Fresh Vietnamese spring roll with peanut sauce

Healthy fresh Vietnamese spring roll

Fresh Vietnamese spring rolls 

What are Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls and How Can They be Healthy?

Vietnamese spring rolls are a traditional and delicious dish that is healthy and easy to prepare. They are made with fresh vegetables, herbs, and lean proteins wrapped in thin rice paper wrappers. This makes them a light yet satisfying meal that can be enjoyed as an appetite or main course. Not only are they tasty but they also provide numerous health benefits due to their high content of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre . They are low in calories, fat-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free so they can be enjoyed by anyone who is looking for a healthy meal option.

What do you need to make fresh Vietnamese spring roll

• Rice paper I like using larger circular rice papers (22cm, about 8.5 inches) because they hold more filling.
• Prawn and chicken breast The easiest way to cook the prawn and chicken is to boil them. Then, remove the prawns and chicken from the boiling water and let them cool down before used. 
• Lettuce leaves I used the lettuce leaves because they help make the rolling process much easier. When you nestle the vegetables, and herbs inside the lettuce leaf, the filling won’t spread out everywhere as you roll up the spring roll. Plus, the lettuce offers a nice color contrast to the shrimp.
• Vegetable and herbs Although I like the combination of carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, and mint, use whatever you prefer. Sometimes, I’ll throw in red cabbage, sliced avocado, or basil. The sky is the limit in terms of the ingredients you can use for spring rolls! Make sure to slice the vegetables thinly so that they are easier to chew.

Fresh spring rolls 

A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Delicious & Healthy Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

• DIP THE RICE PAPER IN LUKEWARM WATER

To soften dry rice paper, quickly dip the rice paper in a bowl of lukewarm water, no longer than a few seconds. Don’t worry if the paper feels stiff when you take it out of the water. The rice paper will continue to soften on the chopping board.

• ADD THE FILLING

Lay a piece of butter lettuce over the lower edge of the rice paper. Then, top the lettuce with noodles, vegetables, and mint. Next, line the shrimp about 1 1/2 inches below the top edge of the rice paper. By leaving a gap between the shrimp and vegetables, the shrimp will look more vibrant in the final roll because they will be covered by only one layer of rice paper.

How to roll the spring roll

• ROLL THE SPRING ROLL

When you are ready to roll the spring roll, grab the lower edge of the rice paper with your thumbs and pointer fingers, lift, and roll up the spring roll. Use your other fingers to hold the filling together. Continue rolling the spring roll until you reach the shrimp or chicken. 

Then, fold the left and right sides of the spring roll toward the centre (see photographs above). Finally, roll the spring roll all the way to the end.

Health Benefits of Eating Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Eating fresh Vietnamese spring rolls is a great way to get the benefits of a healthy and nutritious meal. Not only are they delicious, but they are packed with vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients that can help boost your health and well-being. From providing antioxidants to helping regulate blood sugar levels, the health benefits of eating fresh Vietnamese spring rolls are numerous. 

The Best Sauces for Your Favorite Vietnamese Fresh Spring Roll Recipe

Traditionally, spring rolls are served with nước chấm, a Vietnamese dipping sauce made of fish sauce, chilli, sugar, and lime juice. I have a recipe below for the nước chấm. I slightly prefer using a peanut sauce for this recipe because I love the richness of the peanut sauce

Super Easy! Peanut sauce recipe

• 4 Tbs Peanut butter.
• 1 Tbs Hoisin sauce.
• 1 clove Garlic.

Instructions

1. In the sauce pan used medium heat.
2. Add Peanut butter and Hoi Sin sauce into the pan mix well together cook for 2-3 minutes
3. Add a clove of mince garlic and 4-5 Tbs water to loose the sauce.
4. Cooked another 2-3 minutes keep stirring until it look creamy.

Tips & Tricks on How to Make the Perfect VietnameseFresh Spring

• To prevent the fresh spring roll from sticking together by sprinkle with toasted sesame oil before place them on the plate.I usually roll spring rolls on top of a chopping board. To prevent the rice paper from sticking to the board, I wet the board by brushing water over it with my hand. After every two spring rolls or so, I will wet the board againI slice the prawns into half to make it easy when do the wrapping.

• Remove the seed from the cucumber, it will help the spring get nice and crunchy