Fresh spring rolls with shrimp and vegetables

2010. Fresh spring rolls with shrimp and vegetables (Fresh Spring Rolls)

My life began in Colombia in 2010. To be exact on April 11, 2010. In those days, I met few people, but I had the pleasure that my friends Maria and Gaby were also living in Bogotá and also, we all worked in the same company. That year and 2011, we used to meet once a month to cook rich things and drink some wine. In one of those dinners I ate, after many years, fresh rice paper rolls and I was excited. Then in a chain of Asian food, I tried them again, and few weeks later, I was with rice paper and lots of vegetables trying to prepare them myself.

Over time, I got used to making them for lunch in the office, or appetizers for a dinner at home. But it was in Vietnam that I began to notice that these rolls, commonly filled with rice noodles and also with aromatic leaves (some of which are not available in Colombia), were different to the way I ate them normally. So this recipe is for you to have your first approach to these delicious rolls, and I hope to show you other very Vietnamese combinations.

Fresh Spring Rolls recipe

For 12 rolls. Calories per roll: 65 calories

Ingredients:

– 200 grams of thin rice noodles

– 12 sheets of rice paper (make sure you have about 15 or 20 if broken).

– 1 ripe avocado

– 1 European cucumber or for sushi (they also call it Japanese).

– 1 large mango (neither ripe nor green, it is a medium term, like a light yellow)

– 200 grams of natural or spiced tofu

– 1 bouquet or bunch of chives (ciboulette, chives or spring onion)

– 1 bouquet or bunch of mint

– 1 large carrot

– 200 grams of shrimp (can be small) – approximately 24 shrimps.

For the dip for the rolls:

– 1/4 cup of lemon juice

– 1/4 cup of fish sauce

– 1 tbsp (tablespoon) of brown sugar

– 1 tbsp (tablespoon) of freshly ground pepper

– 1 tbsp (tablespoon) of ground crushed peanuts

– 1 tbsp (tablespoon) of water

What do I do?

1 I prepare all the ingredients. In 2 cups of boiling water I cook the noodles for two minutes (this type of pasta is much faster than that of wheat). I strain them and leave them in a bowl. I do the same with the shrimp.

2 I chop the carrots, the mango, the avocado, the tofu and the cucumber in long sticks, about 7 or 8cm more or less, or as seen in the photos. The important thing is that the size is such that you can close the roll by the sides. Cut the peppermint and cilantro into small pieces and mix. I look for a pot that is larger than the rice paper and heat 3 cups of water there, so that it is warm and not boiling. If I have a large bowl I also pass the water, but I use the pot. In that water I put the paper so that it softens. It is done with care to prevent it from sticking or breaking. Important: The paper is soaked one by one, not all at once, that is to say, I soften the paper, make the roll and I continue with the next one.

3 Once the paper becomes soft I take it out of the water, let the water run out a little and proceed to place it on a chopping board and stretch it very carefully avoiding that it breaks. I place the filling of the roll on the stretched paper, in the area between the center of the paper and the lower end. I place the shrimp (about 4) and a fist of rice noodles first. I continue with the vegetables: an avocado stick, two of carrots and chives, one of tofu, one of mango and one of cucumber. I sprinkle cilantro and peppermint (I love to take a lot because I enjoy the aromatic flavor of these two spices).

4 To close the roll, I begin at the bottom: with the hands, I lift the lower end and move it until it covers the filling.

5 Then I close it by the left side, then by the right and I turn it until the complete roll is formed.

Take into account that the texture of the paper will tend to stick everything without water or anything that adheres when you have closed it. Do you already have the roll?

6 To serve it and eat it more easily, I recommend cutting the roll in half, like this:

For the dip, I add in a mortar or in a bowl the juice of lemon and the fish sauce. Then the peanuts, sugar and pepper. I mash a little peanut and sugar and mix everything for a minute. If you like it spicy, you can add a few pieces of some chili that you have at home or drops of some spicy sauce at the moment you are grinding everything. Serve the rolls and that’s it! Soak them in the sauce and transport yourself to Vietnam with every bite!

Tip: If you are vegan or vegetarian, you can make these rolls without the shrimp. In fact they would become vegan rolls. You do not necessarily have to put all these vegetables, play with the combination you want. For example, I have friends who do not like avocado, so I do not put them. These are eaten with your hands!

Tip # 2: This recipe is gluten-free, vegan, healthy, and perfect if you’re dieting or doing the crossfit transformation challenge.