipping sauce.