I think you guys may have noticed… I have a love for Asian Cuisine! When I was doing Strict AIP it was a little bit harder, but try and try, I did. Spring rolls use a special kind of rice/tapioca wrapper. You can find these at most Asian Grocery stores. There are some traditional ways that you could make these, but feel free to experiment and find what you like! These wraps aren’t hard to make, just a little time consuming. However, they are well worth the wait! After all, patience is a virtue.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Rice Paper Wrappers (I found some on Amazon so you can have an idea of what to look for. I am not an affiliate with them. http://www.amazon.com/Three-Ladies-Brand-Spring-Wrapper/dp/B00EAFNGMA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436317855&sr=8-2&keywords=spring+roll+wrapper)
- Sweet Potato Starch Noodles (Follow directions on the package. Boil. Let cool. Then chop into smaller pieces.)
- Shrimp (Preferably smaller. Make sure not to over cook them!)
- Ground Chicken (Cooked and seasoned with coconut aminos, sesame oil, honey, ginger, and garlic.)
- Anything else you like! (Go crazy…It’s okay… Put whatever fresh and yummy ingredients you like.)
Take any and all of your ingredients and add them into separate bowls. This may cause a lot of dishes, but I’m not a fan of using paper ware. You need to set up an assembly line. There will be more directions on the package if you need more assistance.
Find a deep and wide dish where you can add warm water. You need to soak each sheet of rice paper until it is pliable. Yes, we’ll be wrapping one at a time. Once the wrapper is pliable add your ingredients. I started with a small amount of sweet potato starch noodles and then layered it with either shrimp or chicken. Then, simply fold the wrap like you would any ole burrito. You fold it over the ingredients on one side, flip in the sides, then finish rolling.
It’s important to note, as you can see in the picture above, when you lay them to rest a minute, don’t allow them to touch. They’ll stick and tear if you aren’t careful. Continue wrapping until you have your desired amount.
What does this go good with? It gets so insanely hot here in Arkansas, so I say this goes amazing with some cold cucumber soup (Maangchi on YouTube just posted an updated recipe if you want to check her out!), and some White Kimchi for me! If you tolerate nightshades and peppers, I bet the spicy version would work well. In winter, I think this would go great with a cup of steaming hot rice, and some hot soup of your choice.
I would like to note, only from personal experience, if you are severely gluten intolerant or celiac, you may not react well to the wrappers and may need to go with the fully rice wrappers, not the tapioca/rice mix. Why? Tapioca starch (also known as cassava) is a gluten cross reactor and can make you’re body think it’s eating gluten, when in fact you aren’t. If you’d like to learn more about this, just type into Google ‘Gluten Cross Reactivity, The Paleo Mom’ and she has a wonderful teaser excerpt from her amazing book ‘The Paleo Approach.’
I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe. Even though it’s a bit tedious, it is well worth the work put in. I’m sending the messiest of messes, to create the best of meals from my Common Sense Kitchen to yours. Make sure you come back next time to see what amazing places we can go!
-Ami M. Lee, Food Traveler, Asian Cuisine Loving, The Common Sense Cook
The Common Sense Cook 