K & Co.: Super Yummy Spring Rolls

Don't they just look delicious? I totally love these things. They are one of my favorite go-to dinners in the middle of the week and a great way to use up leftover grilled meat (these are chicken). I was craving egg rolls, but wanting to avoid the deep fried-ness of them. These are yummy and protein-riffic! They are also great on nights that you don't feel like cooking. I'll walk you through how to make these delicious bad boys...let's start with the original recipe and then I'll tell you how I roll. The original recipe comes out of the Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Low-Carb Recipes. (pg 300 if you're into the details)

1/2 cup shredded daikon
1/2 cup shredded carrot
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 T rice vinegar
1 small fresh jalapeno, finely chopped
1/2 t sesame oil
1/2 cup cucumber, cut into thin strips
2 T fresh cilantro
1 T soy sauce
Rice papers
1 1/2 cups boston or curly leaf lettuce

They have you make 2 separate marinades and chill your ingredients for 2-24 hours...too much work, so, this is how I roll:
On my big cooking day, I shred the daikon and carrots. I don't measure it. I use a "chunk" of daikon and about 3 carrots. I don't freak out if I have more carrots or more daikon and you shouldn't either. :) I chop up my cucumbers, but don't worry about thin strips. I also use 3 (or more!) jalapenos diced finely and some fresh grated ginger. All of this goes into plastic ware (one with a good lid!). I shake on some soy sauce (or Tamari) + some rice vinegar + some fish sauce and put the lid on and just shake it. This mixture goes into the fridge until Spring Roll day rolls around. If I happen to be rooting around in the fridge for something and I see it in there, I give it a shake for good measure, but this is not required. :) I also chop up A TON of cilantro and put it in a separate container. (and since I'm already chopping, I chop extra for Shrimpo de gallo)...seriously, you will want to do it my way and include extra cilantro. I <3 Cilantro! And for the record, I use Spring Mix vs curly leaf lettuce.

*In case you couldn't already tell, I'm not an "exact measurements" kind of gal. Please do not hold this against me and please feel free to follow their recipe exactly. I'm just kind of "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" kind of cook.*

The other variation that I do is I add protein to mine, always in the form of leftovers. When I'm grilling up my goodies on a sunny day, I'll throw extra on there in case the mood for spring rolls strikes. If it doesn't strike, I make bites or omelets or soup or salad or whatever else sounds good that day.

Leftover Grilled Chicken tenders--pork, shrimp, fish or tender cuts of beef would also work...I'm thinking rotisserie chicken would work great, too.

Throw them in the Ninja to chop the meat up (or use a knife!)

The carrot-daikon-jalapeno-ginger-cucumber mixture (squeeze extra liquid off and mix it in with the chopped meat)

Lots and lots of fresh cilantro...smells so fresh and yummy. Keep this in a separate container for now.

These are the rice papers or "Spring Roll Skin". I get mine at Cash-n-Carry, which also stocks loads of SF Torani syrups and sushi supplies for a steal. :)

Now, here is the part where people freak out a little. "ACK--spring roll wrappers, they are so hard to use. I can't get mine to stay. They fold up in a big clump." Don't worry, I'll help you with that too. Start off by finding a long stretch of space and lay down 1 clean dishtowel for every 4 spring rolls you want to make (I made 8, so I put out 2 towels) and get yourself a large bowl of warm water.

Submerge your spring roll paper in the warm water...do it! It will be okay, I promise. They will be nearly invisible when they are wet.

Take the wrapper out of the warm water and lay it flat on the clean towel. It will stick slightly to the towel, which helps you fold in all of your yummy ingredients. I am an assembly line kind of girl, so I do all of my wrappers first, then move on to my "guts".

Put on a scoop of the meat & veggie mixture. My rule of thumb:, fill them with what your pouch will hold...unless you don't have a pouch, then use about a cup of "guts". You can use more or less guts depending on how big or little you want your rolls to be. I try to position my guts more towards one edge of the wrapper, so I have more room to tuck my guts in tight...do what feels good to you. (FYI, the original recipe has you put in only 1T of guts...whatever!)

Sprinkle some fresh cilantro down the length of the guts. Feel free to use this abundantly. It gives them a fresh flavor. I always put in extra...seriously, how can they expect 2 measly spoons of cilantro to make it last through a whole batch of spring rolls?!

If you are not into salad, skip this next step. I always have to make 2 for my husband without the spring mix, because he is a wuss about salad. :)

Sprinkle on some spring mix. Seriously, put in what looks right. No need to measure, but if you are crazy about measurements, the original recipe has you put in 1/4 cup of lettuce. I personally think they are nuts and try to pack in the protein first and the salad later.

Assembly time!

Fold the sides in. (I'm holding them so my husband can take a picture without the guts falling out everywhere.) I try to tuck and roll all in one motion...sort of like a ninja. :)