Thursday, July 16

Spring Rolls!

You know you love these papery thin mini-burritos stuffed with crunchy fresh veggies. You just feel so healthy and refreshed, right?! That's they way I feel when I am at a Japanese or Thai restaurant, because I have to order them. They are SO good! And after trying making these for the first time at home, I have to say that they taste exactly like they do in the restaurant! I'm serious, I'm not just saying that! I was hoping the wrappers I bought weren't too thick because I've had some at restaurants where the wrapper was all I could taste. Not these, uh uh. These were the perfect thickness.

I found a big pack at the asian farmers market.

 All you do is soak them in warm water for a minute or two and they become clear and pliable. You have to be a little careful in handling them. I ripped the first one I did, but then I got the hang of it.

I stuffed them with avocado, cucumber, carrot lettuce, mint and some lime juice – but whatever you have in the fridge works. Let's roll!!                            

Spring Rolls serves 2
2 carrots, julienned
2 cucumbers, julienned
1 avocado, sliced
Some lettuce
3 spring roll wrappers or rice paper
lime juice
salt

Dipping sauce
Soy sauce mixed with some sesame oil.

1 Lay out your sliced veggies in small piles on a cutting board so it'll be easy to assemble each spring roll. Squeeze some lime juice over all the veggies and season with salt.
2 Soak first wrapper in warm water (I used a shallow quiche plate for this) for a minute and remove, letting the excess water drip.
3 Lay the wrapper flat on a smooth surface (I used another cutting board) and begin to assemble. First, you lay the lettuce down and then the rest of the veggies.
4 Once you are ready to roll, take the wrapper end closest to you over the veggies and tuck in tightly underneath then begin to roll away from you, holding on tightly. I just stuffed the two ends inside after I rolled and they stayed shut. If the roll doesn't stay shut for some reason, just add a tiny bit of water to seal. The more moisture the wrapper has, the more likely it will do what you want it to without ripping.

30 comments:

Alisa - Frugal Foodie said...

I have always wanted to make spring rolls! Those look great.

Christo Gonzales said...

you had me at spring rolls!

♥peachkins♥ said...

I love spring rolls too. Your spring rolls looks so fresh,crunchy and yummy!

ChichaJo said...

These are my favorite thing to have in Vietnamese restaurants!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I love that speciality!

Cheers,

Rosa

nora@ffr said...

i loveeeee spring rolls and adore the combo. looking soo tasty and healthy

Heather S-G said...

They're gorgeous, Zoe! Your matchstick veggies inside are picture perfect. I'd love to have some of these for lunch today (okay, most any day). :D

Unknown said...

These look so pretty. Imagine how cool it would be if you served this with some tea in a chineese style tea set :D.

Zoe said...

Heavenly Housewife-
That would be pretty! I wish I had a chinese tea set :(

Noob Cook said...

oh my, they look so gorgeous and delectable. Luv the veggie fillings. Thanks for visiting me, I'm glad to find your lovely blog :)

Soma said...

How did you know me & my dd were craving these so bad yesterday? ;-) I promised us to make some today.. & we will do it today. Nothing like these light crunchy fresh rolls .. to enjoy a summery evening.

Lynda said...

These are my favorite kind of spring rolls. They are crunchy, fresh and so satisfying. The mint is key and I also like to add fresh coriander leaves.

grace said...

lovely filling, zoe--the crunch would be absolutely incredible!

Faith said...

Oooh, I love spring rolls! I've never made them though, I'll have to give this a try! Your filling sounds great!

Leslie said...

beautiful and delicious!

Kerstin said...

So pretty, I love spring rolls too!

Anonymous said...

Oh, yes yes yes! I love spring rolls. One of my favorite restaurants includes a strip of grilled tofu in them, which is delightful. I feel as though I must make these. Now to find an Asian market...

Reeni said...

These looks so fresh, healthy and delicious! Their perfect!

maybelles mom said...

Oh, my husband is the same way about ordering them whenever he sees them on the menu.

Winchester Manor said...

Hi Zoe,

The perfect thing to eat on a hot California day like today. So light, fresh and no oven required!

xoxo
Karyn

Nutmeg Nanny said...

Oh how summery! I love all the beautiful colors and I bet they are super tasty:)

Cucinista said...

What can I say that hasn't been said already? I'm late to the party but glad I stopped by: yummmmmmm.

Joanne said...

I am so jealous of your asian farmer's market! And yes, everything tastes better in a wrap.

Anonymous said...

I've made rice rolls before, or at least TRIED to make it...I failed miserably! I can't seem to get the wrapper quite right! I wonder if it's because I got a cheap brand, or am I doing something wrong?

Marta said...

I keep meaning to make my own garden rolls. I would love to make them like yours, packed-full of veg!
They look refreshing and delicious Zoe :)

Zoe said...

Burpandslurp- The ones I got weren't rice wrappers, they were specifically for spring rolls, maybe that's why? Rice paper should work too though, maybe they were thinner and harder to handle?

GratefulFoodie said...

Your post is especially inspiring for those of us who can't digest Rice Paper properly. I never would have thought to try making Goi Cuon with Springroll Wrappers, but now it seems so obvious. Thanks!

kellypea said...

Mmmm...I haven't made spring rolls in forever and am tempted to run to the store for the ingredients for dinner tonight. Gorgeous photography!

Chef Fresco said...

All of your recipes and photos are just so impressive. Love this!

Kareen Nachman said...

I got to taste these very delicious rolls and I couldn't stop eating them...yummy! Good job sister!