During my stay in Montpellier (France) for studies, I had the chance to discover the Vietnamese cuisine and I enjoyed many of its platters and deserts. One of them is “Rouleaux de printemps”, a fresh cold version of the hot fried spring rolls and imo tastier.
I enjoy having delicious meals rather than making them myself. Despite that and although I am not a great chef, I do enjoy trying recipes for fun and this week I decided to make the Rouleaux de printemps myself. I did a quick search over the internet and found various recipes with slightly different ingredients from one to another. The result was good for a first time but I am sure I can improve it with more trials. Here’s a picture how the rolls I prepared looked like.
In case you would like to try it yourself, here is what you will need:
- Rice papers (can be found easily in the Asiatic section at a supermarket). You just need to cover them with warm water until you feel they are not rigid anymore and you can start with the filling. Be careful when you hold the rice papers because they are very fragile.
- For the filling, it’s really a personal preference but the most common ingredients are:
- Cooked shrimps or chicken
- Rice vermicelli (they must be put in hot water for few minutes. And once they are cooked, just put them under running water to cool them a bit)
- Bean or soy sprouts (if not fresh, you can use canned)
- Slices or shredded carrots
- Mint leaves
- You can put also other green salad veggies, such as lettuce, coleslaw, cucumber, rocca leaves, …
Pay attention not to put a big quantity of the filling as you will not be able to wrap the rice paper properly. When all papers are wrapped, you can put them in the fridge for few minutes.
It’s a fast and healthy platter to prepare and can be served with soy sauce, hot and sweet dipping sauce or any sauce of your choice. Give it a try and enjoy 🙂
R.B.T.T. 