Rosie Makes Shrimp Spring Rolls.

Welcome to one of my favorite meals - shrimp spring rolls.
Simple.  Light.  Colorful.  Full of flavors and textures.

They're fun to make and each time I make them,
they're a little different.  Just depends on what's in the fridge.

Preparation is key.

Have everything ready to roll.

Today, I'm using bamboo green rice which I get at the Spice and Tea Exchange in the Scarborough Lane Shoppes in Duck. 

You can use sushi rice, but I like the green.  It's pretty.

It's a short grain white rice infused with fresh bamboo juice

which turns it green and it stays sticky after cooking, which is what you want for sushi.

Whatever rice you're using, prepare it according to package directions, drain it, then sprinkle a tablespoon or two of sushi vinegar or rice vinegar over it, and fork it around to mix well.

Slice the shrimp.

And prepare the vegetables. I julienned stacks of carrot, cucumber, scallion, and multi-colored peppers.  Then I chiffonaded some herbs - basil and mint - and chopped some cilantro.

A julienne cut is a very thin, matchstick cut.
A chiffonade cut is a cutting technique in which you stack the leaves, roll them up tightly, then slice
long curly uniform strips.  A chiffonade is pretty and, dare I say, elegant.

Also, have some soft lettuce leaves - Boston or Bibb - ready to use, with the ribs cut out.  Spinach works also.

Your ingredients are not etched in stone.  If you have bok choy, asparagus, yellow squash, zucchini, cabbage, radish, you could certainly use them.  And if you happen to have a jar of pickled ginger in the fridge, try some.  Bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts - any type of sprouts.  Also, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots will work nicely.

One caveat - do not overstuff your rolls.  Too fat and they get hard to work with and a bit sloppy.  You don't want them more than an inch in diameter. 

Rice paper can be found in the Asian section of your supermarket.

 

Here's what it looks like.

I take a plate, pour warm water in it, then set the rice paper in the water for about 20 seconds.

You want to soften it so it's pliable.  Don't leave it in the water too long.  It will stick to itself, sort of dissolve, and you'll end up throwing it out.

When the rice paper is ready, spread it out on your work surface and start adding your fillings.

I put the lettuce down first, next a bed of rice, then the shrimpies.
If you want to put a few drops of soy sauce on the rice, I won't stop you.

Lay down the strips of vegetables and the herbs.

And roll, tucking in the ends.

Ta da!

Keep rolling until you use everything up.

Now, for the dipping sauces.
I'll give you the ingredients and the "thereabouts"

and let you figger it out and tailor it to your tastes.

Dipping Sauce #1
juice from 2 1-inch cubes ginger
1 garlic clove, pressed
3 TB soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 TB mirin
1 tsp sesame oil
sliced scallions
toasted sesame seeds

I put the ginger cube in a garlic press and press it, scraping a bit of the pulp off to use in addition to the juice.  And FYI, if your ginger cubes are first frozen, then nuked for about 25 seconds, you can get more juice out of them.

Combine all ingredients and taste-test.  Adjust accordingly.  If you want more or less of a certain flavor, go for it.

Dipping Sauce #2
4 TB cider vinegar
2 TB honey
diced cucumber
chopped red onion
toasted peanuts, chopped
sprinkling of red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients and taste-test.

For serving, I like to slice my rolls on the diagonal.

Enjoy!

Saturday's Lunch.

Just to let you know,

I am eating other foods and meals, throughout my baking marathon. Today, we wanted more spring rolls. Here are the shrimp Mr. Hawthorne cooked today.

These are the last of the frozen shrimp from 2007.

And here are the ingredients for the innards of our spring rolls. I have tapioca sheets and big lettuce in the background, the shrimp, some sticky rice I made last week when Sister Hawthorne and Trouser Snake came down, some peppers, cucumber, carrot, radish from my garden, faux crab meat, and clover sprouts for crunch.

Mr. Hawthorne peeled the shrimp. By cooking the shrimp in the shell, Mr. H. was able to butterfly them after peeling, and have a straight, not curled up shrimp.

Here, Mr. Hawthorne is soaking a tapioca sheet to soften. His stuffing ingredients are at the left: faux crabmeat strips at top, and continuing clockwise, sliced peppers, julienned carrots, cucumber strips, and julienned radishes in the middle.

Softened tapioca sheet with lettuce.

Sticky rice went on top.

Then a strip of cuke and a strip of pepper.

Next the crabmeat. My crabmeat ... She's faux.

Julienned carrots.

Julienned radishes.

More rice.

More lettuce on top.

And Mr. H. starts rolling.

Finished roll with two little shrimpies on top.

Just so you know, here are parts of the stuffing: from left - faux crabmeat strips, pepper strips, julienned carrots, cuke strips, and julienned fresh radish.

Close up of my clover sprouts.

And here's yet another roll up. Rice and lettuce with clover sprouts.

Strips of faux crabmeat.

Yellow pepper strip went on.

Then the cucumber strip went on.

Next, the carrots went on.

And the radish strips.

More rice.

And roll 'er up.

In the meantime, I'm making a dip: garlic, ginger, toasted sesame seeds, Tamari sauce, sesame oil.

Press the garlic into the toasted sesame seeds.

Press the nuked, frozen ginger through the garlic press.

Add in the Tamari sauce. Or soy sauce.

A few drops of sesame oil.

Here are the dips for the spring rolls: Sesame/soy on the left, Wasabi in the middle, and my chili-infused oil on the right.

Dipping sauces in the background. On the plate, Mr. H.'s two spring rolls with shrimp on top, and the two I made with lots of clover sprouts inside and shrimp on the inside.

Oh my. This is looking very good.

Here's Mr. Hawthorne's roll, sliced.

My plate, with the shrimp rolls, and the dipping sauces.

Absolutely delicious. Now, Mr. Hawthorne apologizes. He goes to Harris Teeter and sees all the lovely spring rolls sliced and packaged and he so wants to be able to do the same. He wants one of those bamboo mats for sushi roll ups. Wait for Christmas, Mr. Hawthorne.