Spring Rolls!

I have made these once or twice before, but it had been a long time, so it took a while to get the hang of it again.  But once I did, I was glad, because they are so fun and so yummy.  The ingredients are easy to find; I only had to go to the Asian market for the rice papers.  Everything else came from the big box grocery.

Spring Rolls:


Nouns-
1 package rice papers

1 package Mai Fun rice sticks

2 carrots, julienned
1 bunch cilantro, washed and stemmed
20 Basil Leaves
8 sprigs of mint, washed and stemmed
1 pound protein (cooked shrimp, cooked chicken, cooked tofu, whatever you prefer)
Butter lettuce, washed and torn into small pieces
Mung Bean Sprouts (optional)

Verbs-
Prepare the Mai Fun by soaking them in warm water for 10 minutes, draining thoroughly, and then dropping them into boiling water for one minute.  Drain, rinse, and chill the noodles.  Then, prepare an assembly line where you have a flat space to work, like a cutting board.  On one side of the board you need a large flat dish with an inch or so of warm water and your packet of rice papers.  On the other side should be all your stuffing ingredients.  Be sure the protein is cut into strips or small pieces.

Take one rice paper and immerse it in the warm water for 5-10 seconds, holding it so the ends don't curl up out of the water.  Lay the paper on your board and add the filling in whatever combination sounds yummy.  I usually do a few leaves of mint and basil, about 10 of the thin julienned carrot strips, about a half cup of noodles, stretched along the length of the rice paper to within an inch and a half of each side, a small pile of cilantro and sprouts, enough of my protein to lay across the noodles.  Then, I pull the far edge of the paper over the ingredients and tuck it in under them, followed by folding in the sides of the rice paper like a burrito.  Then I roll it towards me, as tightly as I can, until the edge of the rice paper sticks to the roll.  Ta-da!  Spring roll.

Repeat with new rice papers until all your filling ingredients are used up.

Easy Dipping Sauce


Nouns-
2-3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp chili garlic sauce

Verbs-
Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.  Garnish with cilantro and lime if you feel like it.