Popular in Asian restaurants “spring rolls” usually have a filling of vegetable, rice noodle, and sometimes a shrimp or other protein. This filling is then wrapped, burrito-style, in the moistened wrapper. Unlike the Chinese egg roll and spring roll, these are not fried and are served cold or at room temperature. Simple and versatile sheets of very brittle paper, that when exposed to water, soften and become a pliable, wrappers.
Working with rice paper wrappers:The time for soaking is important - not soaked long or thorough enough , they remain brittle and will crack; if they are soaked too long, they will disintegrate in water. Soak them in cool water in a shallow plate for about 5 to 10 secondsr. Then let them rest for another 20 seconds until the water has soaked thoroughly.You will need to handle the wrapper one at a time as they are sticky – a little oil will help them from not sticking. Next, take the filling of your choice and place it on the first third of the wrapper and roll it, tucking the ends in, burrito-style. - finely shredded cabbage
- cucumber
- cilantro, basil, mint, chives
- shallots
- carrot
- bean or alfalfa sprouts
- ginger , white pepper, black pepper for seasoning
- rice noodles
- shrimp or tofu.
Dipping Sauces
4 teaspoons fish sauce 1/4 cup water 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tablespoons white sugar 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts - In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
- In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
In China, wonton rice and other such doughs were traditionally made painstakingly by hand, with the entire extended family engaging in the process of wrapping each dumpling with filling while sitting around the main table of the house. Today, fortunately, there is no need to summon the extended family from the four corners of the earth. There are very good commercially produced wrappers.
