Prawn and Quinoa Rice Paper Rolls

These are healthy spring rolls which are not fried, and therefore have no oil.  Rice paper rolls are easy to work with, and are an Asian speciality and available in the Asian isle of most supermarkets.

The prawns have been roasted in the oven, and the quinoa boiled, plus the recipe has raw vegetables in it.  It therefore has many healthy elements to it and saves you making a salad.  They are great either hot or cold, on a buffet table, and I also made a dipping sauce with them.

They are also good for lunch boxes, and are very versatile, and most importantly, my lovelies, they are very delicious!  I am often tempted to buy these, however even though they are a bit fiddly, they are quite easy to make, and you can virtually put in whatever filling you want.  If you don't eat prawns, substitute - anything goes with this recipe.  I also love cooking with Hoisin sauce as love both the smell and the taste of this Asian sauce.

I ate them on their own with the very yummy dipping sauce which you can make as hot/spicy, or not, as you want.

Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes (quinoa)
Makes: 4-5 servings

Ingredients
450 g raw prawns, shelled and deveined
12 rice papers
1½ cups cooked quinoa
A bit of lettuce
1 small cucumber
1 small carrot
Avocado (optional)

FOR SPICY SAUCE
¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup water
1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1-2 tsp Sriracha or any hot sauce

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to about 170 - 180° if it is fan forced, and line a baking tray with some baking paper.

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly, and boil it for about 15 minutes, then fluff it up with a fork, and leave it to stand for another 5 - 10 minutes.

Place the prawns onto the prepared baking tray, and roast till they are just pink, and cooked through - this will take about 5-6 minutes. 

Allow them to cool, and slice in half length-ways.

Meanwhile, while the prawns are cooling make the dipping sauce by whisking together the peanut butter, water, Hoisin and Sriracha in a bowl, and set this aside.

Julienne the carrots and cucumber - I did this by hand as it was not worth dirtying a machine.

Boil some water and put in a bowl. Working with one at a time, wet the rice paper as per the packet instructions and transfer them to a work surface.  Place a lettuce leaf on each wrapper and top with 2 tbsp quinoa, about 3 slices of cucumber and carrot, and 3 pieces of prawn halves.

I had some left over avocado so I also added this to some of the rice rolls mixture.

Wrap the bottom edge tightly over the filling and then fold in the sides, being careful not to tear the rice paper, and enclosing the filling totally.  Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.