Vegan Spring Rolls with Spicy Thai Dipping Sauce

I LOVE Asian Food, especially spring rolls or dumplings/wontons. Several years ago I decided to make my own and have ever since. They are super super easy and yummy!! Everybody always loves them as well! Several people have been asking for the recipe so I'm posting the instructions now and will add better/more pictures next time I make them. :)

First, let me say, that you can pretty much put whatever you want in them. I start with two/three basic filler ingredients and sometimes do different varieties depending on the mood and ingredients in the house. I'll give some suggestions at the end. 

My mouth is watering just looking at these!!!! 

I'm doing a candida cleanse so unfortunately I won't be having them for a while, unless we get successful with using rice paper, which is highly possible! 

Ingredients

(Makes approximately 12, depending on amount of ingredients used)

Ingredients should be adjusted according to preference, I never measure, so these are guidelines.

Package of square Spring Roll Wrappers 

1/4 - 1/2 of a head of Shredded Cabbage (cut into small pieces no more then an inch long)

1 - 2 Carrots, shredded (I run mine through the FP shoot to shred, quick and easy, you can also hand shred. I use about 1/4 to 1/2 carrots to cabbage). I tend to shred carrots about once a week and store them in a mason jar so they're readily available for salads and spring rolls, etc. 

3 - 4 Green Onions (chopped)

2 - 3 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped 

Sea Salt (not too much because it will break the cabbage down and make it too soggy)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil ( EVOO) for pan frying
Small glass/bowl of water for sealing edge of wrapper

I tend to change it up when I make these some of the seasonings that I tend to add:

Cayenne Pepper

Cumin
Ginger

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS (for variety):

Add enough for flavor but not too much. Add to basic ingredients above.

Tomato and Avocado - I love this combo, tomatoes can make it soggy though. 

Mushrooms and Avocado - Another favorite, mushrooms can get soggy too.

Tomatoes, Avocado or Mushrooms could easily be added on their own verses in combo. 

Mung Bean Sprouts
Bell peppers - personally I'm not a fan of peppers
Imitation crab meat
Peas

SPICY THAI DIPPING SAUCEIngredients:

1/3C Nut Free Butter of your choice (I'm using Sun-nut butter now that I can't have peanut butter, feel free to use Peanut Butter if you prefer. You can also use Almond or Cashew butter)
2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Peanut or Sesame oil also work, or 1T of each)
1/2 Lemon freshly squeezed
4T Water
1T Maple Syrup (pure maple syrup NOT maple flavored syrup, agave would also work)
1 Clove of Garlic
1/4t of Cayenne Pepper (adjust to taste)
Sea Salt (adjust to taste)

Blend in high speed blender or magic bullet.
Adjust ingredients for your taste and desire consistency.

NOTE: 

Spring Roll Wrappers are available in the refrigerator section, usually near the produce, or lumpia or pastry Wrappers in the freezer section. I tend to go for the ones with least ingredients (and free of dairy/corn). Unfortunately I haven't easily gotten my hands on gluten free ones. I tend to buy the Spring Roll Pastry below. You can also buy Wonton wrappers and make smaller wonton/dumplings, which can also be steamed. 

***The last time I made these, I didn't document the process, otherwise I would have better pictures to follow. As I mentioned before, I've gotten so many requests for the recipe that I wanted to try to document something.***

Rolling:

You can follow the instructions on the wrappers for how to roll them. (I'll do my best to explain sans pictures). I tend to do this on a clean cutting board. Make sure you have a small glass or bowl of water. 

Put the Wrapper at an angle (corner facing you). 

Place a spoonful, maybe a little more on the wrapper closest to you, leaving enough wrapper exposed to wrap around filling. Don't put too much or it will explode or fall apart. You'll have to play around until you get it a good size. 

Lift the corner facing you and fold away from you over the filling, tucking it tightly under the filling. Roll one full roll then fold the two side corners in and continue rolling away from you, trying to keep the roll tight without tearing the wrap. Don't roll all the way, leave a bit of the last corner exposed.

Dab your fingers in water and run along the last edges of the wrapper and continue rolling, this will help keep the corner from coming undone. 

I try to place the last edge down so it doesn't unroll. 

Continue until you have made the amount you want or run out of mixture or wrappers. 

You can refrigerate left over rolls and reheat in a frying pan with a little oil, or if you're like me eat them cold, they're that good, sometimes I can't wait to heat them! They'll get a little soggy in the fridge but will get crispy again when you pan fry them.

Cooking (Pan Fry):

Put some Olive oil in a frying pan, a little more then covering the bottom, (cast iron or a coated pan work best) and heat for a few minutes. (Note: you do not need to immerse the whole roll in oil, a little oil goes a long way. If it gets low while I'm cooking, I just add a little more). 

Place the spring rolls in the oil. (I tend to do this with the last edge face down)

Rotate spring rolls until all edges are golden brown and remove from oil. 

Place on dish to cool. 

Cooking Alternative (Baking):

I only tried this once when I was cooking a mass quantity, so I'm no expert on this method. 

Pre-heat ove to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Brush the entire spring roll lightly with Olive oil. 

Place the rolls on a baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes and rotate and bake another 10 minutes or so. 

The goal should be golden brown like my picture above and crisp all over. 

For Wontons/Dumplings: Put a small amount in the center and fold over to make a triangle. Run a bit of water along two sides and press to seal. You can steam these, pan fry or bake as well.