BS' in the Kitchen

Cold Rolls are one of my favorite foods. Not only are they reasonably healthy because they are usually made out of rice, an assortment of veggies and a small amount of protein. Because of these simple, but tasty ingredients, cold rolls make for a great choice for those with a sensitive tummies or gluten allergies! Another bonus is that rice noodles and rice paper is ridiculously cheap – I think I spent tops $3 for the noodles and paper at Superstore.

So sit back, read and enjoy learning how to make these cute little Asian delights! I’m going to try this recipe description in steps, so let me know what you think of this format…

1. Pre-cut all the veggies you’d like to use. Remember to keep them thinly sliced so they won’t break the rice paper. This time I used: orange peppers, carrots, cucumbers (sliced with a potato peeler), chives and iceberg lettuce. You can also set aside seafood (I used salmon and tuna for these), but feel free to experiment with everything from canned chicken, shrimp sandwich meat… really anything works!

2. Boil some water in a kettle and pour boiling water over rice noodles. Set aside, letting the noodles to cook for approx. 5 minutes. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Once cool, they are ready for use in the cold rolls.

3. Find a dish or frying pan that allows you to set the rice paper inside completely flat.  Boil water and place inside the dish. You may need to add a few ice cubes to cool it down so you are able to keep your fingers in for at least 15-20 seconds.

4. Clear a work space so that you can roll your rolls, but make sure you have easy access to your pre-cut veggies, rice noodles and seafood/meat.

5. Place two rice papers (two makes the rice paper less likely to break) stacked on top of each other into the dish of hot water, soak until the rice paper becomes flexible and almost translucent. Gently remove from water, let excess water drip off and place on a flat work surface.

6. Now the rolling starts! The best way to show you this is through a video I found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfI1wMeDXhg&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca

Don’t hesitate to get creative with these! Add in chicken, avocados, nuts, shrimp… really anything works!!

Happy Cold Rolling BS’ers!!

Carlene