Spring Rolls

Also known as Salad Rolls, Summer Rolls, Gỏi cuốn.


March is for Spring, and Spring might as well be for Spring Rolls.

Bring Spring to your table!

Make Vietnamese style, Fresh Spring Rolls; - tasty snack, great energy booster, yet so light on one's tummy.
You don't have to be an artist to create these pretty little works of art. There are very few rules to follow, to get great results, and here they are:
(1) Use fresh ingredients.
Crunchy and juicy carrots are in, tired, and dry ones, are not! - the same will apply to the finished product. Eat
your rolls immediately, and at their best.
(2) Use color, and texture. Different colors, and textures look exciting, and are so much healthier (see note 1, below). Ingredients that are all alike, and therefore difficult to identify, look dull.
(3) Be neat - tidy rolls look yummy, messy rolls will turn consumption from enjoyment to struggle.
There are many different filling combinations, vegan, vegetarian, meat, and seafood ones, all good, and popular.
Here, are just a few, to get us started.
(1) Shrimp Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- (Makes about 12 rolls).
12 rice wrappers (also called rice paper),
12 pieces, medium size, cleaned, cooked, shelled, and deveined shrimp, halved, length-wise,
2 cups, ready rice noodles (already soaked in water, as per instructions on packaging),
A few leaves of lettuce, of your preference, stalks, removed, soft part of the leaf only,
1 large carrot, washed, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks,
2 spring onions , washed, and finely chopped,
1 seedless cucumber, washed peeled, very thinly sliced,
water to soften the rice wrappers (hot, but not boiling hot).

Method
(1) Dip first wrapper in hot water, and let it soften. When it is, place it on board and moisten the second rice paper to let it get soft and ready.
(2) Make the first Spring Roll. Place two halves of shrimp on the soft rice wrapper (round side facing the wrapper), sprinkle finely sliced spring onions onto it, follow with another layer of rice noodles, followed by thinly sliced cucumbers.
(3) Fold two, opposite ends (about 1 in. deep) onto the filling.
(4) Begin rolling one of the unfolded ends, to make a roll.
For practical illustration on how to roll click on the link, here: folding spring rolls with The ChefsToolbox.(4) Continue points 1-3 till you finish with all the ingredients.
(2) Pork & Fried Egg Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- (Makes about 12 rolls).
12 rice wrappers (also called rice paper),
2 cups, lean pork meat, cooked, and very thinly sliced,
2 cups, ready rice noodles (already soaked in water, as per instructions on packaging),
4 eggs, lightly beaten, fried and cut into strips,
1 seedless cucumber, washed peeled, very thinly sliced,
water to soften the rice wrappers (hot, but not boiling hot),
a few soft parts of lettuce, and chopped leaves of sweet basil, mint, and cilantro for garnish.

Method - as above
(3) Tofu Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- (Makes about 12 rolls).
12 rice wrappers (also called rice paper),
1 small packet firm tofu, thinly sliced (you will need 12 slices) and fried,
2 cups, ready rice noodles (already soaked in water, as per instructions on packaging),
1 cup of broccoli, or other sprouts of your preference,
2 carrots, cleaned, peeled, and cut into thin matchsticks,
2 celery stalks, cleaned, and cut into thin matchsticks,
water for dipping the rice wrappers (hot, but not boiling hot)
a few soft parts of lettuce, and chopped leaves of sweet basil, mint, and cilantro for garnish.
Method - as above
Serve your Spring Rolls with dipping sauce, and nice fresh salad on the side.
See easy to follow Dipping Sauce recipe, from Wikipedia.
Other Notes
(1) apparently, eating good variety of differently colored fruit and vegetables each day, provides our bodies with more vitamins, and other nutrients, we need (read factsheet Kansas State University published, on the subject).
(2) If you are not familiar with cups, assume an empty, 15 ½ oz. size can to have 2 cups capacity (1 cup=8oz.),

Back to March Recipes page

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References
Special Thanks
Special Thanks to Town & Country Gardens Contributors: yashima / CC 2.0, , dive-angel (Karin), flickr, Jasmine&Roses, Kansas State University, Rita Crane Photography. Rita Crane, daughter of LIFE magazine photographer Ralph Crane. Her work can be seen on Flickr at Rita Crane Photography or on her website., TheChefsToolbox, TMR Davies, W.D. Williams, Wikipedia

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