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June 18, 2009
Thai basil rolls (aka, spring rolls) & zucchini and squash Thai curry soup
Okay, so when people ask me if I got weird cravings when I was pregnant, this is what I think about. I totally craved these things--I only had them a couple of times before I was pregnant, but man, oh, man did I want them when I was pregnant. One time, I sent Tim out to our local Thai restaurant to get them for me, and they gave us FRIED spring rolls instead. I remember being so upset that I probably burst into tears.
If you haven't had them, they're like unfried egg rolls, but the opposite of almost everything I think of when I think of egg rolls. They're made up of translucent rice paper filled with fresh herbs, greens (lettuce or cabbage), veggies (like bean sprouts or carrots), and some kind of meat (chicken, shrimp, pork) or tofu. You dip them into some kind of sauce, often sweet and spicy. They're so simple, like a salad in a wrap, but the herbs taste exotic, with so little to distract from their pungency, and the balance between the green flavors of the roll and the sweet-and-spiciness of the sauce is amazing. And they're so pretty, the green shines through the rice paper like light through a stained glass window.
I adapted this from the best Thai cookbook ever, Quick and Easy Thai. It bases the recipes around stuff you probably have in your cupboard, but gives you the more authentic ingredients as well, just in case you're near an Asian market or the equivalent.
It sounded intimidating to me, but it really wasn't so bad, as long as you lined up all of the ingredients in a row. I served it with a simple Thai soup I made in the crockpot with squash, zucchini and chicken breasts (4-5 small summer squash and 4-5 small zucchini, sliced thinly, two chicken breasts, some chopped celery, cover with chicken broth, cook until chicken is done [4-6 hours on low], dice or shred chicken, stir fry 2 diced onions with 2-3 tablespoons Thai curry paste and 2 cans coconut/light coconut milk, combine with crockpot contents, add soy sauce or fish sauce and lime juice to taste)
Thai basil/spring rolls
16-20 rice paper circles (about 6-8 inches round) (this is a few more than you need, but you might tear a couple in the process as you're getting the hang of it)
1/4 lb. thin rice noodles (this was less than what was called for and more than I needed, but I used the extra in the soup)
1-2 cups tender lettuce (or cabbage), sliced thinly
4-5 green onions, halving or quartering the green parts, and then slicing them into short sections (I saved the white parts for another use, but you certainly can dice them and use them here)
A couple handfuls of herbs (basil, mint, cilantro, etc.--I mixed mint and basil)
Other veggies (if you want): very thinly sliced carrots or celery, bean sprouts, etc.
About 20 shrimp
1) Boil water and cook the rice noodles until done, rinse with cold water and hold in a colander. I dropped the shrimp in the still hot water to cook while I got other stuff done.
2) Peel the shrimp and slice in half lengthwise
3) Fill a shallow pan with a couple of inches of hot water
4) Line up your bowls--lettuce, herbs, green onions, other veggies, shrimp, rice noodles
5) Take one piece of rice paper, dunk it in the hot water for about 5 seconds (it will still be a little stiff, but it gets more pliable as you pile on the ingredients). Layer with a large pinch of noodles, a couple teaspoons shredded lettuce, 2-3 shrimp halves, a few herb leaves, and other veggies.
6) Fold two sides slightly over filling. Roll up from the other side, flipping one edge over the filling, and then rolling tightly. It takes a couple tries, and mine still don't look restaurant pretty, but it gets easier as you go.
7) Serve immediately, or cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready.
8) Serve with your choice of sauces. We used a Sweet Chilli (sic.) sauce (tastes like Chinese plum sauce, with bits of carrots and chilis floating in it), but you could make or buy a Thai peanut sauce, or I saw one recipe suggesting two parts plum sauce to one part soy sauce.
And here's the soup that went with it...
cooking stuff | By Tim and Jo | 10:34 AM
Comments
Ooooh! Yum! I'm giving Hubby these recipes to make for us soon. I *heart* Thai food. . .
Posted by: TulipGirl at June 27, 2009 12:00 AM
This was a lot of fun to make. My hubby wasn't thrilled with it but I *loved* them.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 23, 2009 8:40 PM
I made both of these and loved them. Hubby was a bit taken aback by the fact the spring rolls weren't fried. But I'm a big fan.
Posted by: Kara Patterson at August 23, 2009 8:41 PM
I have made the rolls before, and love them. Sadly, we are on a low carb diet now, so I'm going to have to wait a while to make them again. For the sauce, we used hosin sauce with some chopped peanuts. I'm going to give the curry soup a try. I love the Buford Highway Farmer's Market for having what I need for Asian cooking!
Posted by: Martha Armour at June 5, 2011 8:17 AM
Thanks for a great recipe idea! I made the stew, but I used a Masaman curry paste and added some mushrooms to the zucc/squash. It turned out very well. Before serving a threw in some chopped cashews. We love Thai food, and it's great having something that you can make in the crock pot easily. Some of the Thai recipes can be pretty complicated and require more ingredients than I care to track down.
Posted by: Martha Armour at June 7, 2011 6:16 PM
