So I was finally warming up to the idea of trying to make my own spring rolls. I was thinking it might be an alternative to a lettuce wrap sandwich on the lake. But I don't know how long it'd last in its prepared state or even how fesible it'd be as a somewhat portable meal.
So before finding out the hard way in the middle of nowhere, I made some spring rolls last night and stored them in the fridge until lunch today. So here's my random thoughts of my first spring roll experience.
1.) My first roll was the best looking one of the bunch. Don't know how that happened.
2.) It's important to get the paper wet. I tried using a bowl with water, putting in different parts of the paper until it all got wet. Next time, I'm just going to take the fry pan and fill it with water so you can throw the entire thing in at once. If you don't get it wet enough, it's tough and chewy. Yes, there'll be moisture inside the bag, but it doesn't seem to make it worse.
3.) It needs a sauce! I just took some chopped shrimp, black beans (with it's own bit of sauce), and rice. But it was dry enough that I was drowning it in my gluten free soy sauce. But there is such a thing as too much soy sauce.
Conclusions:
1.) Even my pathetic attempts that looked more like a pocket filled with stuff held up pretty good with minimal food spillage. About as much as you get from a lettuce wrap since it starts to break apart with the first bite. Even as more of a rectangle instead of a roll, it sealed pretty well.
2.) It's weird to see this semi-transparent sheet around your food.
3.) For camping, it could work. I still have plenty of rice paper sheets from last night. If I get the time, I'll add more sandwich things like chopped ham, shredded lettuce, olives, and maybe pickles. And I won't forget the spicy mustard.
4.) I read you could in theory deep fry spring rolls. I obviously didn't do that last night. But it might be a gluten free alternative to eggrolls.
