Intolerances: Fructose, Gluten, Dairy, Soy
A light salad with all of the best parts of a spring roll, without having the hassle of assembling it.

I have always loved a fresh spring roll. They pack so much flavor in one bite, although sometimes it is the condiments that come with it that really get me. There is usually a sweet sauce, a peanut sauce, a sesame sauce; they are all so different, so good and all that compliment each other and the spring roll. For this dish, I wanted to create all of those flavors, without the hassle of wrapping it in rice paper. A light and refreshing bowl of flavor.

Serve it with:

• Fried Wontons
• Chicken Satay

What you need:

• Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
• Vermicelli Rice Noodles
• Green Cabbage
• Snow Peas
• Cucumber
• Avocado
• Basil
• Shrimp
• Sesame Dressing
• Pistachio Sauce
• Optional (if tolerant): Carrots, Red Bell Pepper, Bean Sprouts, Jalapeño, Mint, Cilantro

The Salad

This salad is extremely customizable. You can follow the exact recipe for a fructose friendly version, but you can also mix it up. When cooking for my husband, I start with the base and then we each add in our additional toppings (or should I say, he adds in additional toppings). So easy, so customizable, so delicious.

To start, you will want to get the water boiling for the noodles. I use traditional vermicelli noodles, but you can use any rice noodle that you would like. Boiling the water will take the longest, because once the water is boiling, you will add the noodles and they will take 30 seconds to a minute. Drain the noodles, rinse and set aside.

Next, it is time to get all of your vegetables chopped up. There is no right or wrong when it comes to chopping the vegetables. When it comes to the snow peas, remove the end and pull of the tough string that goes the length of the pod. Once all of the snow peas are ready, stack them up and slice them into thirds.

I love the crunch of cabbage and I tolerate it well, but I find that you don’t want to overwhelm the noodles in this salad with large chunks of cabbage. Therefore, I use 1/4 of a head of small green cabbage and slice it as thin as I can. Once you chop the cabbage into quarters, remove the core (the solid white part) and give it a rinse. Dry off the cabbage with paper towels and remove any loose pieces. Finally, place the cabbage flesh side down and slice as thin as you can. You can then run your knife through the cabbage and additional couple of times in the opposite direction to make thin, small pieces.

When it comes to the cucumber, I like to use an English Cucumber, leaving the skin on. You will only need about a quarter of the cucumber, sliced into matchsticks or diced. It really is up to you.

I like to use basil in this salad, but as noted above, you can mix in mint or cilantro, too. You can keep this extremely simple by tearing your herbs and adding to the salad, otherwise just give it a rough chop. I like the herbs to make an impact, giving you the opportunity to get a nice piece within your bite.

Finally, the avocado. I will chop this last to keep it green as long as you can. Slice the avocado in half and store the remaining side (with the pit). I usually cut the avocado into thin slices while keeping it in the “shell”. Once it is sliced, use a spoon and gently remove the pieces.

Your salad is complete, now you just need to put it all together (don’t forget the shrimp) and top with your sesame dressing. The sesame dressing can be whipped up fast. I always keep toasted sesame seeds in my cupboard, but if you don’t have them, you can certainly use regular white sesame seeds and toast them in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes (on low – watching carefully). Next, Just whisk all of the ingredients together: sesame oil, vegetable oil, sugar, rice vinegar, coconut aminos and the sesame seeds. Viola. You are ready to go.