Vegetarian or beef spring rolls are a fun and fresh appetizer or light meal!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Marc’s mom and aunt had a shower for me that was a Thai food cooking class theme.  A chef from a local Thai restaurant lead the class and throughout the night she made and we ate six (!!) dishes.  Each one was unique and equally delicious and I couldn’t wait to make them again.  The catch was that some of the ingredients, you just can’t find at your typical grocery store.  The chef suggested to us to find any Asian grocery store for the specialty items, and when we told her the area of town we lived in, she also recommended going to a particular Hmong Farmer’s Market.  We were told we could spend hours there because there was so much to see but I think we had to see that for ourselves to believe.

This weekend, my future sister-in-law and I decided we wanted to re-create some of the yummy food that was made for us, and planned a day of going to the market, Asian grocery store, and cooking.  It’s a good thing we started early because just the trips to the markets took us a few hours, not only because we had no idea what we were doing, but also because there was just so much fun stuff to see!  Pigs heads, whole fish, beef pizzle (I’ll let you figure that one out), beef tongue….you could pretty much find every part of an animal at the grocery store.

After our adventure, we finally had everything we needed to get cooking.  The first thing we made was these summer spring rolls.  These are so fun to make!  Lots of steps, yes, but fun.  And so worth it.  The night of our thai feast we made the beef version that was demonstrated to us at the cooking class, but with leftovers I also made an avocado and mango version that was equally delicious and would be perfect for vegetarians.  I am including variations of the recipe below.  If you love ordering summer spring rolls at thai restaurants, you really should make these…they are the best I’ve ever had!

Thai Summer Spring Rolls

Print Pin Rate

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• for the steak:
• 1 1/2 lbs sirloin steak cut into thin slices
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• pinch of black pepper
• for the spring rolls:
• 1/2 a packet of rice sticks cooked according to instructions on the packet
• 8 rice paper wraps recommended: Three Lady Brand all dressed in green
• veggie mixture:
• 3 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• optional:
• sliced mango
• sliced avocado
• Dipping Sauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 2 tbsp chile paste
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp siracha sauce
• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• juice of one lime
• chopped fresh chiles optional
• chopped peanuts

Instructions

• For the Spring Rolls:
• Cook rice sticks according to instructions on the packet.
• The kind we bought soaked in warm water for 60 minutes, so this is what we did first.
• While the rice sticks are soaking/cooking, make the steak.
• In a large wok over high heat, add the vegetable oil, then add the garlic.
• Add the sliced beef, give it a quick stir, then add in all the seasonings and cook until beef is done. Set aside.
• Once ready to assemble, prepare an assembly line with the rice paper, veggie mixture, cooked noodles, and beef.
• Fill a large pan half way with hot water and place over medium heat on the stove.
• Set a clean cutting board on the counter close to your assembly line.
• Take a sheet of rice paper and dip into the hot water for about 20-30 seconds, moving it around so the entire wrapping is soaking with water.
• Try to keep both hands on at all time, as it sticks to itself very easily.
• Place the wet wrapper on top of the cutting board.
• Starting at the bottom of the wrapper, add a handful of veggies, top with another handful of noodles, then top with a couple pieces of cooked beef.
• If making a vegetarian version, or just adding the avocado and mango, add these now or instead of the beef.
• Fold the bottom of the wrapper with the fillings up, making sure to be firm making it nice and snug.
• Then fold the outer edges towards the middle, and roll the bottom of the wrapper all the way so it is wrapped completely.
• For the Dipping Sauce:
• Mix all ingredients together in small bowl except peanuts, until sugar dissolves. Top with crushed peanuts.

Tried this recipe?Mention @greensnchocolate to let me know!

Need more ideas?Find all of my recipe pins @greenschocolate