Stay at Home this Valentine's Day with these Vietnamese Spring Rolls

We came across the most perfect recipe from Lauren Conrad that has us wanting to stay home this Valentine's Day and had to share! Taking only 30 minutes to prepare, these fabulously fresh spring rolls will have you falling in love with Vietnamese cuisine. You can customize your spring rolls and put almost anything inside of them. We recommend shrimp but you can use tofu or even make an all-veggie spring roll. Once you get the hang of handling the rice paper, making this dish is a cinch. Ready to roll? Let's go!

Ingredients:

For the spring rolls:
6 sheets of rice paper
1 cup carrots, julienned
½ cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup bean sprouts
½ cup fresh cilantro
2 cups cooked shrimp (you will use about three shrimp per roll)
2 limes

For the peanut dipping sauce:
one 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled
1 garlic clove
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts

Instructions: 
1. Slice your carrots julienne style, peel the tails off your shrimp, and prepare your mint, sprouts and cilantro. Set your veggies and shrimp aside while you begin to work on your rice papers.

2. Boil three cups of water in a medium-sized saucepan, then remove from heat and let cool to a warm temperature. Make sure your water is not too hot or your rice paper will break apart! Once your water has cooled to a warm temperature, take one rice paper and soak in the warm water for about 10-20 seconds, or until flexible and sticky. Place rice paper flat on a glass or porcelain plate.

3. Begin placing your toppings in the middle of your rice paper. We like to place the shrimp down first so that you can see them when you eventually roll everything up.

4. Gently fold your rice paper like a mini burrito, folding in the sides as you roll it up. Seal off your roll by folding the rice paper completely, and place on a serving plate. Repeat until you have your desired amount of spring rolls.

5. Now for the peanut sauce! Use a food processor or blender to finely chop up your peeled piece of ginger and garlic clove together. Once completely chopped, add in the creamy peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, 1/3 cup water and brown sugar. Blend until smooth, adding more water as necessary. Taste-test your peanut sauce as you go! Scoop peanut sauce into a small bowl or ramekin and top with crushed peanuts for extra crunch and texture.

We also highly recommend serving a little Sriracha on the side if you like that extra kick with your spring rolls. It adds the perfect amount of spice!

Stay at home this Valentine's Day with these Vietnamese Spring Rolls and devour the details of an easy meal you'll fall in love with!