Shrimp Spring Rolls with Sweet & Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Place rice noodles in a bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside.

Bring a small pot of water to boil. Salt water generously, drop shrimp in and cook until pink and opaque, about 1 minute. Remove them from the water (keep the pot of water – you’ll use it in a second) and place shrimp into a bowl of ice water.

Bend asparagus in half until the bottom woody end snaps off. Discard the woody end. Slice down the center of the remaining spear vertically to get 2 very skinny spears. Drop them into the boiling water and boil until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Remove them from the water and place into the ice water with shrimp.

Drain the soaking rice noodles and place them into the boiling water. Cook until tender, about 7 minutes and then drain.

While noodles are cooking, slice shrimp in half lengthwise.

To assemble spring rolls, place one spring roll wrapper into very warm water until it softens up. Remove it from the water and place onto a work surface. Stack up shrimp, noodles, asparagus, green onions, carrot and cilantro on the bottom half of the wrapper. Then roll it up tightly, burrito-style and place on serving platter. Repeat until all wrappers have been filled.

For the sauce, mix all ingredients together until smooth in consistency. If the hot water doesn’t dissolve the sugar or create a smooth sauce, microwave the sauce for 30 seconds. Pour into a serving dish and place along side spring rolls. Serve cold.