Make a Vietnamese Spring Roll (Oriental Food)

Do you like Asian cuisine? If you were keen with your food, you would notice how Asians have a way of presenting their food beautifully. Take for instance their spring rolls. Whether they are served fried or fresh, they always pass as eye candy whenever you would see them in an Asian restaurant or a weekend market of multi-national delicacies.

One country famous for their well-presented food items is Vietnam. Aside from their infamous noodle soup, they are also known for their spring rolls (both fresh and fried), which they serve with a variety of fresh and crunchy vegetables, seafood and meat. Sounds delectable don’t they?

If you think that in order for you to have a taste of this Vietnamese specialty entails spending a ton of money at the local Vietnamese restaurant, it should not be the case. Though a little challenging, Vietnamese Style Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce, as what people would call it, are do-able in your own kitchen. You just have to give yourself some time to practice and prepare the dish.

The ingredients for the dish are actually readily available at the grocery store; there are just some reminders that you must take note of in buying them. Here are a few tips.

• Buy extra rice wrappers in case of emergency. As mentioned, it takes some practice before you can roll this delicacy like a professional.
• In buying your shrimp, buy the medium sized one. If you are too lazy to prepare them, you can opt for ready to serve cocktail shrimps at your local grocery stores.
• You also might want to check out your near-by Asian grocery for some of the ingredients to give it a more authentic taste.
• When you roll, make sure that you press the dish firmly to hold the folds on your wrapper.
• To keep your rolls fresh, keep them in a big dish that allows them to have space apart. Additionally, put a moist towel at the bottom of the container and then cover it with cling wrap to keep your rolls moist and fresh.

Now proceeding to how to make Vietnamese spring rolls. You will need the following ingredients.

• Medium shrimps
• 2 ounces rice vermicelli
• Rice paper wrappers
• ½ cup mung bean sprouts
• A bunch of mint leaves
• Basil leaves
• Cilantro springs
• 1 cucumber cut into strips
• 1 pitted hot chili pepper cut into strips
• 2 scallions
• Boston lettuce leaves

The procedures in making your spring rolls are as follows.

• Prepare all your ingredients.
• In a saucepan, boil water. Then, cook your shrimp for about 1 minute and a half.
• When you notice a bright orange color in your shrimp, drain them and cool under cold water.
• Cook your rice vermicelli noodles, drain, then set aside.
• Prepare a clean wooden board, which will serve as your rolling area. Make sure that all your ingredients (fresh and cooked) are within an arms reach to help expedite the process of rolling the spring rolls.
• In placing your ingredients on the counter, arrange them in this set up: rice paper wrappers, shrimp, vermicelli, sprouts, mint, basic, chili pepper, cilantro, cucumber, scallions and lettuce.
• Once they are ready, you can now take out your rice wrappers one by one then start rolling by following the previous procedure.

Remember that practice makes perfect. So don’t be disheartened if your first batch of rolls appears loose and soggy. You can always try again.