Rock and Roll: Veggie Spring Roll Recipe

Monday, March 21, 2011

Photo by Chef Nikko-san/Food.com

Happy Spring! I couldn’t be happier to say those words. As a real mom who loves to eat, spring marks a months-long smorgasbord of abundant, fresh, local produce that I just can’t get enough of. Don’t get me wrong, I love my winter root veggies, but…bring o

n the asparagus, the berries, the leafy greens already!

Of course it’s a little too early for any of this yet, but in anticipation of the soon-to-come bounty and as a nod to the fact that it’s not quite here yet, I present, a tasty spring roll recipe by Chef Nikko-san. It may look time-intensive, but actual prep time is only 20 minutes, and your kids might even enjoy wrapping the rolls with you.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls*
Makes 12-24

Ingredients:

  • 1 ounce fine cellophane noodle
  • 2 Tb. peanut oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 scallions, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup bean sprouts
  • 1/2 cup green cabbage, shredded
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and finely shredded
  • 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 Tb. light soy sauce
  • 1 Tb. rice wine or 1 tablespoon dry sherry
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 Tb. chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 Tb. chopped fresh mint
  • 24 spring roll wrappers

Directions:
Place the noodles in a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Let stand for 4 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water and drain again. Cut into 2-inch lengths.

Heat the peanut oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions, beansprouts, cabbage, and carrot and sauté for a minute. Stir in the sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, pepper, cilantro, and mint and take off the heat. Stir in the rice noodles.

Arrange the wrappers on the counter, pointing diagonally. Spoon a bit of the filling onto the bottom corner of the wrapper. Roll the point of the wrapper over the filling, then fold the side points inward over the filling. Continue to roll up the wrapper away from you, using a bit of water to seal the roll if needed.

Brush lightly with oil and bake in a 400-degree F oven until crispy, about 15-20 minutes. You may want to flip the spring rolls halfway through baking.

(You can also freeze these unbaked and then bake from frozen. This will take about 25 minutes.)

*Recipe sourced from Food.com.