There is a local Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich joint that I just can't get enough of! Something about the combination of crunchy pickled veggies, crisp cilantro, spicy sauces and tender sweet glazed pork on a crusty baguette are just irresistible! This little shop also makes fresh daily spring rolls. I figured I could make a pretty authentic replica of the shrimp variety...
A couple of months ago I was inspired by this place to make my own Vietnamese pickled vegetables. I had planted some Daikon radish seeds in hopes of doing this. I wasn't sure if Daikon would grow well in my square foot garden. It was purely an act of planting faith.
Vietnamese pickled veggies sound so exotic...when really, it is just Daikon radishes and carrots pickled in a simple brine! My Daikons went crazy in the garden! They grew very fast and matured months ahead of my carrots. I had hoped I could make the pickled veggies with my own carrots. Instead, I had to buy a bag of tri-colored organic carrots for my project. I did a second planting of Daikons in anticipation of my carrot crop. Sadly, this crop didn't do what the first did! I'm not sure if they just preferred the colder weather of spring or the Sprout that helped me plant them didn't quite get the seeds in the square! :) ...
The perty Daikon radishes...
If you are interested....and, you should be!...there are numerous pickling recipes online. Just do a search on Vietnamese pickled vegetables...Oh...and, it's kind of true...the Daikon's do "emit" an odd fragrance. No worries...they don't taste bad at all and that smell dissipates when exposed to the air...
I am still soooo in love with my square foot garden and the harvest has been surprisingly HUGE! We are just barely into official summer and I have harvested lettuce for 8 weeks now. We still aren't tired of it and I will be sad when it's growing season comes to an end. Side note...it ruins you for eating store bought lettuce...
The challenge in using what is in season is really fun. I am always trying new things to use up the bounty! I thought I'd try my hand at spring rolls. A quick visit to the garden and I came up with the ingredients...
Carrots, green onions, sugar snap peas and radishes...
And, of course the lovely and plentiful lettuce!
These are easy to find in most any grocery store. I was a bit intimidated thinking they would be awkward to use and roll...they aren't! Super easy...
The mason jar has the pickled matchsticks of carrot and Daikon. I had to purchase some organic cilantro. I forgot to add it to the herb garden!
Of course I took the tails off the shrimp. I often wished I lived closer to an ocean! Although the fish market listed these as "fresh, never frozen" I'm not sure they could have made it all the way from India
and stayed "fresh" without being frozen...:/
I set up a little assembly line. My dinner plates are the perfect size for soaking the spring roll wrapper. I just filled the plate with warm water...luckily, my dinner plates have a lip on them!
I laid down a piece of parchment paper. I soaked the first wrapper. When it was ready, I threw in another wrapper for soaking. I quickly and easily assembled the spring roll. Lettuce leaves first, then the pickled veggies, radishes, onions, fresh carrots, shrimp and finally cilantro...The wrappers are not as delicate as they look. They don't tear or fall apart. Filling in the center, sides folded in and wrapped from the bottom! After the shrimp was all gone I continued to make veggie only spring rolls.
I wanted to WOW you with a beautiful plate full of spring rolls and garnished with sprigs of fresh mint leaves. Instead...we just ate these for dinner...
Okay...I also made this amazing peanut dipping sauce...but I made it from scratch and just kept adding stuff until it tasted good! Sorry, I can't provide an exact recipe.
I did use organic unsalted peanut butter, garlic, hot sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and this amazing local honey wine vinegar...it ended up tasting really good, but I did keep playing with it until I got it where I wanted! I think coconut milk would have been a good addition as well! Next time...
I plan to make these spring rolls throughout the summer and just use whatever springs up in the garden! Oh...and they were a BIG hit with the family!!! With or without the shrimp...
