Spring Roll Dreams

I LOVE the spring rolls at Open Harvest so much, that I have been toying with the idea of making my own for quite sometime.  The only setback for me had been the fact that I could not, for the life of me, find rice spring roll paper anywhere.  I tend to visit a variety of different grocery stores in town, just depending on where I am at and what I need and every time I made a trip to the grocery store I would search for the mystery spring roll paper (I was beginning to think it didn't exist)!  Then on a random trip to the grocery store I frequent the most...I FOUND IT!!!! I was beyond excited.  So I bought a package and my spring roll making adventure began!

Ingredients:

1 package Rice Spring Roll Paper
1 package Raw Cole Slaw
stir fry sauce (amount varies depending on your taste)
warm water

I planned to make the spring rolls on a weeknight, which probably wasn't the best idea because it  meant that I wouldn't have much time to devote to the "rolling" process.  So to avoid spending large amounts of time on prepping vegetables for the rolls, I purchased a package of Cole Slaw from the produce section.  Now, I know traditionally spring rolls are supposed to contain sprouts and other yummy raw veggies, but I just didn't have time for that.  And since this was going to be my first attempt at making these, I figured the whole process would be a disaster anyway so what would it hurt to stray away from tradition and make it my own.  I'll go the "traditional" route second time around.

Rice paper comes in very think, delicate sheets about the size of a an 8" pie.  In order to make them pliable for rolling, you dip them in a warm water for about 10-15 second.  Then VERY carefully transfer the paper to your assembly service.  It took me a couple of times to get this right, but after the 3rd or 4th I was able to lay the paper flat and not have it fold over on itself.

Then I added a small handful of coleslaw mix (raw coleslaw tossed in a stir fry sauce - again, not traditional, but adding a little flavor made it more kid friendly) to the center of the paper.  Next, fold one side of the paper over the slaw mix, then fold in the right and left ends, and finally fold the final side over the entire roll.  Once again (sense a trend here?) I am not sure if this is the traditional way to fold a spring roll, but its how they fold the burritos at Chipotle, so it works for me!

The roll will remain sticky for a little while, so be sure to place them in a single layer to dry.  I did not do this, so learn from my mistake, otherwise you will carefully be pulling your spring rolls apart.

I served the rolls with a couple of different sauces I found at our local grocery store, along with Jasmine Rice and Edamame. The dipping sauces weren't the best, but they worked.  I think next time I will visit one of our local Asian markets for something a bit more authentic.

So I bet your wondering what the verdict was? Well...I LOVED them! Probably because I had been dreaming (yes, litterally the night before I had dreams about making my spring rolls) about making them for quite sometime.  Kiley thougt they were okay, but next time he said he would appreciate the addition of some type of meat.  Ellie wasn't a big fan of the rice paper (texture issue) but she loved the vegetables (perfect).  So I think this one is a keeper...with a couple of minor tweaks of course!