Let me see your spring roll, your spring roll. Alright, I’m starting to accept that it is almost summer. Like, really soon. Therefore, I’m slowly realizing I need to include more salads and veggies in my life. If I can roll my veggies up and dip them in a delicious sauce topped with fresh lime juice, they are even more appealing to me. That’s where these spring rolls come in. Spring rolls are something that are so simple to make and really have endless variations. For some reason though, people are intimated to make them. I’ll be honest, it takes a little practice, but it really is simple. With each one I make I get better, but they taste great even they aren’t perfectly rolled.
Here are just a few of the options you can use for your spring roll:
- Proteins- chicken, shrimp, tofu, salmon, beef, tuna
- Veggies- bell peppers, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, avocado, cucumbers, radishes
- Other- mint, strawberries, rice noodles, scallions, cilantro, quinoa
There are a lot of variations for sauces, too. I like mine with chili sauce, hoisen sauce, or homemade almond sauce (like peanut sauce, but just replaced with almond butter). You can buy them pre-made at the store or easily make your own. I buy the first two and make my own almond butter sauce by blending (in a food processor): 3/4 cup of creamy almond butter, 1.5 Tablespoons of hoisin sauce, 1 Tablespoon of lime juice, 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, and 1 teaspoon of coconut aminos (or soy sauce).
Regardless of what you fill your spring rolls with and what you dip them in, keep one thing in mind while rolling them- slow and steady wins the race. Find the recipe for these that I made below.
INGREDIENTS:
Makes 6
- 6 spring roll/rice paper wrappers
- 1.5 cups of shredded cabbage + lettuce
- 1.5 cups shredded carrots
- 2 bell peppers: 1 red, 1 yellow, sliced into thin strips
- 1 avocado, sliced into thin strips
- 1/2 pound of shrimp, cooked/deveined/tails off
DIRECTIONS:
- Get a large bowl/pot full of cold water. Wet a dish towel and place over a cutting board or plate. Carefully dip one wrapper fully into the water, then place onto damp paper towel.
- Begin layering fillings onto the middle of the wrapper, starting with the cabbage and lettuce and making your way to the shrimp.
- Slowly and carefully pull the bottom part of the wrapper up over the toppings, securing them inside. Then, pull in the outer sides in and continuing rolling over– like you are wrapping a burrito.
- Place wrapped spring roll onto another plate and repeat until you’ve filled all six wrappers.
- Serve with dipping sauce of choice. Enjoy!
