Update and Redux: C – Summer cool downs require something fresh and simple. Also, hiding a whole salad inside a few spring roll wraps. This is one of the best ways to eat greens this Summer. Make it and make lots to share.
C – Fresh spring rolls are my mom’s favorite dish.
It’s one of those dishes she will probably never get sick of. I am glad because this is one of those back-up dishes I can make when she comes over to visit. They can be tedious to make, if you are not careful. The thin, tapioca wrappers can be hard to work with. They can be ripped easily, if you are not gentle enough.
My mom and I used to make a whole day out of doing these for the family. We would make 30 to 40 of them in one sitting. They can be quite a process to make. If we ended up ripping one, we would have to eat it. There usually came a point where we would rip so many that we would be full before we finished making them for the family.
Of course, there was this one time when both my mom and I were so hungry that we ended up “accidentally” ripping a few, just to keep our energy up to wrap more of these suckers. We each figured out the other person’s scheme. But, neither of us dared to call each other on it.
Ah, mother/daughter bonding. Nothing could get better than that.
Of course, the usual mother/daughter bickering also happens. But, that a separate story.
| Fresh Spring Rolls |
- 10 tapioca spring roll sheet, found in the Asian grocery store. Rice sheets can also be used
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 red onion, julienne
- 30 shrimp, cooked, peeled and cleaned
- 10 small lettuce leaves
- 1 handful bean sprouts
- 1 cucumber, sliced thinly into 2 inch strips
- 20 basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Salt and pepper chicken.
- In a large saute pan on medium high heat, add oil. Add chicken and cook until done. About 10 minutes. Add onions and cook until soft. Remove from pan. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes.
- Cut chicken into thin strips and place with onions. Cut enough to make 10 spring rolls.
- Place 1 inch of warm water in a 5 quart pot.
- Dip a tapioca sheet into water and let soften for about 30 seconds. Remove from water and place sheet on plate.
- Place 3 pieces of shrimp in the middle of the wrapper.
- Place 1 lettuce leaf on top of the shrimp.
- Add a few bean sprouts on one side of the lettuce.
- Add 2 cucumber strips on top of the bean sprouts
- Add chicken and onion pieces on top of the vegetables.
- Add 2 basil leaves on top.
- Bring side closest to you over the pile.
- Fold-in sides.
- Roll up to the top.
- Continue making more rolls until all wrappers are gone.
- Serve immediately with sweet soy dipping sauce
- If not eating immediately, cover with a damp paper towel. They must be eaten the same day.
- Enjoy!
Sweet Soy Dipping Sauce recipe
It’s a lot of hard work wrapping enough for a family of five or, occasionally, distant relatives who would come over and visit. It’s a good life experience for me. I am so glad I can share it with my mom.
I am so glad I know how to make my mom’s favorite dish. It makes her happy and makes me happy.