gỏi cuốn (summer rolls) with peanut sauce

when i mentioned some finger mutilation the other day, i wasn't kidding. ignore the accidental-but-still-appropriate west-coast gang sign.

last week i started a kitchen internship at clyde common. i've all but managed a restaurant before, but it was a tiny café with twenty five seats and a menu that hadn't changed in years. clyde common is an entirely different playing field, one in which i am reminded every day of just how much i don't know. 

in fact, my first day there left me so traumatized that i somehow found myself wandering around the pearl district and, lo and behold, inside sur la table, whence i walked out shortly thereafter having spent an exorbitant amount of money on one of these babies. far and away the most expensive thing i've bought for myself in years, but better to impulsively buy a beautiful tool that i'll use for the rest of my life than to, say, channel my insecurities into drug purchases. after all, for every pretentious, heavily tattooed portland food snob, there is a twitching portland meth head endlessly riding the bus loop. (portland!)

my knives and i, we've been getting increasingly intimate these past few weeks. i'm happy to say that my scarred fingertips have nothing to do with the knives but instead involved a nasty accident with a very dull mandoline and a 25 lb. box of red onions. i've been learning so much that it's made my head spin, and i'm thrilled about it--and the job in general. and while i admit that i have an overwhelming amount of progress left to make (as my boss reminds me multiple times daily), look at this julienne (!):

the other night, to bid chloe farewell before she left for nerd camp, ross and i made gỏi cuốn; something that i used to obsess over with two of my best high school friends. as delicious as mint, basil, and spicy peanut sauce are, for me summer rolls are less about taste than texture: all crisp and crunch and cool, with a pleasing gummy chewiness from the rice paper. if rice noodles and paper are readily available to you, these are a breeze to throw together: even moreso if you're looking for some intensive chopping practice.

gỏi cuốn with peanut dipping sauce
adapted from the kitchn
makes 8 rolls or more
for sauce:

• 2 tbsp creamy organic or natural peanut butter
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• juice from 1/2 a lime

for the rolls:

• 1 package cellophane noodles (also called bean threads), roughly 4 oz
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• red pepper flakes
• 1 cucumber, peeled according to your liking
• 2 medium carrots, peeled
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2-3 medium radishes
• 2 scallions, chopped
• several handfuls each fresh mint and basil
• 1 package rice paper wrappers

whisk together all ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

prepare the cellophane noodles according to the package directions. drain the noodles, put them in a bowl, and toss with the sesame oil and a dash of red pepper flakes.

use a mandoline or a sharp knife to slice the cucumber and carrot into thin strips. julienne the red pepper and the radishes. i like to use a wide platter with each filling ingredient (cucumber, carrot, red pepper, radish, scallion, noodles, mint, basil) in a separate pile so you can switch up the ratios and combinations of each roll depending on individual preferences.

prepare the rice paper according to package directions. we filled a shallow cake pan with cool water and immersed each wrapper individually until it softened, about 10 seconds. working with one wrapped at a time, lay a wrapped on your work surface and fill it first with about 2 tablespoons of noodles. then, add vegetables to your preference--while you don't want to overfill, you don't need to skimp too much since rice paper is slightly stretchy and your rolls will look the best if your paper is stretched taught over your fillings. add a few basil and/or mint leaves--i like 3-4 leaves per roll.

to roll, fold the edge of the wrapper farthest from you over the filling, then fold in the edges towards the center and continue rolling the filled wrapper towards you until it's closed and snug. i like to place the mint and basil closer to the front edge of the wrapper, so that they are rolled into the last layer and show through the top of the finished roll. there are some good instructions here--you would be placing your herbs where they put the shrimp in this video, so that they're still visible. as you finish each roll, place it on a cookie sheet and cover the rolls with a damp towel. refrigerate if not serving right away.

to serve, slice in half--i like a bias cut here--and serve with peanut sauce.