I have absolutely nothing against cilantro. In fact, I love the stuff. But I fear I greatly offended the herb this week.
I have this very organized habit of getting all my ingredients laid out on the counter whenever I begin to cook. This leads to a bad habit of pushing things around to create space when I need it for doing things like, um, rolling up spring rolls.
This was the first time I made spring rolls and I’m pretty darn happy with the result. I could use a bit more practice in rolling to get them tighter, but otherwise I claim success. Well, that is if you don’t talk to the cilantro.
As I proudly wrapped all the rolls and admired them sitting on the plate, I looked over and tucked away in the corner behind the coffee maker, was the cilantro! I had every intention of topping off my pile of filling with a sprig or two before rolling, but in my effort to create space I shoved one of my favorite herbs out of view!
So we’ll just have to enjoy it as a garnish in the photos. The good news is, if you don’t like cilantro, these spring rolls are great without it. If you do, they’ll be even better with it inside and not just sitting on the plate.
- ~3 oz rice sticks
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 3 green onions, sliced
- ½ large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots, julienned (or if you are like me, as close as you can get to it)
- 1 ½ cups bok choy, greens only, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
- ~ 25 cooked shrimp
- Cilantro (optional)
- 6-7 rice paper wraps
- Place the rice sticks in a bowl and fill the bowl with hot water to cover the noodles. Allow to sit until tender, about 5 minutes. Cool, chop and set aside.
- In a wok, heat the oil. Add the green onions, bell pepper, carrots, bok choy and garlic. Cook over high heat for only 1 to 2 minutes. If you want your veggies softer you can cook them longer. Add the soy sauce and the ginger.
- For each roll, soften the rice paper wraps according to package directions. Lay the rice paper on a flat surface or plate. On one end pile up some noodles, veggies (cilantro) and 3 to 4 shrimp. Slowly roll up the spring roll, tucking in the filling and folding in the sides as you go.
- Serve at room temperature or cold.
- Serving Sauces: The sauces were quickly thrown together. Tasty, but nothing extravagant.
- Spicy Mustard – Equal parts Dijon mustard and Sriracha
- Peanut Chile – 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter, 2 tablespoons imported Thai Chili sauce (I like to get imported because it is usually free of HFCS), 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon minimally refined cane sugar, 2 teaspoons soy sauce. Stir together the ingredients in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in water to reach the desired consistency.
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I love spring rolls although the sauce is usually my favorite part!
I love cilantro and spring roles both. 😉 These look fantastic.
Gorgeous pictures! I really love spring rolls, especially with shrimp.
These are restaurant quality! Your pictures are fantastic and it makes me want to dive in and take a bite!
Spring rolls are always so so pretty and these are no exception!
peanut chile? I need to try that sauce. I love spring rolls so much. I order them every time we go to Thai food. Never tried making them though.
I can imagine the sweet taste it will leave in my mouth. I love spring rolls!!! i eed to try the sauce though ;0 great photo.
Lori, I love this wraps…and your turned out so pretty…looks delicious. I love the peanut sauce with my wraps 🙂
Hope you have a great week!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that also…my counter is always a mish mosh of ingredients while I’m cooking…it’s lucky I remember anything! These spring rolls sound great though!
Spring rolls are something I keep thinking I should make to take with me for lunch at school – I figure they would be a nice change from the typical sandwich. I don’t know why I avoid making them – they are ridiculously easy. I like how you sauteed the veg before adding it – I’ve always left mine raw. I would totally be okay with leaving out the cilantro though 😉
your rolls turned out so neat! 🙂 great folding skills!! im sure they tasted great still without the cilantro! 😉
such a healthy warm weather food…will be making these soon!
Looks delicious. I love the peanut sauce.. this dish is such a delish!! love the way you’ve wrapped the shrimp rolls ;0
These look really refreshing and it’s one of my faves in summer, especially with a spicy savoury dip!
Love your blog title, Fake Food Free… I am first timer here and from the looks of your cooking I will be back! Your spring rolls look scrumptious and definitely for a first timer. I love spring rolls though I have never made them myself.
Oh yum! These look awesome. Too bad my hubby doesn’t like shrimp. Maybe I will try them one day for lunch.
Thanks for the kind words about the spring rolls and welcome to the new readers that have stopped by. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
I would have never thought by looking at these that this was your first time making spring rolls. They look amazing.
Beautiful colors. =)