Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Spring Rolls


Mom's spring rolls are highly requested--probably her most requested dish. We had a family reunion on my dad's side of the family last August and there was a spring roll mandate. Thai food and spring rolls for 50+ people is no small task but everyone pitched in and cooked and rolled and it was a great time spent together. My cousin recently requested the recipe from my brothers. I don't believe they've ever made spring rolls, or any other Thai food. So this weekend when the family was together, and spring rolls were mandatory, Sister and I documented the process to pass on. Sister was having quite the time playing with my camera. Many of the photos over the past two posts have been hers.


Thai Spring Rolls

1-2 cloves garlic
4 oz bean thread noodles
1 pkg spring roll wrappers
1 lb ground chicken
3 eggs
3 cups sliced cabbage
1 carrot, grated
2 tbsp soy sauce

-Soak noodles in warm water for 15-20 mins, until soft. Cut noodles a couple of times with scissors.
-Brown chicken over medium heat, breaking up pieces
-In separate pan, scramble 2 eggs
-Add garlic to cooked chicken and cook garlic for 1-2 minutes
-Add cabbage and carrots to chicken and cook for 3 additional minutes.
-Add noodles, soy sauce and cooked eggs and cook 2-3 minutes more, until noodles are soft. Allow filling to cool before wrapping.



Separate one spring roll wrapper and cover remaining wrappers with damp paper towel. Add a large spoonful of filling into one corner of wrapper.


Roll one corner away from you and over filling. Fold both side corners in and continue rolling spring roll away from you, ensuring a tight roll. Beat remaining egg and spread a little in corner to seal. Can be made up to this point in advance and covered and refrigerated.



Fry spring rolls in hot oil for 2-3 minutes.


Ta da!
One of my favorite shows is Throwdown with Bobby Flay. And so my sister and I challenged my mom to a sweet spring roll throwdown. Spring roll wrappers are neutral flavored, perfect for a fabulous fried dessert. Mom made a peach and cream cheese spring roll with chocolate sauce, I made a bananas foster spring roll with vanilla ice cream, and Sister made a german chocolate cookie spring roll with vanilla ice cream. But then the boys and dad were wimps and said they were all equally good. There is no *tie* in Throwdown.
We did all collaborate on a banana and mango spring roll with coconut ice cream.

Thanks for the photography assistance Sister.

7 comments:

Shannon Hardin said...

Thanks for the recipe! The spring rolls look delicious, and I will certainly try out the basic recipe and some variations.

I do, however, have another question...was it really bright in the kitchen? Or were those special anti-hot oil glasses, sort of like a welder's mask that flips down with a toss of your head when needed?

Lindsey said...

Thanks Mary for taking the time to post the recipe. That is awesome. I was so excited to finally have it. When I make them, I'll take pictures so you can see my masterpiece... hoping they turn out right! :) Take care, thanks a lot, and love you! Muah!

Brown Family Blog said...

You and Sister are BEAUTIFUL!!!

I am so glad you posted the spring roll recipe. I bought the wrappers the other day and was dragging my feet on making them, partly because I didnt have a recipe. We just love them and I thought J would be very happy if I made some. I am excited to try it out.

Mary said...

They are special eye devices, allowing me to move seamlessly between indoor cooking and outdoor cooking. they also double as headband. Sneaky. Welding mask for extreme cooking? Interesting idea sir.

Can't wait to hear about how they turn out Lindsey and Dee!!!

Monica said...

I'm craving them already again...they look so good. But also notice how fabulous our smokey eyes look!

Leslie said...

That was super creative, all those dessert spring rolls. Chris read this post and i thin he wants me to make those spring rolls too. It will be fun to try.

Mary said...

Only peeps with makeup artists in the family have smoky eyes when they cook. :)

Ooooh Leslie--let me know ifyou guys make any sweet ones and what you tried. Monica and I could have gone on all night with our combo ideas.