I can’t believe it’s September already. Where did this summer go? I’m not sure if it was having the snow stay into early May or just being so busy, but this summer seemed to wiz right by. With September here in full force, so is school. Yup that’s right – back to the books, the late night studies, copious amounts of coffee and the ever growing wealth of knowledge. When CTV Morning Live contacted us about doing another segment, this time anchored around budget and student friendly meals, Bob and I agreed to the challenge (the video of the segment is posted below – tune in to see who received the “dunce” cap). Bob made some flavour packed chicken cacciatore and my rival dish was one of my favourite foods: Vietnamese cold rolls. Let’s get to my recipe (which by the way costs an average of $2.49 CAD for a serving of four cold rolls).
Bob made a great video on how to roll the cold rolls a while back for Tablespoon.com. I’d highly suggest checking it out before getting started. Click HERE to watch it.
Check out the CTV episode here:
http://youtu.be/NrgpdfR6kj4
Budget and Student Friendly Vietnamese Cold Rolls
Ingredients
- Rice Paper
- Rice Noodles
- Lettuce chopped
- Cilantro
- Bell Peppers thinly sliced
- Carrots julienne
- Cucumber thinly sliced
- Sandwich Meat of Your Choice
Instructions
- Start with boiling water in a kettle. Pour water over rice noodles in a bowl and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Draw and rinse with cool water. I usually have left over rice noodles, but the leftovers make a great base for stir fries or other asian dishes.
- In a similar sized dish to the rice paper (I use a cake pan), pour in some boiling water, just enough to cover a rice paper sheet. Take two sheets and allow to soak for 15-30 seconds, until it becomes soft. Take out of the water and place on a clean surface.
- In the top corner of the rice sheet, take a small amount of noodles, lettuce, carrots, peppers, cilantro, cucumber and meat. This creates the filling of the roll.
- Tuck in the filling, roll once, tuck in the corners and fold until the cold roll is formed. Continue until you have your desired amount of cold rolls.
These are great for lunches, just make sure to refrigerate in an air tight container otherwise they will dry out. Feel free to try different veggies and meats for fillings. These are great when dipped in a peanut or sweet and sour sauce.
Watch our CTV Morning Live Clip here:
Thanks again for tuning in. Best of luck in the new school year to all our students,
Carlene
