By Thanksgiving. The third one since the blog, the second one with Jason, the first one where Jason lives with me — he moved in last week, his boxes still stacked in the corner of the bedroom, his firefighter boots by the front door, his rice cooker next to mine on the kitchen counter because apparently we are a two-rice-cooker household now, which is the most Filipino-American relationship milestone I can imagine.
I hosted again. Bigger this year: Lourdes, Angela, James, Jason, Pete and Sarah from the ER, Danielle (who brought her Filipino-inspired banana bread again, now in its second iteration, improved, Lourdes-adjacent in quality). The apartment was too small for nine people. The food was too much for nine people. Both are correct. Both are the point.
The menu: Filipino-brined turkey (the soy-calamansi-garlic version I invented last year — now a tradition, because in the Santos family, you make something once and it becomes mandatory). Lechon kawali. Lumpia — two hundred. Pancit. Angela's fruit salad. My leche flan. And Jason's sinigang, which he made for the group for the first time, standing at my stove with the concentration of a man performing a public demonstration of a skill he's been practicing in private. His sinigang was good. Lourdes tasted it, paused, and said, "More tamarind." Jason added more tamarind. Lourdes nodded. The nod. The approval. Jason got the nod for his sinigang. I may have been prouder of this than of the entire turkey.
The apartment was loud and warm and smelled like garlic and vinegar and the particular fullness of too many people in too little space eating too much food. Lourdes sat in the comfortable chair. Angela and James held hands under the table. Pete told ER stories that made the non-medical people wince. Danielle asked Lourdes for her lumpia recipe. Lourdes said, "Come to my kitchen. I'll show you. Bring garlic."
After everyone left, Jason and I cleaned up. Our kitchen. Our dishes. Our apartment that smells like adobo and accommodates two rice cookers and has boots by the door and garlic on every surface. He washed. I dried. We were quiet. The quiet was the best part — the quiet of two people who just fed nine people and are now alone and the alone is not lonely because the alone is chosen and the kitchen is theirs and the Thanksgiving is done and the leftovers will last until Tuesday and the adobo will be on Tuesday and the system works and the apartment holds two people now and both of them are standing.
We made two hundred lumpia for Thanksgiving — Lourdes’s recipe, her hands the authority, the rest of us just assistants at the wrapping table — and the truth is I could wrap something in rice paper every single day and never get tired of it. These mango avocado spring rolls are what I make when it’s not Thanksgiving, when I don’t have three days and a family assembly line, when Jason is on shift and it’s just me and the kitchen and something bright and fresh that still feels intentional. The peanut sauce is the part that brings it home: a little rich, a little tangy, the kind of thing you want to dip into twice.
Mango Avocado Spring Rolls (with Peanut Sauce)
Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4 (12 rolls)
Ingredients
- 12 rice paper wrappers (8–9 inch round)
- 1 large ripe mango, peeled and julienned
- 1 large avocado, thinly sliced
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 1 medium cucumber, julienned
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned
- 2 oz rice vermicelli noodles, cooked and cooled
- 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- Peanut Sauce:
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2–4 tablespoons warm water, to thin
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Make the peanut sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, sesame oil, and garlic until smooth. Add warm water one tablespoon at a time until the sauce reaches a dippable consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning; add red pepper flakes if desired. Set aside.
- Prep the fillings. Arrange all vegetables, mango, avocado, noodles, mint, and cilantro in separate small bowls or on a large cutting board so assembly is easy and organized.
- Soften the wrappers. Fill a wide, shallow dish or skillet with warm water. Working one at a time, submerge a rice paper wrapper for 15–20 seconds until it just turns pliable but is not fully soft (it will continue softening as you work). Lay it flat on a damp clean surface or cutting board.
- Fill and roll. In the lower third of the wrapper, layer a small bundle of noodles, a few slices of mango and avocado, a pinch of cabbage, cucumber, and carrot, and a few herb leaves. Do not overfill. Fold the bottom edge up over the filling, fold in the sides, then roll upward firmly to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
- Serve. Arrange rolls on a platter seam-side down. Serve immediately with peanut sauce for dipping. If making ahead, cover rolls with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap; store at room temperature up to 1 hour or refrigerate up to 3 hours.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 320 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 380mg