Try this Fabulous Recipe!
How to Make Healthy Spring Rolls
By Dr. Ben Kim
DrBenKim.comDuring our last visit to see the grandparents, my mom surprised us with a lovely plate of vegetable spring rolls. Not the kind that are deep-fried, but ones made with rice paper and filled with an assortment of fresh vegetables and avocado.
Here's a photo that I took before we plowed through our surprise appetizer:
To make healthy vegetable spring rolls, you'll need dry rice paper that comes in flat circles. You can find rice paper in the Asian section of your local grocery store or in most Asian food shops.
Here are a few video clips courtesy of CHOW.com's YouTube channel that show how to work with rice paper:
How to Soften Rice Paper Before Rolling:
How to Put Spring Rolls Together:
How to Keep Healthy Spring Rolls Fresh Before Serving:
To review a few key points:
Be sure to allow excess water to drip off of rice paper before laying the paper down on your rolling board.
Lay softer ingredients down first to create some padding to prevent crunchier ingredients from tearing your rice paper.
Roll firmly enough to prevent tearing while eating, but don't make them so firm that your filling ingredients puncture the rice paper.
To keep your healthy spring rolls fresh before serving, cover with a moist dish towel. Don't put rolls in the refrigerator, as the rice paper will harden.
My mom likes using a piece of lettuce as the first layer to help prevent tearing. She typically adds shredded carrots, shredded bell pepper, cucumber strips, and avocado slices on top, then rolls them up to serve.
If you use cucumber strips, cut your cucumbers into quarters lengthwise, then slice off the inner portion from each quarter to remove the seeds and juicy flesh surrounding the seeds.
If you don't remove the seeds and juicy inner pulp, your rolls will get a bit mushy.
Use a knife to slice your de-seeded cucumber quarters into thin strips.
Our favourite dipping sauce is made by combining one tablespoon of Dijon mustard with about three or four tablespoons of soy sauce and and giving this combo a quick whisk.
The first one or two tries may require a bit of trial and error, but trust me in knowing that once you get the hang of making your own healthy spring rolls, you'll be grateful to have them as a go-to dish for any occasion - you can't get these rolls just anywhere, so family and friends tend to be delighted with them.
Improve Your Health With Our Free E-mail Newsletter
Join thousands of people from all over the world who receive our natural health newsletter.
- 100% free. You can unsubscribe anytime.
- No spam. We respect and protect your privacy at all times.
- Valuable information that you can use to improve the quality of your health and life.
Reviews
Just a note to let you know how much I appreciate your newsletter. As a fellow health care provider (optometrist) and medical researcher, I find your distillation of the literature into lay terms to be accurate and very understandable. I really enjoyed your contribution regarding macular degeneration. Keep up the good work. - Kristine Erickson, OD, PhD, FAAO
I get a lot of e-mailed newsletters and yours is the only one I read thoroughly from top to bottom. Your advice is enlightening, educational, easy to follow and it works! Thank you so much for all that you offer. - Lisa Abramovic
Thanks for your excellent health newsletter. I look forward to it every week. Thanks for providing the best online health resource I have found. - Moorea Maguire
I'm sure as a doctor you hear your share of complaints. I just thought you'd like to know that there's at least one person in your "e-audience" that appreciates the time and effort you put into sending the emails. I really look forward to them. - Linda H., Raleigh, North Carolina
Many of my adult ESL students are Korean, and enjoy bits and pieces from your newsletter that I have shared with them. In addition to your logical approach to health, I enjoy sharing your newsletter because your English is unfailingly correct as well as easily understood. Thank you for your beautiful approach to life. - J. Zetterstrom
I thank you and your staff for such a great website. I am former National Level Bodybuilder so I know a thing or two about health and fitness. Your site is very valuable and I do my best to pass it on to friends and people I train. It is also a helpful resource in my career as a human service provider working with clients who need to recover from substance abuse. I believe a major part of recovery is getting your body and mind feeling healthy and strong. Thank you again! Great Website! - Michael Christopher, MSW
I truly appreciate your wonderful newsletter - your balanced and professional way of looking at issues is so helpful! - Erica H.
Disclaimer: Throughout this entire website, statements are made pertaining to the properties and/or functions of food and/or nutritional products. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and these materials and products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
