Side Dishes
Spring Rolls
What are spring rolls? Well, they’re like egg rolls— cut-up meat and vegetables rolled in a wrapper. But they can be either fried or fresh. And the wrapper is delicate and thin, instead of thick like an egg roll skin.
Ingredients
WHISK:
BLANCH:
PLACE:
COMBINE:
There are two kinds of wrappers. Dry rice paper is delicate and the sheets break easier, but it’s more translucent when wet—ingredients show better. The wrappers made with wheat flour are sturdier, but they take longer to soften in water, and are more opaque
Instructions
Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, oil, cornstarch, garlic, and ginger for the marinade; add pork and marinate 15 minutes at room temperature.
Sauté pork along with marinade in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until pork is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer pork mixture to a plate.
Blanch shrimp in a pot of boiling salted water until cooked through, 1–2 minutes; drain and let cool, then halve lengthwise. Blanch sweet potatoes in another pot of boiling salted water until cooked through, about 2 minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water, and spread sweet potatoes on a paper-towel-lined plate to dry.
Place noodles in a bowl; cover with boiling water for 15 minutes, then drain well. Use kitchen shears to cut noodles into short pieces.
Combine 2 cups hot water and cider vinegar in a bowl; add one rice sheet and soak until softened about 1 minute. (Keep remaining rice sheets in their package so they don't curl). Place softened sheet on damp towel. Put second sheet in vinegar-water.
Arrange pork, sweet potatoes, noodles, mushrooms, and cabbage on bottom edge of softened rice sheet. Pull edge of sheet over filling and tuck edge under as you roll. Keep it tight and watch so filling doesn't push out ends of roll. Try to maintain a 1-inch margin on sides. Roll up rice sheet halfway. Arrange 2 shrimp halves, with cut side facing up, and 1 cilantro leaf on rice sheet. Leave a 1-inch margin on each side. Fold sides of rice paper inward; finish rolling. Place completed roll seam-side-down on tray that has been lined with damp paper towels. Cover with damp towel. Prepare remaining rolls.
Serve Spring Rolls with Thai Peanut Sauce.
Kitchen shears make short work of cutting the softened noodles. Simply snip the noodles into short pieces.
Rolling the rice paper on a wet towel prevents the roll from slipping as you work.
Arrange the shrimp cut side up so the pretty side of the shrimp is visible when the roll is completed.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per roll
Calories: 102
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 3%
Cholesterol 18mg 6%
Sodium 43mg 1%
Carbs 15g 5%
Fiber 1g 4%
Protein 6g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.