Recipe collected by Grace Fick, Summer 2021

Spring rolls are a Laotian/Vietnamese snack or meal that encompasses a lot of natural ingredients. It also signifies the types of food Southeastern Asian communities eat as it is very common to take leftover food and wrap it in anything. Ever since I was a little girl, this has always been one of my favorite foods as not only are they delicious, but I am able to make it alongside my mother. It is one of the dishes that I hope to carry onward for future generations as it connects me with my heritage. 

Ingredients:

Sauce:

  • 2 tbsp. Hoisin sauce

  • Fresh garlic

  • 1 tsp. ground peanuts

Filling:

  • 1 package of Vietnamese rice paper

  • 1 package of rice noodles

  • 1 head of romaine lettuce, chopper vertically

  • 1 cucumber, chopped vertically

  • 2 cups vertically cut carrots

  • Cilantro

  • Mint, if available

  • Fried egg, cut vertically 

  • Optional: pork, shrimp

Directions:

  1. Fill a medium-sized bowl of warm water and a clean plate.

  2. Gently soak 1 rice paper in the bowl, making sure to fully submerge it in water. Then place the wet rice paper on the plate.

  3. Repeat this for every rice paper that you desire to use. Be sure to give space to every rice paper that dries as they will stick to each other if they touch. 

  4. Boil the rice noodles for about 15 minutes. 

  5. Chop the romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumbers vertically so they can fit into the rice paper when wrapped. 

  6. Chop cilantro and/or mint and place aside. 

  7. In an oiled saucepan, place an egg on it, being sure not to scramble it. Break the yolk in the middle and gently swirl it.

  8. Fry it for about 5 minutes.

  9. Remove from heat and cut the fried egg into vertical pieces. 

  10. Optional: Cook the pork or shrimp in your desirable way.

  11. Lay out all of the chopped/cooked ingredients.

  12. Place the rice paper completely flat. Grab a handful of the cooked rice noodles, with small amounts of the vegetables and egg towards  the bottom of the paper, closest to you.

  13. At the left and right ends, fold them in and roll to close up the rice paper. 

  14. Repeat this for your desirable amount of spring rolls. 

  15. To make the sauce, take Hoisin sauce, ground peanuts and a small amount of garlic and stir in a little bowl.

  16. Then serve with fresh spring rolls.

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