A Summer Spring Roll Recipe for Your Family! (Recipe)

The winter will last as long as it likes, and it’s looking like that is way too long this year. While we can’t change the weather, we can at least pretend it’s nice out by eating food that is reminiscent of those summer days we miss. A great, fairly easy, and fairly inexpensive possibility is Vietnamese spring rolls. They can make delightful appetizers or wonderful light meals.

To make Vietnamese spring rolls, you will need:

· A package of rice paper wrappers (thin round sheets made of rice)

· A package of rice vermicelli noodles (sometimes labeled as “rice sticks”, these are very thin rice noodles)

· Fresh cilantro (You’ll need a couple of sprigs per roll)

· ½ pound of medium cooked, peeled, and de-veined shrimp, tails removed (2-3 shrimp per roll)

· Boston, green leaf or romaine lettuce

· Fresh bean sprouts (you’ll need 3-4 sprouts per roll)

Making spring rolls is something that takes a little patience to learn. Once you get the feel for it, you will be able to make them faster and faster. The first several, however, will take time. Don’t be surprised if you end up with a pile of torn wrappers your first few times making them. I went through plenty of wrappers when I first learned, and even now I tear a few.

First, get some water boiling in one medium pot, and some water warming in another medium pot. Add the rice noodles to the boiling water and cook until soft. This won’t take long. Drain, rinse with cool water in a colander, and set aside in a bowl, covering it with plastic wrap so the noodles don’t dry out.

The water that is warming will be used to soften the rice paper one by one as you make the rolls, which will be explained in more detail later.

Spring roll production setup:

Pick a table or countertop area where you have some room to work.

Place the cilantro, shrimp, lettuce, and bean sprouts near you so you can easily add them to the roll you are making. Place the bowl with the cooked noodles nearby as well.

Put a large plate in front of you and place a damp paper towel on it- this will be your plate on which to make the rolls.

Place the container or plate, lined with damp paper towels that will be where you put finished rolls in a place within reach from your production plate. Have another damp paper towel handy to keep the finished rolls covered so they don’t dry out.

Place some trivets or potholders on your counter or table and place a large rectangular Pyrex, or other sort of dish that can withstand the warm water without cracking, on the trivets. Pour some of the warm water in the dish so it is about 1- 1 ½” deep. Add more water to the pot & continue to keep warming it on the stove so you can add new warm water as the water in the dish cools without having to wait. Over the course of making spring rolls, you will probably pour cooled water out from your dish and add new warm water several times, as warm water works best to soften the roll wrappers.

Okay, now you are set up and finally ready to make your first spring roll. You will make the spring rolls start to finish, one at a time.

First, take a spring roll wrapper and slide it into the Pyrex dish of warm water. It will become softer and more pliable. The trick is to soften it, but not to the point that it will tear too easily. You will develop a feel for this as you make more and more rolls. It generally takes under a minute.

When it is softened, lay the wrapper flat on the damp paper towel on your preparation plate. Slightly to the left of the middle, place two or three shrimp in a column.

On top of the shrimp place about a tablespoon of noodles.

On top of the noodles place a couple of small cilantro sprigs.

On top of the cilantro sprigs place a couple of bean sprouts

On top of the bean sprouts place a piece of lettuce leaf (no spine) big enough to cover the pile of components you have made.

Fold the top of the wrapper down, the bottom up, and then roll the wrapper to the right, like you are wrapping a burrito or similar thing. The trick is to wrap it snuggly, but not to rip the wrapper.

If the wrapper didn’t rip (or at least not badly- a small tear is ok), then place it on your finished plate with a damp paper towel over it and start the next one.

If the wrapper did tear, no big deal- just salvage the components and toss the wrapper and start over again.

Repeat this process until you have as many rolls as you would like to make. I usually make two per person.

The order of the components doesn’t really matter, other than that the rolls tend to be prettier if the shrimp show through from one side and the lettuce from the other, which is why I put the shrimp on first and the lettuce on last. Really though, it will taste the same in any order.

A good way to conserve on cost when making these is to cut the shrimp in half lengthwise and only placing 3 halves in the roll (outside of the shrimp down so it looks nicer). This way your shrimp will go twice as far.

The rolls can be made ahead of time as long as they are kept refrigerated in a Tupperware container. (Again, lined with damp paper towels and covered with damp paper towels.) It is okay for finished rolls to be touching each other.

A popular sauce to serve with the rolls can be made by combining:

¼ cup coconut milk (Chaokoh is a great brand)

½ cup hoisin sauce (Kikkoman or Koon Chun Brand, NOT Dynasty Brand)

¼ cup water

Combine the above ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with spring rolls. The sauce can be garnished with chopped peanuts.

I hope you enjoy this yummy and healthy taste of summer!

- Kristin Enkvetchakul

Thai Grilling for Summer (Asian Food by KRISTIN ENKVETCHAKUL)

The early days of summer usher in a frenzied re-acquaintance with a favorite cooking device forlorn over the winter: the outdoor grill. People flock to the grocery store to snap up brats, burgers, steaks, chicken, fish, hot dogs, and anything else that might fit on their grill. Everything seems to taste better on the grill in those first weeks, especially with taste buds primed by fun summer-time adult beverages.

Eventually, however, the rediscovered joy of grilling wanes, and the food choices can start to feel a little one-dimensional. “Brats again?” “How about pork steaks instead?” If you find yourself hitting the grill doldrums, set sail for the mouth-watering waters of Asian grill recipes. While they may sound too distant and too difficult to navigate, they are in fact as close as your computer and credit card, and well chartered, with the help of a good cookbook.

Thai chicken satay, for example, is a dependable, easy-to-do, crowd pleaser. The marinade for the chicken is a simple recipe, with “fish sauce” being the only ingredient (of my recipe) that will take a little extra planning to get. It’s not that it can’t be found- it can be easily ordered from www.importfood.com (get Three Crabs Brand), or found at many Asian grocery stores. You can find fish sauce at some chain grocery stores, but I have found Three Crabs to be far superior, not to mention you get more for your money. Don’t let the seemingly over-sized 24 oz bottle of the Three Crabs Brand fish sauce put you off- fish sauce is a basic ingredient of many Thai and Vietnamese dishes- if you find you enjoy cooking Thai or Vietnamese food, you’ll be using a lot of it. Even if satay is the only dish you would ever make, I would still get the Three Crabs Brand fish sauce. The impact it will have on your finished product will be well worth your effort of getting it, and the shelf life is years long.

When I am having a party, I have found that a menu of chicken satay, pad thai, and Thai sticky rice offers my guests a diverse, authentic, flavorful buffet without tiring me too much. While the taste of these classic dishes may be unfamiliar to some, they are usually not jarring. After all, if I am introducing Thai food to someone, the goal is to spark an interest in it, and for my guests to leave wondering where they can find a Thai restaurant, or if they could learn to make it themselves. By choosing these three, I am able to please the more cautious eaters, as well as the more daring ones.

If preparation of these dishes seems intimidating, fear not! Here is my preparation strategy: The night before the event, I start marinating the chicken, make the satay dipping sauce, and get the sticky rice soaking. (Thai sticky rice needs to soak in water for several hours before steaming it in a sticky rice steamer.) The next day I make the pad thai, steam the sticky rice, and grill the chicken, which, thanks to the thin strips the chicken is cut into, cooks in minutes. To help conserve time, I usually grill the satay or work on the pad thai while the sticky rice is steaming. Soon my Thai buffet is ready!

Other than needing to soak the sticky rice in advance, I could leave the rest of the preparation for the day of my event, but I prefer to have some of it accomplished the prior evening. This leaves more time on the day of the event for those last minute hosting tasks, like bulldozing through piles of toys that had been tidied up the day before, only to mysteriously leap from their bins again as the event time nears.

Of course, you wouldn’t necessarily have to make anything besides chicken satay to make a great meal. Or, you could choose to serve chicken satay alongside burgers and brats. The possibilities are endless. Too bad summer is not.

Kristin Enkvetchakul is the author of “Introduction to Asian Cooking”. Available at bookstores everywhere.

Choosing a pet for your child (Parenting review by KRISTIN ENKVETCHAKUL)

As a parent, you are under a constant barrage of pressure to do certain things with your kids. You are pressured to select at least one activity, if not ten activities, for your kids, which will promote self-esteem, social skills, and good health. You are also quietly pressured to provide some sort of pet at home. The household pet: the icon of a well-balanced family. Proclaimed to give a child a sense of responsibility and companionship, a pet is seen as an enriching, necessary component of your child’s formative years. It’s only a matter of time before a study emerges that suggests bank robbers and other criminals were not given pets as children, because everyone knows grant money for studies is fueled by some maniacal rich person’s desire to make parents feel guilty about something, as revenge for their own childhood’s shortcomings.

As you begin to cave into this pressure to provide a pet, however, you are faced with the enormous question of what pet to get. For your convenience, I have listed a few pet possibilities and graded them with my own biases.

Dog. Boasted as loyal, cheerful, and caring, a dog is commonly selected as the family pet. The urge to get a dog goes back to our primal heritage. After all, what animal was beside the first humans as they lobbed rocks at charging mastodon? It certainly wasn’t a cat. The cat was on the sideline, waiting to see who won. The dog and humans go way back, and we continue to pursue that ancient relationship today. However, before you go bounding off to the kennel to get a dog, consider this: Everyone likes to think about the positives of the dog- the “so happy to see you even though you were only in the bathroom for three minutes” attitude, the Frisbee play, the snuggles, but let’s talk for a moment about the less-than-positives: the walking the dog in the rain when you are at death’s door with the flu, the muddy paw prints, the robust, offending smell of wet doggie. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up with dogs and love them. I’m just trying to say having a dog isn’t all dandelion fluff.
Grade of a pet dog: B+


Cat. A cat is elegant, relatively easy to care for, and definitely something furry to snuggle with, assuming it will actually come to you. That a cat will use a litter box is appealing in that it eliminates the need to take them outside. While some cats are friendlier than others, however, it seems all cats exude, to at least some degree, the attitude of, “If you are going to die, please open a can of cat food first.” (With the “please” being optional.) Still, a cat is an appealing family pet as a way to have a living creature in the house that doesn’t require much care or attention.
Grade for pet cat: B+

Horse. Every little girl wants a horse. While the benefits of horses for special needs kids are undeniable, think carefully before you buy a horse. A horse is a machine that converts your cash into pasture fertilizer at a shockingly efficient rate. Caring for a horse is even harder than caring for a dog. Caring for a horse means shoveling tennis-ball sized piles of bodily output and hefting hay bales, regardless of the weather. You can have this taken care of for you by boarding your horse somewhere, but that exponentially increases the machine’s money-to-manure converting rate. And if you think they convert at an impressive rate when they are healthy, wait until they are sick or injured.
Grade for pet horse: C

Python: I have an axiom that states: “Never get a pet that can swallow the children whole.” I know there are those reptile enthusiasts out there. I just don’t know why they mix creatures that make a living in the wild by eating donkeys with their own offspring.
Grade for pet python: D

Fish: Fish can be a good answer to the whole pet question, especially the venerated Beta fish for small children. However, you can’t hold a fish, pet a fish or ride a fish. The longevity, or perhaps more appropriately, shortgevity of fish can be a little disappointing. Many a tearful child has presided over long goodbyes before the final flush. On the positive, fish don’t require a lot of maintenance and care.
Grade for fish as a pet: B

Sea Monkeys: Considering you can buy everything you need to get Sea Monkeys started for under ten bucks, that you never have to clean the tank, and they only need to be fed once a week, Sea Monkeys can be a great answer to the pet quandary. They are active and fun to watch. There is no sense of loss when one dies because there are so many, who can tell? Sure, like fish, you can’t ride, pet, or hold them, but they do teach an important lesson: Nothing’s perfect.
Grade for Sea Monkeys as a pet: A

Whatever pet you choose for your children, I wish you the best of luck. I have to run- it’s time for the Sea Monkeys weekly feeding.

This Midwestern Mom (GUEST REVIEWER KRISTIN ENKVETCHAKUL)

Many studies have been done on the supposedly harmful effects of TV on kids. Well, I’ve been conducting my own study on the damage over-exposure of kid TV does to the moms. It’s not pretty. I first became aware of this phenomenon last year, when I had put the kids to bed and decided to watch one of the Christian Bale Batman movies. At some point I realized I was having a little too much fun watching Batman beat the crap out of the bad guys. It became even more apparent when caught myself nearly yelling out loud, “Hit him again!” And so was born my hypothesis: Even the gentlest of moms can only take so much pervasively sing-songy kid TV oozing in happiness and cooperation in conjunction with their own tireless loving and nurturing efforts towards their kids. There’s no good way to say it: Eventually, we’re going to snap.

How can this mommy whack-out be averted, you ask? I have developed a coping technique, which I call, “Mock the shows like a third grader mocks another kid’s glasses.” I’m not saying it’s mature or healthy, but at this point, whatever it takes to help Momma hold it together.

The first show I considered in my study was Scooby-Doo. Granted, Scooby-Doo is a timeless and admittedly well-done show. But try watching hours of it over the winter and eventually you too will wish the villain would have gotten away with it in spite of those meddling kids for a change of pace. There’s a formula to the show, and it gets tedious, despite the puns and great voice actors. The gang stumbles into a mystery, they meet the villain who is disguised as a monster of some sort, there is a big chase set to music, the gang regroups, finds clues, sets a trap that doesn’t work the way it is meant to but somehow they catch the villain anyway, and finally, they unmask the villain. This leads us to the piercing question: Given the hundreds of sinister elements they have encountered, with certainly more in store for the future, why hasn’t the gang started packing? As in, some serious heat.

After all, considering Scooby and Shaggy can whip out a costume that instantly transforms Scooby into a buxom blond mermaid with big red lips, it seems like they could easily carry some hardware on them too.

It would add a layer of suspense. When they are confronted by the monster, instead of yelling, “Run!” Fred would yell, “Shaggy, break out the .45 & take down this freak!”

“Zoinks! Like, that monster is huge! Lock and load the belt-fed, Scoob!” Shaggy would scream.

“Rut Roh!” Scooby would say when Fred’s semi-auto jammed.

Of course, the advent of weaponry would probably mean the gang would have to confine their mystery solving operations to Texas, where “Mister, he had it coming,” is still considered a viable legal defense, at least in some counties. But it could also be an opportunity to reinvent the show’s formula. The show could adopt a Law and Order-esque format, where the gang blazes away at the villain in the first half of the show, and then defends their actions in courtroom proceedings in the second half. Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law could be their regularly appearing counsel.

The next show used for my study was Dora. As you may know, Dora is continually stalked by Swiper the Fox. It seems like she should have filed a restraining order against that sneaky fox by now. Let’s see him swipe stuff from 50 yards away! If not a restraining order, then it seems like she should carry pepper spray. Or better yet she could become an empowering symbol to young girls by taking Tai-Kwon-Do and round-housing that pilfering vermin into the next episode. SOMETHING, so she’s not at the mercy of saying “Swiper no Swiping” three times before he reaches her. I’m surprised she hasn’t cracked under the pressure of knowing he’s lurking somewhere nearby and doesn’t mumble “Swiper no swiping” constantly in a nervous stupor.

Moving on to superheroes, how about this: If Lex Luthor is so smart and wealthy, why doesn’t he have underwear made out of kryptonite for every day of the week? Superman would be like, “Oh no! There must… be… kryptonite…. somewhere…nearby…” And Luthor would reply, “Oh yes, Superman, it’s as close as my monogrammed Tuesday undies.”

Speaking of superheroes, after watching so many episodes of the world facing utter destruction, I can’t help but worry that somewhere deep inside a fake mountain, in a rogue nation, is a secret lab where scientists are reviewing countless hours of superhero episodes and making notes on the catastrophic possibilities. They would be compiling lists of things like, “melt polar ice caps”, “change course of comet to impact Earth”, and “make a machine capable of turning all human life, except our great leader, into goldfish”. Meanwhile in another room, another group of researchers would be brainstorming the obstacles to world destruction: “Statistical probability of failure reaches it’s highest point 3 minutes before it’s too late.” Let’s just hope that Amazon refuses to fulfill any superhero DVD orders that would ship to: c/o World Destruction Dept.

Yes, it’s a sad state of the maternal mind, but I think it’s the only way to survive this emotionally demanding era of constantly providing the perfect, psychologically supportive environment for our kids. You can’t just beat them and toss them in a closet nowadays like they used to. Now it’s time-outs, second chances, and redirecting their behavior in a healthy, constructive, and non-damaging way. In other words, it’s exhausting. If a little internal mockery helps a mom achieve this without going outwardly insane, then so be it.