I've had some inquiries about these--and I had a request for the recipe, so here goes! The original recipe I saw for these was in the book Sushi Modern by Hideo Dekura; I of course never bothered to really use the recipe as written--just the idea (silly chefs). I am including only an "outline" of what I do--everyone should play around and add/subtract/substitute to make their own yummy goodness! Personally, with the AMAZING strawberries we've been getting at Goodwin's, I'm planning on creating a shredded jicama (instead of rice) and fresh strawberry version of these babies! :o)
You will need:
Rice Spring Roll Wrappers
Brown Sushi Rice (or white sushi rice if you really must)
Mayonnaise (or Veganaise, which is what I use)
Fresh Chile Paste (available in Asian section of supermarkets--don't get a chile sauce with garlic, etc.)
Strawberry Jam
Rice Vinegar
The Rolls:
The first step is to make the rice. If you normally prepare sushi, prepare the rice as you would for the sushi you normally make. If you have never made sushi rice, I would google it and play around with the technique and flavoring agents (you want a hint of sweet/sour flavor in sushi rice) until you get something you really like. For this recipe, I usually make my brown rice and then use apple cider vinegar, mirin, and salt to flavor the rice. I usually make the flavors more pronounced than my typical sushi rice, as the sweet/sour flavors go perfectly with this recipe.
After your rice is made (and it should be cooled during the process), soak one of the spring roll wrappers in hot water until soft, then transfer to a work surface (shake off the excess water well!). Create a little "log" of brown rice in the center of the wrap. In a small bowl, mix a bit of the mayonnaise with a bit of the chile paste (do this to taste--I like about a Tbsp of chile paste to about 2 tsp of mayonnaise), and spread a bit of this mixture onto the rice log. Roll up the spring roll like a burrito. You can serve these like spring rolls, or cut them into pieces that resemble sushi.
The Sauce:
This is the ultimate dipping sauce--it took the place of Thai Peanut Sauce as my all time favorite. I would make this for anything you can think of where it would compliment other foods--and then let me know how you used it! :o) The best part, though? It is three ingredients mixed in a bowl--and it doesn't get simpler than that!
Mix some of the chile paste and strawberry jam in a bowl. Thin this mixture with the rice vinegar until it reaches the consistency you desire (I like mine fairly thick so I can pick up a lot of it when I'm dipping!). You can really vary the proportions of this based on the heat/sweetness/sourness you want. I like mine on the hot side--but you can vary this anywhere from tongue-tingling to sweet with only a hint of heat.
