How to Make Gluten-free Spring Rolls – Video Demonstration

When it starts to get hot outside, I find myself eating lighter meals and doing what I can to avoid cooking inside.  This means either cooking outdoors or finding recipes that can be prepared quickly – with or without turning on the stove or oven.

Spring rolls are probably one of my favorite dishes to turn to.  Filled with all-fresh ingredients or with grilled vegetables or meat, they are easy, tasty, and even better when served with a tangy dipping sauce. And, they are a great gluten-free alternative to egg rolls and wontons, which use wheat wrappers.

Spring roll rice paper wrappers are kind of interesting. They are stiff, translucent disks, that look like they’ve been stamped with the same pattern used on steel treads. Strange reference, I know, but that’s what they remind me of. The texture makes the wrappers easier to work with when they are wet.

A popular brand you are likely to be able to find at your local grocery store in the Asian/Oriental food section is made by Bahn Trang.  The ingredients include rice flour, tapioca starch, and water.  Asian markets carry a much wider array of wrappers.  Some brands do include wheat and sometimes sesame seeds or shrimp, so, as usual, it is best to read the label before buying them.

If you haven’t made spring rolls before, well, let’s just say that there is a technique to making them.  The best advice I can offer: stuff, tuck, and roll.  In this month’s demonstration video, I show you how to use this advice to prepare rice paper wrappers so that they are just-right for working with, and the spring rolls are wrapped tightly enough so that they don’t fall apart as you eat them.   The result, quick, refreshing, and tasty rolls in the Vietnamese summer roll style.

If you try them out, please leave a comment below.  How did it go?  Did you practice a few times to get the technique down?  What other filling ingredients would you like to try?

 

Other posts you might enjoy: