Just for Fun - Cooking Thai Spring Rolls

May 30, 2017

Just for Fun - Cooking Thai Spring Rolls

This week's post will be a little bit different, as I share one of my favorite things about Thailand - Spring Rolls!!

The end of May brings the happiest and saddest news ever: our sweet house helper is leaving us (sad) because she is due to have her first baby - a boy - in just a few weeks (happy!!). She has been such a gift to us for the last almost-three years.

Before living in Thailand, I never would have dreamed of having someone to help around the house. Well okay, maybe I DREAMED about it, but it never would have happened. This is one of the cultural changes that moving overseas brought (I know many ex-pats from other countries can understand what I'm talking about - it is actually expected that, as foreigners, we will, when possible, provide employment for someone in this way).

Truly, I balked at the idea at first. I can clean my own house. What will other people think of the "wealthy farang (westerner)" and their house help? What will people in the states think if they find out we have a house helper?

Let me just take a moment to say, forget about what other people think. What am I, in junior high again? Our sweet "mae baan" (literally translated, "house mother") has been a blessing from God above.

This isn't our house. We live in the city. And anyway, it's not a good idea to put pictures of your house on the internet 😉 This is actually a house in the village that our mae baan comes from. Quite a big difference for her, growing up here and then coming to live in Chiang Mai!

Even after attending a month-long training institute to learn how to transition to living overseas, I still underestimated just how hard it would be. Figuring out how to furnish the empty house on our budget - which also means shopping in a foreign country where you and the salesperson don't speak the same language. Learning how to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Learning how to find your way around the city and stay alive in the process (I am not kidding). Homeschooling the children. Cooking - what? And with what? And purchased where? Beginning Thai lessons. Really, the list of things that we were trying to accomplish those first weeks and months in country could go on and on. And almost ALL of it was highly stressful.

Enter our mae baan. She quietly took care of keeping our clothes clean and ironed (no dryers here - wash it in cold water and hang it on the line). She swept and mopped all the floors, which are all beautiful hard wood. She cleaned the bathrooms. She smiled at us. She helped us practice Thai and didn't make fun of us when we made huge mistakes. She cooked delicious Thai food for us.

I could never say enough just how much mental health this dear young woman gave me. And to top it all off, she asked Emma to be in her wedding and invited us all to the celebration at her village, which was a fun and amazing day.

The wedding processional through the village and up to the church.

So as a tribute to her help over the years - and her fabulous cooking - I am sharing how to make Thai Spring Rolls, mae baan style.

If you don't already know it, you have an Asian grocery store in your area. Here's what I suggest: take in the pictures from this post and just ask them to help you find them! Now here's the tough part for those of you who are actually interested in trying these yourself: there are no actual amounts given. I will probably not win any awards for "internet recipes," but that's ok. This is mostly for you to get a glimpse into Thai culture and even to give it a try yourself if you'd like - it really isn't hard, even without the specifics, and it certainly is "aroy" (delicious!).

Thai spring roll wraps - we used about 20.

These are Thai glass noodles, cooked. The bowl they are in is about the size of the colander shown in the picture below.

This is a mixture of shredded cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and sprouts. This colander holds a pound and a half of spaghetti - hopefully that will give you an idea as to how much of the veggie mixture we used.

Tofu, cubed (this surprises me, as I don't actually like tofu, but I love Thai spring rolls - sometimes it's better not to know the ingredients!)

Light soy sauce - approximately 2-3 teaspoons

Oyster sauce - approximately 2-3 teaspoons

Ground black pepper to taste (just regular old black pepper, but thought you'd enjoy seeing the Thai label!)

NOT PICTURED: A Thai pork seasoning/spice (ground/powdered) called, in Thai, รสดีหมู. I don't have a picture because it is sold in bins and bagged up. Again, your local Asian food store should be able to help you. Or just make your spring rolls without this particular spice - be brave and substitute your own seasoning!

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

1. Separate the spring roll papers and put what you need on a plate (pull them apart individually as well); then cover with a towel and leave on counter. Covering them with the towel keeps them flexible and from drying out. Extra wraps can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer.

2. Shred the cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms and sprouts together and cube the tofu. Put the shredded veggies in the microwave on high for 1-1/2 minutes.

3. Cover the bottom of a skillet in oil and heat on medium high. Add the tofu and cook for about 1-1/2 minutes. Add in the shredded vegetables, 2-3 teaspoons (approx.) each of oyster sauce and light soy sauce, and sprinkle Thai seasoning. Sautee together until soft.

4. When veggie mixture is soft, add in the noodles (they cook quickly) and Thai pepper.

5. Let the mixture cool in a pan for a bit (we left it on the counter for about 30 minutes).

ROLLING:

Begin at the corner of the wrap. Put in the mixture and roll halfway; then turn in the side corners and finish rolling. Use egg white to seal the final corner of the wrap.