Spring Rolls

Tomorrow is March, which means that it's time to start chowing down on spring rolls to mark the end of winter.  Conveniently, spring rolls are one of my favorite foods.  I tend to shemomedjamo when I am enjoying spring rolls, but it's ok because they are full of veggies.  Doesn't matter if eating excess rice or meat is unhealthy.

Another reason I like spring rolls is they are kind of fun to make and they keep me engaged with my food.  Since I build them as I eat them, I get to include the exact proportions of everything that I want (as long as there are sufficient supplies).  Since spring rolls are a hands-on activity, eating them also helps my mindfulness (so pretty much I already did yoga, so I don't have to work out that day) Then, there is the adventure of making art! I am not a skilled artist at normal art things, but spring rolls provide the chance for me to arrange the ingredients and roll it so that it's pretty.  Generally, I prefer practically over aesthetics, but take note that pretty spring rolls are easier to eat because they aren't dropping their goodies all over the place.

peeking in the inside

The versatility of spring rolls is another reason they are awesome.  You could have a gaggle of friends over and you wouldn't have to worry about creating one dish that would satisfy the eating habits of everyone involved.  Someone thinks cilantro tastes like soap? Fine. Tell them not to put it in their spring roll then.  Someone is a serious athlete who is always concerned about protein? Fine. Tell them to load up their spring rolls with meat.  Someone's on a gluten-free diet? Fine. Give them a bowl and tell them to skip the noodles and the wrapper.  So many people can be happy all at the same time!!

Additionally, spring rolls are great for first-timers or those who grew up in West Virginia.  They might be scared to try some Asiany dishes, but the whole process of making a spring roll is extremely transparent. Since there's no octopus, there isn't really anything that could freak a standard person out. Cucumbers? Not scary. Lettuce? Not scary. Cilantro? Not scary. Noodles? West Virginians eat those all the time. Steak? Scary for some.  I guess maybe the spring roll wrapper could be a little strange for the rookies, but they'll calm down once they take the first bite and realize "OMG THIS IS AMAZING!"

Generally, I like to KISS (keep it simple, stupid).  I slice a decently nice steak into thin pieces and marinate it in soy sauce, a couple tablespoons of ginger powder, a tablespoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and freshly ground pepper.  While the steak marinates, I clean up the steak-y stuff, boil the "rice stick" noodles, and then prepare the vegetables. Choose the veggies you like. We usually do cilantro, cucumbers, and romaine lettuce because they can be used for other meals, too.  Then, I fry up the meat in a little oil. If you want, you can thicken the sauce with a little bit of cornstarch.

my friend likes spring rolls as much as I do! 

Finally, I put everything on the table and we start building and eating! To roll them, first wet the wrapper, put it on your plate, lay down a bit of lettuce, and then lay down everything else. You want your food in a long skinny line.  Do not make the classic noob mistake of filling it too full! Your spring roll wrapper will split and everything will fall out.  Even if it works out, your spring roll will be really fat and you will look greedy.  From years of experience and overeating, I have amassed many more helpful tips on rolling these. I don't feel like going into detail here, but let me know if you're interested!

Don't forget the sauce! There's a few different sauces we like: peanut sauce, sauce with a base of fish sauce, and sweet chili sauce. My favorite is the peanut sauce!  If you are lazy, just buy sauce, but I really like making peanut sauce! Then it can be the exact consistency I want. Nom nom nom!!