Summer Rolls

Whenever I would think of having rolls for a meal, my thoughts would go to those deep fried delicacies with a dipping sauce, filled with veggies and noodles and what not. They’re delicious, no doubt, but spring rolls can be a bit overwhelming because well, it’s deep fried. And hence, due to this very reason, I passed up on spring rolls during most meals. Sorry, spring rolls, no offence! I only found out about the healthy kind of rolls later in life.

The Vietnamese spring rolls, or the summer rolls as they are also popularly called, are the healthier versions, if you may. They are light, they are fresh and they are delicious. If you could have 3 spring rolls, you can have 6 summer rolls; yeah I’ve tried it.

They take mere minutes to make and only a few ingredients. The major hindrance in me making this rather exquisite dish, was not knowing that rice papers are actually available in Nepal. I was more than delighted to discover them during a Bhatbhateni shopping trip near the baking products aisle.

Here is what you need:

1 pack of rice paper

1 cup of water 

2 carrots

1 bunch of Lettuce

Shrimp

Salt to your liking

Pepper to your liking

A dab of butter 

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons soy sauce

½ teaspoon sugar

Instructions

I was not kidding when I said this will take mere minutes. But of course, feel free to change the stuffing of the summer rolls. You can substitute chicken for shrimp or just stick to veggies, whatever you like.

1.       First, take your carrots and cut them into sticks.
2. Either boil the carrot stick or steam them, whichever you find easier
3. Defrost your shrimps, the quantity totally relies on you
4. Clean and cut your shrimps
5. Grab a pan and set the stove to medium heat
6. Put a dab of butter on the pan and sauté the shrimps for a few minutes on each side until they turn orange
7. Season the shrimps with salt and pepper.
8. Wash your lettuce properly with boiled and filtered water
9. Grab a plate and pour a cup of water on it
10. Take your rice paper one at a time and soak them into the water, 1 – 2 minutes on each side until they’re ready to go
11. On your rice paper, put in a piece of lettuce, 2 or 3 shrimps and 2-3 carrot sticks that we boiled earlier
12. The main thing with summer rolls is how you fold them up, but it is pretty simple. Put the stuffing in the middle and fold on both ends. Then, fold from the bottom and tuck it in, like you would do to a burrito.

For the sauce

1. Pour in your soy sauce in a small bowl.
2. Cut your garlic cloves into thin slices
3. Set the stove t medium heat and splash a little bit of oil in there
4.  Lightly sauté the garlic slices until slight golden
5. Drop in your garlic slices into your soy sauce and give it a stir
6. Pour in  your ½ teaspoon sugar and give it another mix

Dip your summer rolls into the sauce and enjoy.

I’m not sure what I like about these rolls more, the fact that they’re so light and healthy or that they’re so colorful to look at. Either way, you win.