Springtime Party Food: Spring Rolls

I refuse to let a single spring pass without making spring rolls at least once. And they hit the spot on hot days, so let's be real — I make them in the summer, too.

Spring rolls are a great party food for tons of reasons. The bright colors are aesthetically pleasing. They're customizable and therefore versatile. They can even be a fun activity if your guests are down to get involved!

Here's my recommended prep and setup, and the ingredients I use most often. But I cannot emphasize enough that you can put anything you like in these. I've seen sweet; I've seen savory. I've seen rolls; I've seen square-shaped lil pouches. These are most often served somewhere between chilled to room temp, but frying them up in some oil to make the rice paper nice and crispy shouldn't be discounted.

Common spring roll ingredients

For me, some non-negotiables include:

• Purple cabbage

• Carrots

• Cucumber

• Red pepper

• Fresh herbs like cilantro, Thai basil, and mint

• Shrimp, chicken, and/or eggs

• Spring roll wrappers (my favorite shown below)

Spring roll dipping sauce

One of my life mottos is "condiments make the world go 'round." Nothing exhibited this more than when I worked at Papa John's and left every shift with an order of breadsticks and one of every sauce in hand (there were six different flavors at the time). Ahh, the good ole days *tear*. I digress.

While spring rolls are great on their own, what you dip them in takes 'em over the top. But, after 30-plus minutes of prepping the herbs and julienning the veggies, I typically keep things simple. My two favorite simple sauces are:

• Peanut butter + soy sauce + chili garlic sauce

• Soy sauce or tamari + chili garlic sauce

Simply add what you like to a small dish (measure with your heart!), and stir well. If serving a crowd, here are some other tips:

• Provide guests with individual sauce cups to avoid double-dipping

• Set out soy sauce, tamari, chili garlic sauce, etc., and allow guests to DIY their dips

• Make a big batch of the peanut butter-based sauce, and set it out with a serving spoon

• Be mindful that soy sauce has gluten; tamari is super similar in taste but gluten-free

How to make sliceable scrambled eggs

Full transparency, I never would've thought to incorporate eggs into my spring rolls if an engineer (and spring roll pro) at one of my former jobs hadn't introduced me to it. Now, I include eggs almost every time. Whipping them up is super easy:

1. Beat together a few eggs and whatever spices you like. I use salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and turmeric.

2. Coat a small square or rectangular aluminum or glass oven-safe dish with cooking spray or butter.

3. Pour in egg mixture.

4. Bake or microwave until set. If microwaving (my preferred method lol), start with 2-3 minutes and check on them. Add 30 seconds to 1 minute of cooking time from there, checking after each beeeeep.

5. Allow to cool.

6. Carefully transfer eggs from the baking dish to a cutting board. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then cut into slices.

With that, here's the complete spring roll recipe!

Spring roll recipe

Serving size: 8-12 spring rolls

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 pound shrimp, deveined, cooked, and chilled (cheat code: ready-to-eat cocktail shrimp)

1/2 head purple cabbage, thinly sliced

6 carrots, julienned

1 cucumber, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 C cilantro, washed and patted dry

1/2 C Thai basil, washed and patted dry

1/2 C mint (optional), washed and patted dry

1 pkg rice paper

Water

Instructions

1. Crack eggs into a bowl. Beat together. (Optional: Add spices like salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and turmeric to taste. Mix well.)

2. Pour eggs into a greased square or rectangular baking dish. Microwave for 2 minutes, check, then additional 1-minute increments until no longer runny.

3. Allow eggs to cool. Transfer to cutting board. Cut into 1/4-inch slices.

4. Ensure all veggies, proteins, and herbs are prepared and easily accessible. The next steps should move quickly so the rice paper doesn't get too sticky and breakable.

5. Fill rice paper water bowl or a dinner plate with a decent-sized lip with water.

6. Dip one rice paper into water bowl and set on a clean, dry plate or plastic cutting board. No need to soak; just ensure paper gets fully wet, then remove from water.

7. Layer veggies, protein(s), and herbs onto the center of the damp rice paper.

8. Fold one side of the circular rice paper over (around 1/2- to 1-inch) toward the center. Fold the other side in the same way. Then, starting at the bottom, begin to roll it up, gently pulling ingredients toward you to tighten everything up. (Be gentle to avoid ripping!)

9. Move roll to another clean plate or cutting board. Repeat 8-12 times, using up all your ingredients.

10. Avoid stacking rolls or placing them so close together that they're touching while they're still damp, or they will stick together and be difficult to separate without ripping!

11. Serve with dipping sauce of choice.

Best enjoyed on a warm, sunny day with those you love. Happy spring!