Spring Rolls

What You Need:

• Rice paper wrappers
• 1 small head of cabbage
• 1 carrot
• 1 cucumber
• 1 avocado
• Fresh spinach, mint, and basil
• 1 package curly noodles
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Salt, pepper
• Plate
• Water
• Knife
• Saucepan
• Colander
• Small dish

What You Do:

1. Start by learning more with your child about traditional spring rolls by researching online. Spring rolls have been around for thousands of years and are thought to have originated during the Sung Dynasty, and can be filled with just about anything.
2. Invite your child to bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Then she can add the noodles and cook until they are tender, and drain and cool in a colander.
3. While the noodles are cooling, your child can begin gathering and assembling her spring spring roll ingredients! She can use all her favorite fresh veggies, such as cabbage, carrots, and cucumber!
4. Offer your child a paring knife to cut thin strips of each vegetable and create an assembly line for making her spring rolls. She can also create a mixture to drizzle over her ingredients by mixing together the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar in a small dish.
5. Now invite your child to fill a plate with enough water to cover the bottom. She can place one of the rice paper wrappers in the water and let sit for about 2 minutes. During that time the rice paper will absorb the water turning the circle soft and pliable.
6. She can carefully remove the wrapper from the water and lay flat on a work surface. Now she can assemble her spring rolls by placing her ingredients on top of each other at one end of the circle. A little bit goes a long way, so just a few strips of each ingredient works great, along with a good pinch of the cooked and cooled curly noodles.
7. When she’s ready, she can drizzle with the soy vinegar mixture and wrap the rolls by folding over the edges and then rolling nice and tight. The wrapper sticks to itself nicely, creating a happy package!