Kid-friendly Kid-Invented Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls Recipe - Sticky Fingers Cooking
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Recipe: Kid-Invented Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

Recipe: Kid-Invented Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

Kid-Invented Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

by Erin Fletter
Photo by YSK1/Shutterstock.com
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
makes
4-6 servings

Fun Food Story

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Kid-Invented Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

Every culture has developed a food that wraps meat or vegetables in dough, grain, or similar wrappers. The reason is simple: It’s a convenient food for farmers to carry to the field, hunters to take hunting, and fishermen to take to sea. For China and many other parts of Asia, it’s spring rolls. 

Kids will use all kinds of knife skills to prepare the colorful raw vegetables they will wrap in softened rice paper. 

We’ve noticed throughout the years how much kids love to dip. Give them a delicious dip, and they’ll often be more likely to try foods they wouldn’t otherwise. So, consider making our super delicious Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce to go with our veggie-packed spring rolls!

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Chef Erin, Food-Geek-in-Chief

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

  • chop :

    to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

  • grate :

    to reduce food, like a carrot, to very small shreds or pieces of the same size by rubbing it on a tool with an outside surface that has holes with cutting edges (a grater).

  • julienne :

    to cut fruits or vegetables into short, thin, matchstick-like strips.

  • knife skills :

    Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls)

  • tear :

    to pull or rip apart a food, like basil leaves, into pieces instead of cutting with a knife; cutting breaks cell walls more, so herbs can discolor faster.

  • wrap :

    to encase a food filling with an edible outer package (wrapping), like lettuce, pita, rice paper, seaweed, or tortilla; the wrapped food may also be called a wrap.

Equipment Checklist

  • Small bowls to hold the veggies
  • Grater (or food processor)
  • Cutting board
  • Kid-safe knife
  • Dry measuring cups
  • Large mixing bowl
scale
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Ingredients

Kid-Invented Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

  • 1/2 purple or green cabbage OR 2 C shredded coleslaw mix
  • 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1/2 C fresh bean sprouts OR 1 can bamboo shoots OR 1 can water chestnuts
  • 3 green onions
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 ripe mango OR 1 pint blueberries OR 1 green or red apple
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 handful fresh mint leaves
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 pkg rice paper wrappers, 2 to 3 per kid chef

Instructions

Kid-Invented Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

1.
intro

Kids will use all kinds of knife skills to prepare a bunch of colorful raw vegetables, wrapping them in softened rice paper and dipping them in a delicious sweet chili sauce.

2.
grate + chop + julienne

With adult supervision, kids grate or chop 1/2 cup cabbage and 1/2 head lettuce, then grate 1/2 cucumber and 2 carrots. Older kids might enjoy the challenge of slicing their carrots and cucumber into thin coins, then cutting each coin into julienne shapes (short, thin matchsticks)!

3.
chop + slice

Chop 1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts. Slice 3 green onions into long, thin pieces. Adults, slice 1 avocado and 1 mango around the pit and have kids peel and slice them into thin pieces.

4.
sprinkle + tear

Sprinkle 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar on the prepared fruit and veggies. Tear 1 handful of mint leaves and 1 handful of cilantro leaves from their stems.

5.
set up

Set up a clean cutting board, a large mixing bowl with water, 1 package of rice paper wrappers, and the fruit and veggie fillings.

6.
fill + wrap

Kids can begin filling and wrapping their spring rolls, or they can first watch adults make one. Dip 1 rice paper wrapper in water for about 10 to 15 seconds—it doesn’t take long to soften and will soften more as you add the fillings. Then, place it on a clean cutting board. Add 2 tablespoons of filling just above the bottom corner of the wrapper. Roll from the bottom corner until the filling is contained. Then fold over the sides toward the middle and continue rolling to the top! Have kids continue filling and wrapping until all the spring rolls are made. They will all look a little different, which is okay! Enjoy with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce!

Surprise Ingredient: Mint!

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Photo by ZoneCreative/Shutterstock.com

Hi! I'm Mint!

"I'm a green herb with a sweet, cool taste and pleasant aroma. You may have tasted me in gum and toothpaste, but my favorite is mint chocolate chip ice cream!"

History & Etymology

  • With its fresh scent hard to miss, mint was undoubtedly one of the earliest herbs discovered. It has been found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 1,000 BCE and has been part of Chinese medicine even longer.
  • Ancient Romans and Greeks used mint to flavor cordials and fruit compotes, as well as for baths and perfumes.
  • Mexicans call mint "yerba buena" or "good herb."
  • The United States produces over 70 percent of the world's peppermint and spearmint.
  • The word "mint" comes from the Old English "minte," from German "minze," from the Greek "minthē."

Anatomy

  • The mint plant is from the Mentha genus. It is an aromatic perennial herb. The plants can grow 4 to 48 inches tall and have runners below and above ground that can spread. 
  • There are 18 to 24 species of mint currently recognized. Other mints are natural hybrids and cultivated hybrids. Some herbs with "mint" names, like cat mint (catnip), are not part of the Mentha genus. 
  • Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is also known as common garden mint. Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) is a natural hybrid cross between spearmint and watermint (Mentha aquatica). 

How to Pick, Buy, & Use

  • Mint is easy to grow at home or can be purchased at the grocery store. You can keep a bunch of fresh mint in a glass of water for up to two days.
  • Mint is harvested for its leaves, fresh or dried, for many culinary uses to add a cool, refreshing flavor. Foods that mint is added to include beverages, candies, ice cream, jellies, meat dishes, sauces, syrups, and teas. 
  • Mint essential oil and menthol are added as flavoring to breath fresheners, candy, chocolate, drinks, gums, and toothpaste. It can also be used for aromatherapy. 
  • Mint pairs well with these foods: asparagus, beans, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, and yogurt. You can combine mint with these herbs and spices: basil, clove, cumin, dill, ginger, oregano, parsley, and thyme. 

Nutrition

  • Although mint has some health benefits, it is best to eat it in moderation. 
  • Mint has small amounts of vitamins A and C, along with the minerals calcium and iron.
  • Mint may aid in digestion, but if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), it may aggravate symptoms.

What are Rice Paper Wrappers and Spring Rolls?

Photo by wanchai/Shutterstock.com
  • Rice paper wrappers originated in Vietnam, where they are called "bánh tráng" (pronounced "baan trahn"). They are thin, almost translucent, and made with rice flour, tapioca flour or starch, water, and salt. They are traditionally dried using sunlight.
  • The wrappers have almost no taste or smell, so they become the silent support to the tasty ingredients inside. These typically include pork, shrimp, and vegetables. 
  • In southern Vietnam, they use the wrappers for "gỏi cuốn" (pronounced "goy koon"), also called spring rolls, salad rolls, or summer rolls. These rolls are served fresh, not fried.
  • When shopping for rice paper wrappers, the name on the package may be spring roll wrappers; however, if the ingredients include wheat, they aren't proper rice paper wrappers.
  • Spring rolls are a filled, rolled appetizer or small dish found in East and Southeast Asia countries. Depending on the region, the rolls may be fresh or fried, use different wrappers, contain assorted meat and vegetable fillings, and go by various names.
  • For example, in Indonesia and the Philippines, spring rolls are called "lumpia," and in Vietnam, fried rolls are called "chả giò" (pronounced "tshah zheeyoh") and, as we learned above, fresh rolls are called "gỏi cuốn." Spring rolls served with a sweet, hot chili oil is customary to the Sichuan Province of China.

Let's Learn About China!

Photo by XiXinXing/Shutterstock.com
  • China's official name is The People's Republic of China. It became a republic in 1912; however, the first Chinese dynasty appeared around 2100 BCE. China is one of the largest countries in the world, and it has the most people!
  • The official language of China is Mandarin. However, various dialects are spoken in different regions of the country. For example, in Shanghai, they speak Shanghainese.
  • China is around the same size as the continental United States but only has one official time zone. The continental US has four.  
  • China's capital city is Beijing, while the most populated city is Shanghai.  
  • The Great Wall in China is the largest man-made construction on Earth, stretching an incredible 5,500 miles. Its builders used mortar that included sticky rice to bind the Great Wall's stones! 
  • China's land is diverse, with high mountains, low coastal lands, deserts, and damp tropical areas. Just like the United States!
  • The Chinese are known for their papermaking, porcelain, and silk cloth. In addition to paper, they also invented the compass during the Han dynasty (202 BCE to 220 CE), woodblock printing in the Tang dynasty (by 7th century), gunpowder in the Tang dynasty (9th century), and movable type made of porcelain (for printing) between 1039 and 1048 CE, during the Song dynasty.
  • Chinese cuisine varies by region. Climate, local agriculture, ethnic and class backgrounds, and outside influences all contribute to China's food diversity. There are eight major regional Chinese cuisines: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang.
  • Wheat is farmed in northern China, so noodles and other foods made from wheat are consumed more in the North. On the other hand, rice is cultivated in southern China; therefore, rice is a staple in the South.  
  • Tea has long been part of Chinese culture across all parts of society. China was the first country to grow and drink tea and, today, it exports the most green tea worldwide.

What's It Like to Be a Kid in China?

  • School success is greatly emphasized in China. Chinese kids go to school five days a week (six days before 1995), and their school day runs from 7:30 or 8 am until 4 or 5 pm. After school, they might do homework for three hours.
  • In primary school, kids learn the Chinese language, which is made up of about 7,000 characters, not letters. The characters represent words. By the time they finish primary school, they will have learned about 4,000 characters. They will also learn a foreign language, especially English.
  • Kids may not have aunts, uncles, or cousins because, at one time, the Chinese government allowed couples to have just one child due to the high population. That later changed to two, and in May 2021, the policy changed again to allow three kids, so now a child may have a sibling or two. 
  • Some of the holidays that kids celebrate with their families are Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, and National Day. National Day is celebrated with fireworks and parades to commemorate the formal proclamation of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. 
  • Kids enjoy playing ping pong, basketball, volleyball, and badminton. They also play video games and ride their bikes. 
  • Rice and noodles are staples, and kids may eat these at every meal. They'll eat their food using chopsticks, not forks!

That's Berry Funny

What is a mint’s favorite sport? 

Bad-mint-on!

Lettuce Joke Around

What seasoning is spicy yet cold?

Pepper-mint!

THYME for a Laugh

What is a gymnast’s favorite food? 

Spring Rolls!

Lettuce Joke Around

How did the gardener mend his trousers? 

With a vegetable patch!

THYME for a Laugh

What did the mint say to the other mint? 

We're mint to be together!

THYME for a Laugh

What’s the difference between a spring roll and a summer roll? 

Season-ing!

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