Preparing for the Summer Roll Extravaganza

Last night I made Gỏi cuốn (Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, also called Summer rolls) -- and they were a great success, although I had made them before, albeit a very long time ago.

The trick is in the rolling of them. They can turn out to be a misshapen, lumpy mess, but I came up with a masterful trick that made them a breeze, and they turned out amazingly well. I remember a long time ago I ordered "Spring rolls" in a Vietnamese restaurant, expecting them to be the deep-fried kind, and I was very disappointed when the fresh ones came. 

But years later, while was a vegetarian for a year or so, I really got into these things -- they're little salad bombs that you can fill with all sorts of different ammunition, then dip in whatever you want. Traditionally, satay (peanut) sauce is the usual dip, but last night I put a little Ghost Pepper in my dip, and wow, that made everything nuclear.

But I loved it so much that tomorrow I'm going to make ten of them. That's going to be dinner! That and a Thai salad.

Here's a picture I grabbed from the Web of what they ideally should look like but tomorrow I'll document the whole thing and deliver the Master recipe!

Keep your eyes (and vegetables) peeled.

What they should look like, but no promises!