If you want to cook your way through Thailand, it’s best to start with the easier dishes. Here’s a one so simple, a child could make it!
A spring roll is like a mini burrito, but with more veggies.
Why do kids like Spring Rolls?
- Customization, kids can add ONLY what they like to eat
- Colorful, it’s an eye catching dish thanks to the variety of vegetables.
- Textures, the above veggies add different levels of crunchiness and taste
- It’s healthy! (Because kids gravitate toward nutritious food, right?)
Want to see how we make our Thai Spring Rolls just like the natives? Read on below
How I Learned To Make Thai Spring Rolls my girlfriend and I signed up for a Cooking class. In any country I visit, I always take a cooking class and then adapt the recipes for kids.
In Argentina: I brought back Alfajora Cookies with Dulce de Leche and Empanadas
In Peru: I brought back Lomo Saltado (beef and veggie stir fry) and Piccarones (sweet potato donuts)
For Thailand I have A LOT more recipes that are very kid friendly, that I will reveal in future posts.
The cooking class we chose was called Benny’s Home Cooking and was an excellent class where each participant had their own cooking station to make an appetizer, soup, curry, noodle stir-fry and dessert. Plus we got a tour of a local market.
Overall I had a great time, but it was a little on the long side, lasting from about 10am-4pm with an additional hour at the front and back to get to and from the class location.
History of Spring Rolls
Spring rolls are a variety of filled, rolled appetizers found in many Asian cuisines.
In Thailand it’s called “Por Pear Sod”
They are popular snacks or appetizers that have seasonal ingredients.
They’re often made with rice wrappers, but can also be made with dough and then fried. In America we call these “egg rolls”
Making these with rice wrappers is MUCH more healthy and still tasty.
Recipe: Thai Spring Rolls
- 8 rice wrappers (found in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores)
- 2 oz rice vermicelli noodles
- 2 lettuce leaves, chopped
- 1 avocado, cut into thin, long slices
- 1 carrot, cut into thing slices
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin long slices
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into thin strips
- Lime wedges
- 2 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
- Optional: Cooked shrimp or imitation crab meat
- Dipping Sauce: Sweet chili sauce or peanut sauce
Directions:
Heat 5 cups of water. It should be warm to the touch but not scalding hot.
In a bowl, add 3 cups of warm water and add the rice noodles, let sit for 3-5 minutes until cooked. Drain and set aside.
Place remaining water in a wide, shallow bowl
Dip one wrapper into the warm water for 2-3 seconds to soften.
Lay wrapper on a flat work space and add whatever ingredients you like such as lettuce, avocado, carrots, bell pepper or cooked shrimp. Top with rice noodles and a squeeze of lime. Fold in the sides (like a burrito) and tightly roll the rice wrapper. Repeat with remaining wrappers.
That’s it! Stay tuned for more tasty Thai recipes.
