Let cannabis be a subtle note in these infused cannabis spring rolls.
Summer brings a lot of excitement and some much needed R&R after a long, sunless winter. Markets are awash with fresh groceries, but soon the sweltering heat is dissuading you from any serious cooking. Fresh, no-cook meals are definitely a summer favorite. And summer spring rolls are scrumptious treats that can be enjoyed as snacks or main course meals.
Unlike spring rolls, which need to be heated up, summer rolls are served raw room temperature. Summer rolls may also go by the name of Vietnamese spring rolls or rice paper rolls.
Unknown to many people, these rolls are pretty easy to make on the regular. Once you have assembled all you need, it will just be a matter of minutes before you have all it all done up. Moreover, you can involve your dinner guests in putting together their own rolls so that you can accommodate different dietary needs (vegan, vegetarian, etc).
This recipe takes it up a notch because we’ve added some good ol’ ganja. Not only will you be getting medicated, you can use this recipe as a pre-dinner treat to wet the appetite for the main course. But, make a note to self not to over indulge, as cannabis edibles can be overwhelming should you over do it. The rule of thumb is generally 10mg for the entire meal.
This is why we stick to the mantra, “start slow and go slow”. It may be a good idea to make a few non-infused summer rolls for guests that are just starting out on their cannabis journey.
Step one: Assemble what you will need
- A large working surface
- Sharp knife
- Source of heat
- Heating bath half filled with cooking oil
- 2 heating pans
- Kitchen thermometer
- Whisk
- Kitchen tray
- Serving bowl
Ingredients for the dipping sauce
- 3 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce (check the Asian section of the grocery store for this)
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 gm cannabis extract that will melt when heated to 252ºF
- ¼ cup hot water
- 1 tbsp honey or sugar to taste
- 1 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped or pounded
Ingredients for the filling:
- Fresh bell peppers, in any and all colors you like, julienned
- 1 beet, peeled and grated
- ½ tin of diced pineapples, drained
- 1 medium sized mango, peeled and thinly sliced
- bunch mint leaves, chopped
- bunch cilantro, chopped
- A few stems of green onions, chopped
- 8 rice roll papers (Whole Foods usually stocks these)
Method
- Mix beet, peppers, mango, pineapples, mint, cilantro, and onions together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Place your pan in a heated oil bath. We use heated oil instead of water because oil has a lower boiling point. The temperature should be maintained at 252 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add your cannabis extract to the pan and allow it to decarboxylate for about 25 minutes. This is until the liquid starts to bubble. Set aside the container to cool.
- Once your cannabis extract is cool, combine all the sauce ingredients, except the water, in the second pan.
- Slowly add the hot water as you stir, ensuring it mixes well to form a thick sauce.
- Transfer the sauce to a clean glass bowl and garnish with the peanuts. Set aside.
- Take your eight rice roll papers and hydrate them in a bowl of warm water for about 15 seconds. You want them soft but firm. These are hard to work with when too soft because these fall apart.
- Take the softened rice paper rolls out and spread them on your working surface.
- Filling up the rice rolls with the vegetable fillings, which should be placed at the centre of the rice paper. Do not overstuff them, or they’ll break. You can also fix up a couple with cooked chicken or shrimp to please the meat-eaters in your crew.
- Flip the sides of the rice papers over to encase the filling. Then roll the paper to form cylindrical shapes, kind of like a burrito.
- Serve them alongside your freshly prepared sauce.
- If you’re serving a big party, this recipe can easily be doubled, or even tripled. Make an extra batch of peanut sauce minus the cannabis extract if you want spring rolls once the munchies kick in.
Some Alternatives
These transparent summer rolls are light and refreshing. Further, because they’re infused with cannabis, you will be getting more than what you bargained for. If you’re struggling with your appetite, then a light cannabis-infused snack is a great way to reintroduce solid food to your stomach.
Alternatively, you could switch the vegetable fillings to include shrimp, cucumbers, carrots, purple cabbage, and anything else that tickles your fancy. Of course, it’ll all depend upon your own dietary needs. If you’re using cannabis for something like IBD, high-fibre ingredients like carrots or even almond slices, are great way to add a little crunch and complement cannabis treatment. Similarly, salmon and spinach will both fight inflammation alongside anti-inflammatory cannabinoids in weed.
Spring rolls are a great start to using medibles. Since they’re so versatile, they can help treat almost any ailment.
