Spring Rolls - How to Roll Spring Rolls the Easy Way!

Wanna know how to roll spring rolls the easy way? CG showed me a simple way to roll spring rolls using a damp towel (folks are asking if this leaves fuzzies on the spring rolls--nope!--just use a towel that doesn't leave fuzzies--a clean dish towel generally works well if your other towels are more sheddable; a damp towel makes handling and rolling the rice paper easy-peezey-lemon-squeezey! Check it out and print the complete recipe at http://www.myfoodchannel.com/spring-rolls/
Give this spring roll dish a try and let me know what you think, and for more video recipes check out the Chef Buck playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2EFBD7E8FE2BB552 and to discover and print more great dishes visit my recipe website at http://www.myfoodchannel.com/

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All you need to make spring rolls are rice paper and some tasty ingredients to roll up inside. You can buy rice paper at any Asian food store, most health food markets, and in the ethnic foods section of many local grocery stores. Its an economical buy. The last batch I bought was a package of 20 for $2.25 U.S. dollars. It comes in sheets, like paper, but usually round in shape; it doesnt feel like paper, thoughit feels more like plastic, almost like something youd find at the hardware store, but dont let that put you off, it softens quickly when wet. Despite its initial "plasticky" appearance, its not bad for you, or particularly good for you eitherrice, tapioca, salt, and water are the prime components. How your spring rolls taste will be determined by the ingredients you roll up inside, and any dipping sauce you might like to serve them with. Its a great vehicle for getting raw vegetables into your diet; I like to think of a spring roll as a cigar-shaped salad, but many pre-cooked meats and seafood work well in spring rolls, too.

ingredients:
Rice Paper and
Whatever the hell you wanna roll up in the rice paper.
Here are a few options I like to use:
cilantro (I ALWAYS USE CILANTRO), cucumber, basil leaves, lettuce, carrots, sprouts, rice noodles, steamed shrimp, stir-fried spicy pork, bell pepper, green onions, cabbage, and on and on and on
theres no end to what you can use.

directions:
Prepare your filling ingredientsmainly making sure the ingredients are chopped or sliced in a manner which will make them rice paper-wrapping friendlythis is especially true if you plan on slicing the spring rolls in halfyour filling ingredients will tumble out easily if theyre too loose and tiny.
Wet the rice paper with warm tap water. Just a few seconds under a warm tap is plenty. Place the rice paper on a damp towel and gently press down. The rice paper will quickly soften and become pliable. Arrange your filling ingredients at one end of the sheet and roll them up in the rice paper like a burrito. Using basil or lettuce or cabbage leaves as your base ingredient will make the rolls structurally sound and easier to roll. Its very important that the first rollover be tightcompact the ingredients as much as possiblea loosely rolled spring roll is a sad sight, and will quickly fall apart if sliced. The rice paper will be your friend. It will help. It is very sticky and will seal almost like an envelope around your stuffings. If you want a tasty spring roll, its as easy as rolling up a tasty combo of ingredientsa yummy dipping sauce will help, and here are two:

Peanut Dipping Sauce:
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil

Chili Dipping Sauce:
2 Tbsp Chili-Garlic sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Seeds

And just plain old soy sauce works fine, too. Or maybe some hot mustardI've never tried that, but it just popped into my head, so maybe next time I'll give it a go.

Alright, that's enough blabbing.

Give spring rolls a try and bon apptit!

"Cool Vibes" by Kevin MacLeod is used with permission and found at this link
http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100863 and licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.
More great Kevin MacLeod music can be found at http://incompetech.com/