Yay! I Finally Nailed Spring Rolls Making

Attempting spring rolls again has been on my mind for the last few days. Although it was not possible for me to make for dinner since I usually get hungry after coming back from my walk and spring rolls need to be eaten right away.

Also after walking, as a rule, I crave some sort of protein. I know it is not the toughest exercise out there but my body has its word to say and I often listen. It always worked for me that way.

Yesterday, I took out some recipes I have and looked up spring rolls to get inspired. Between books and recipes in cooking magazines, a lamp lit in my head and I was inspired. I had an idea that seemed neat and I was eager to try. It included seeds and nuts…

Today, due to a quick drip, walking was out of question, so spring rolls making was due.

Looking at my options though, things were not looking up. I had no carrots, the shrimps have gone bad and not a pepper in sight.

We have a saying here in Lebanon: “Need is mother of invention”, so I have to “invent”. There was avocado, lettuce and cucumber in the fridge. Vegetarian spring rolls it is!

I prepared my mise en place, and proceeded to making spring rolls. And success! The result was what I wanted.

Here are some tips I will share and that I have learned through my spring rolls saga that started on a previous post:

Drain the noodles like it is the end of the world. Squeeze them dry if you have to. (This is what I did.) They need to be thoroughly drained.

Chop your vegetables as small as you can, it will give you a better blend of flavors.

Give your vegetables a very mild seasoning, but make sure it will not overpower the dipping sauces.

Make sure to vary flavors in the spring rolls, otherwise it will be bland.

Last but not least, make sure that the vegetables overpower the noodles.  The noodles amount should be around 10% in comparison to the vegetables. Don’t worry it is plenty.

A final word before I share the recipe, these spring rolls passed my dad’s test. Our regular readers know that my dad is over picky, and if he says nothing about a dish, it means he found it good. To get the good mention from him would be a phenomenon. My dad did not comment on the spring rolls, he just said the rice paper is a bit dry, which it was, because taking pictures took longer than I expected and the kitchen is tad windy.

I also thought that the peanuts and the sesame gave a nice deep earthy flavor that was very pleasant.

Peanut and Sesame Spring Rolls

 Makes 6 spring rolls

Ingredients:

• 40g Stir-Fry Rice Noodles
• 6 spring roll wrappers
• 2 big romaine lettuce leaves chopped (the soft part)
• 1 small cucumber cut into thin strips
• 1 small avocado cut into small dices
• 10 peanuts pounded into powder  and  1 Tbsp sesame seeds mixed together
• 1 Tbsp coriander chopped
• 1 ½ tsp rice vinegar

Method:

1. Cook the rice noodles according to pack instructions. Refresh under cold water, drain and chop.
2. Mix the lettuce, the avocado, the coriander and the rice vinegar together
3. Prepare the Spring Rolls Wrappers according to pack instructions.
4. Fill with 1 Tbsp lettuce mixture, some cucumber strips, noodles. Sprinkle 1 tsp peanuts/sesame mixture.
5. Fold the wrappers and serve with dipping sauce.