SPRING ROLLS WITH SPINACH, MUSHROOMS, SESAME, RICE AND HERBS

Spring Rolls With Spinach, Mushrooms, Sesame, Rice and Herbs image

I steam the spinach just until it collapses for these rolls and combine it with rice instead of the more traditional noodles. You can use brown, regular basmati or jasmine rice

Provided by Martha Rose Shulman

Time 30m

Yield 8 spring rolls

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups cooked rice (brown, basmati or jasmine)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 pound baby spinach or 2 pounds bunch spinach, stemmed and washed
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds or lightly toasted regular hulled sesame seeds
1/4 pound firm tofu, cut into dominoes 1/4 inch thick by 1/2 inch wide and drained on paper towels
2 tablespoons peanut sauce
2 large carrots (about 1 pound), peeled and grated
6 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped, plus additional sprigs
1/3 cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped, plus additional leaves
1/4 cup Thai basil leaves, coarsely chopped, plus additional leaves (may substitute regular basil if you can't get the Thai variety)
Salt to taste
8 8 1/2-inch rice flour spring roll wrappers

Steps:

Toss the rice with 1 tablespoon of the rice vinegar and the soy sauce
Wash the spinach and steam 1 to 2 minutes, tossing halfway through. It should wilt but still have some texture. Rinse with cold water, squeeze dry and coarsely chop. Season with salt to taste
Spread each tofu domino with about 1/4 teaspoon peanut sauce
Place the shredded carrots, slivered mushrooms and chopped herbs in a large bowl and toss with the remaining rice vinegar and salt to taste
Fill a bowl with warm water and place a spring roll in it just until it is pliable, about 30 seconds. Remove from the water and drain briefly on a kitchen towel. Place the wrapper on your work surface in front of you and arrange several cilantro sprigs, whole mint leaves and basil leaves, vein side up, on the wrapper. Leaving a 2-inch margin on the sides, place a handful of the carrot mixture on the wrapper, slightly nearer to the edge closest to you. Top with a handful of rice, then a handful of spinach. Place 3 tofu dominoes down the length of the spinach. Fold the sides in, then roll up the spring rolls tightly, squeezing the filling to get a tight roll. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 214, UnsaturatedFat 3 grams, Carbohydrate 39 grams, Fat 4 grams, Fiber 6 grams, Protein 9 grams, SaturatedFat 1 gram, Sodium 651 milligrams, Sugar 5 grams, TransFat 0 grams