Colorful Spring Rolls

Color and Satiation 

Pick a protein first like scrambled eggs, seared beef or grilled chicken and then build your color gradient around it. I like to have soft things like eggs, squash, sweet potato or avocado and also something crunchy like cabbage, radish, or bell pepper to fill the base layer. The pretty toppings that you will see from the outer layer can be small like flowers, chilis plus something colorful to make them pop. There is no one ingredient combo. 

The bright pink color is daikon radish that I quick pickled in vinegar with a beet for about 45 min. Think of vinegar as a "color extractor" a "blending medium". If you pickle it for over an hour then that you loose the bright pink and get a darker beet color. So it really is all about "blending" your paint properly if you want a rainbow gradient. I like the way the bright green avocado pairs with the bright pink. The violets add a nice purple tone that we do not often see in food, this is the beauty of adding little flowers to the mix.  I added a little bit of shredded carrot to complement the pink, but not enough to detract or clash. The bulk bottom layer is thinly sliced cabbage tossed in salt and vinegar. Season some of the fillings but not all. And of course a little bit of chopped cilantro and serrano. You see how we have 4 different shades of green here?! If we just used 1, there would be no gradient. 

I hope this guides you to get creative because no recipe is truly right. You do things your own way. 

SPRING ROLL PRO TIPS:

1. I find that the rice paper with a tapioca blend tend to be more see through than the pure rice ones. Either work but if you want that glassy look, go for the blend.

2. Put the pretty stuff you want seen on the outer layer after the first roll (in these pics the beef and flowers are on the outer layer), similar how shrimp get rolled on the outside in Vietnam, I’m sure you can find a tutorial : ) I also tried sketching it out for you!

3. As you are about to finish rolling, cut the last inch or so off the top so that it doesn't double back around creating a 2nd layer of the "pretty stuff on top"

4. Oil your surface, and oil the rolls to give them a beautiful sheen

THE ROLLS THAT INSPIRED THIS EMAIL BLOG: (photo below)

Bright Pink: Diakon soaked with beets and vinegar for 1 hour, more than an hour makes a darker pink

Green: Avocado, cilantro, cabbage, and serrano

Indigo: Violets

Orange: Carrots

Brown: Air fried caramelize Vietnamese style thinly sliced beef

See the Art of Eating blog post for more ideas on how to create color gradients using your vinegar.