For the longest time I tried authenticating my favorite salad rolls, sometimes called spring rolls. The one I was trying to replicate have BBQ pork, rice noodles, Thai basil and some lettuce; and then there is the usual peanut sauce to dip them in. The rolls are so good! It has been so hard to replicate the BBQ pork. I don’t know what seasoning or marinade they use for the pork, but I habe yet to figure that one out.
Yesterday, I had a total epiphany when I was walking through the garden. Salad rolls, can be made with anything you would make a salad with. I don’t know why it took so long to figure that out. I thought why not use everything from my garden in the salad rolls and see how well it goes.
I already had some pulled pork and ground beef in the fridge, and had some peppers, carrots and green onions. My peppers and onions in my garden aren’t ready yet, thankfully I was able to pick; cilantro, arugula, spinach, Romanian Lettuce, and baby dill.
The longest part is prepping everything. Just slice everything super thin, juliened, for the thicker stuff -like carrots and peppers. Everything else just wash and cut to the length of the roll that you plan on rolling.
Once I realized that my rolls didn’t have to taste exactly like our favorite restaurant spring rolls, I was able to enjoy the taste of the freshness from the garden. The baby dill was and unexpected burst of yummy, even my two year old (almost three) picked up the flavor of the dill. She did call it a “pickle” but hey thats what you use for pickling so I’ll take it. I also like that if there are any leftovers you can make a salad the next day since everything is already prepped.
Rice paper rolls don’t have to be too intimidating, I took a picture of the brand that I use. When everything is prepped heat your water for the rice paper. Soak one paper in some very warm water and then load everything in the middle of the circle and fold and roll. It takes a little bit of time to figure out your technique for rolling the delicate rice paper. I figured out the longer you leave the paper in the warm water the easier it is to manipulate.
This is a simple sample of what you can in your spring rolls; also it is what I had in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 1-2 lbs cooked protein, chicken, pork, or beef will work
- Rice paper
- 1 package wide rice noodles
- 1-2 carrots, juliened
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1-2 bell peppers, juliened
- Sprigs of fresh dill
- 2-3 green onions
- Handful of spinach leaves
- Sweet and spicy sauce
Directions
- Cut all the vegetables into just about the same sizes and widths, wether you have to slice, julien or chop.
- Fix the rice noodles according to the package directions
- Warm a shallow pan of water for the rice paper rolls, and dip one in at a time. Submerge the rice paper until it becomes soft nd pliable.
- Place one sheet of rice paper on a plate and layer on the goodies.
- I like to start with a little bit sweet and spicy sauce, a little meat, noodles, and the vegetables and herbs.
- Fold two parallel ends and then roll.
- They are great as is or you can dip in more sweet and spicy sauce or yummy peanut sauce.
Tips
- When you are looking at your rice paper circle, imagine a rectangle in the middle and put all the meat and veggies inside that “rectangle”. Then when you fold, take the two “short” ends of the rectangle in the middle and then roll like a sleeping bag.
- Use your favorite vegetables in the roll, and whatever is in season tastes delicious.
- Have everyone make their own rolls. It’s really fun and then they get exactly what they want in each roll.
- Leftovers make for a great salad the next day
