Another Non-Fried Springy Roll

Tonight, after 'eveningdreaming' of amazing fresh spring rolls I would make with the ingredients I was to lazy to go and buy, I fell sick and had a *huge* headache. The timing was perfect as I was in the middle of making these rolls. Again, I had no green onions, nor had I tofu; both of these ingredients I would have used had I had them. If I hadn't fell deathly sick for an hour tonight I might also have mustered up the energy to add fresh cilantro leaves, and fresh mushrooms. These were QUICK, like a 30 min Rachel Ray type dinner, healthy and tasted good. (Side Note: NEVER take a tablespoon of Castor oil on an empty stomach even if your ex-lax doesn't work.)

• 1 TB olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic chopped finely (for those of you who hate 'garlic hands' buy a bottle of minced garlic
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 4 or 5 pieces of black fungus (type of mushroom), rehydrated and cut into strips
• 2 cups cabbage grated instead of chopped for quickness
• 2 baby carrots grated
• 1/4 bell pepper thinly sliced long strips
• Stack of rice paper wrappers

Heat the oil, add the garlic and saute for one minute.

Add the onion and fungi(mushroom), and saute till onion is slightly soft. Don't worry about the fungi. :)

Add the cabbage, carrots, and pepper. Saute on high for 2-3 minutes. Take it OFF of the heat. Just put it on a cool stand as you do not want it to cook till it's mush.

SAUCE:

• 1/2 ts sesame seeds
• 1 ts Black Bean Paste
• 2 ts mushroom soy (I use Chings (not online) but this has good reviews, Pearl River Mushroom Soy
• 2 ts sushi vinegar
• few shakes of fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 ts dry mint
• 1/4 ts grated ginger
• 1/2 Ts Huey Fong Sambal Oelek Chili Paste

Put together all the above ingredients in a small bowl. Mix and pour onto your veggie section. Mix well. Add salt to taste, as well as any other extras of the above ingredients. Make sure you use SMALL increments and taste as you go, every time you add something, taste it. This will help you learn what type of flavor is imparted from each ingredient. And as each family in America is different, you can have it "your way"!

Fill a large bowl with some hot water (tap, don't go boiling water now). Dip a wrapper in, make sure the whole thing is coated with water, and wait 30 seconds as it softens. Place on a cutting board. Take a few spoonfuls of filling and place on the edge nearest to you. (I had to slightly squeeze the filling before it was added to the wrapper-- it let 'leak' a lot of juices). Use my handy dandy diagram if you have never rolled a spring roll before. Place the filling where indicated, and fold section A over it. Then fold over section B, and C. Now just roll the whole roll away from you, pushing forward, onwards and upwards!!! (Okay maybe not upwards.)

Guess what, you're done.

Some notes:
-As mentioned above, I would definitely add chopped green onions to the veggies (during the cabbage stage).
-I would also think strips of fried or baked (my favorite method) tofu would enhance the flavor.
-You can add a handful of cooked rice vermicelli.
-Baby corn (chopped).
-Some strips of cucumber, added right before filling the rolls, would create a fresher taste and crunch.

I hope you guys like this recipe, it's one of those fast (and healthy) meals that create a spike in the dullness factor of 'everyday' dinners.