Originally arriving in North America from families from parts of eastern and Southeast Asia, spring rolls have been adapted and enjoyed for decades in Toronto and other parts of Canada. They are made from thin rice paper rolls and filled with anything from cold meats or fish to raw vegetables, rice noodles, spices, and more. In a sense, they’re like having a small salad in a roll. Confusingly, there are Vietnamese deep fried spring rolls although these are more like Chinese-style egg rolls and are made a little differently. They’re also way fattier.
On the subject of fresh spring rolls, they can be a little plain which is why they’re served with an optional dipping sauce. To make a fresh spring roll, a lot goes into the preparation of the sauce as well as focusing on softening the rice paper. Rolls must be quickly assembled before the rice paper hardens. Thereby, from the moment they’re ready, we’re on a time crunch to get ingredients in and to complete the wrap.
An important element to the Vietnamese spring roll is a crunch in the middle. This is usually accomplished with something like a thinly sliced carrot, cucumber, celery, jicama, radish, bell pepper, green bean, snow peas, or bean sprouts. In addition, fresh lettuce, spinach, herbs, and fresh fruits add texture and flavor. Rice vermicelli noodles are sometimes added inside to make spring rolls more filling.
Addressing the wrapper, it’s always made from rice paper which is a combination of rice-paper plant, water, and rice flour. Lettuce leaves are sometimes used for Asian-style fresh spring rolls however they are atypical to this item. Rice paper is very delicate. To soften it, it’s dipped in temperate water for three seconds or less. It then lays out to soften.
Assembling a Vietnamese fresh spring roll, small amounts of filling are added in. It’s important to avoid overstuffing it. The more rotations there are to the roll, the stronger the wrapper will be and the less likely it is to fall apart before it arrives to your tongue.
If you’re looking for authentically prepared Asian fresh spring rolls in Toronto, visit Toronto Pho. Choose your favourite variety or hey, if you want to have some deep fried spring rolls, we can make you some of those instead. Enjoy Vietnamese pho and more at Toronto Pho.
