-"Fresh spring rolls" (aka: summer rolls, salad rolls, etc.) typically refer to Vietnamese non-fried rolls of fresh vegetables, herbs, and simply cooked shrimp/meat.

-The wrappers are made of cooked sheets rice papers and come DRIED in a package (not found in the freezer/refrig. section); they are white and somewhat translucent when dried but a lot more translucent when rehydrated.

-When preparing to roll, you simply dip the dried rice papers in hot water ONCE and place it on your plate/cutting board. The wrapper will still seem hard after dipping in water just once, but rest assured, by the time you're done compiling the filling, the wrapper will be adequately moistened w/o being over soaked (a COMMON mistake). This way, the wrapper will maintain its elasticity and prevent breakage when you roll.

-Roll TIGHTLY! As you roll, gently press the filling down and tug it slightly back into itself (rolling away from you using your two thumbs while tugging the filling down and towards you using your other fingers). Why? Tight rolls will keep the filling from falling out once you take a bite and go for another dunk in the dipping sauce.

-Whether using rice vermicelli or cellophane noodles, you need to BOIL them and not just pour boiling water over them, another common mistake. You don't need to boil them long at all, less than 5 minutes, but then drain and rinse thoroughly with cold running water to remove the excess starch. This gives the noodles a clean and "light" mouthfeel.

-Google Image. Google images of Vietnamese fresh spring/summer/salad rolls to give you an idea of what they're supposed to look like. You'll see that the rice paper wrapper is thin and translucent.

Have fun!

The fresh spring roll wrappers are dry and white. I found mine at Earth-Fare. They are dipped to hydrate them.

The other spring roll wrappers, I bought at the Asian Market, when you bought the chicken feet.

Let’s experiment with these wrappers.. and perfect some yum!

Sorry about your experience.

First of all, chocolate chips in scones don’t taste good. I learned this AFTER I had made them. Second of all, Paula Deen has a darn good scone recipe….but they aren’t the traditional English scones I was looking for, WAY too much butter.

No fearless Friday for me – I just came from my son’s homeschool evaluation, which I’ve been preparing for all week, so food prep has been pretty standard. *yawn*

I’ve had all I can do to keep up at the office – but next week I’ll do something exciting!

Heather, can’t wait to read about your spring rolls!