How to Make Fresh Spring Rolls
Fresh spring rolls are easy to customize with vegetables, cooked meat, rice noodles, and other favorite fillings. Prepare everything first, then let everyone build their own.
Basic Fresh Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- Rice paper spring roll wrappers
- Warm water for softening wrappers
- Thinly sliced or shredded vegetables
- Cooked chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, or another favorite protein, optional
- Cooked rice noodles, optional
- Favorite dipping sauce
Directions
- Prepare all vegetables, cooked meat, and noodles before you begin.
- Pour warm water into a shallow bowl or pie plate.
- Dip one rice paper wrapper in the water just until it begins to soften. It will continue softening after you remove it.
- Lay the wrapper flat and place a small amount of filling near the lower third.
- Fold the bottom edge snugly over the filling.
- Fold the left and right sides toward the center so the ends are enclosed.
- Roll forward until the filling is completely wrapped.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Spring Roll Tips: Don't soak the rice paper too long or it can become sticky and tear. Use only a small amount of filling and cut vegetables into thin strips so the rolls are easier to wrap. If a wrapper tears, use less filling and soften the next wrapper for less time.
Fresh Spring Roll Variations
- Chicken & Vegetable: Fill with shredded cooked chicken, lettuce, carrots, cucumber, and optional rice noodles.
- Beef or Pork: Combine cooked shredded beef, ground beef, or thin pieces of cooked pork with cabbage, carrots, cucumber, or other crunchy vegetables.
- Hamburger Carrot: Combine 1 cup cooked ground beef with 1 cup finely shredded carrots. Season with 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce and ginger to taste.
- Rainbow Vegetable: Fill with shredded purple cabbage, julienned carrots, red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cucumber strips, and shredded lettuce. Add rice noodles if desired.
- Vegetable: Mix and match lettuce, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, or other favorite vegetables.
- Chicken & Noodle: Combine cooled rice noodles with shredded cooked chicken, carrots, cucumber, and lettuce.
- Leftover Spring Rolls: Use small amounts of leftover cooked chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, or noodles to create your own combination.
Dipping Sauce Ideas: Serve with sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce, duck sauce, or another favorite dipping sauce.
Kid Cooking Tip: Set the fillings out in small bowls and let kids choose their own combinations. Kids can arrange the fillings and practice folding and rolling while an adult supervises any cooking or other tasks involving heat.