Preparing Asian inspired food intimidates me, but I love it. Spring rolls are near the top of the list, prepared in any way but very specifically when eaten raw, they leave a fresh and light feeling of fullness. Depending on the ingredients used you can really focus on the flavors and not the packaging. Obviously I love herbs like basil & cilantro and in a spring roll, paired with shrimp you can’t go wrong. I attempted these for my Sunday #mealprep ritual … The spring rolls turned out better than I expected for my first try, however, I learned that they don’t keep well. Soooo, Great for snacking and immediate consumption and not for a weeks worth of lunches.

What I used

• 1 lb large Shrimp (halved long ways)
• 1 large (about an inch thick) / thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber / thinly sliced
• 4 ounces rice noodles (the brand I used are similar to these – they take less than 5 minutes to prepare)
• 8 rice wrapping papers – (I used Three Ladies Spring roll rice wrapping papers)
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 10-12 basil leaves

What I did

Preparation is the most important step to creating these rolls.  Slice and rinse everything and lay all the ingredients out, being sure to give yourself enough space for the actual wrapping. You’ll also need an empty plate for once you’re finish with each roll. I used the above ingredients but you can literally use any variation of fruits and vegetables you like, just keep it to no more than 5 – wrapping is tricky and you don’t want to lose roll #formation

1. Soak wrapping paper (about 4 seconds) in warm water – i used a shallow fraying pan
2. transfer to plate
3. pile in your ingredients longways
4. fold wrapping paper – check the below image, I used this, it’s on the back of the rice paper packaging it WORKS!
5. move the roll to another plate and repeat – the more you make the better you’ll get at rolling
6. that’s literally it!

A few of these with a low sodium soy sauce or peanut sauce is heaven in a roll. Moral of the story, Give it a try, all of these ingredients are easily accessible and for roll wrapping, practice makes perfect.

#therobertashow