One of my very favorite Vietnamese foods is the spring roll. I mean, they put salad in a wrapper! Fantastic. It’s just perfect for fusion adaptations. In this version we have all of the ingredients of a classic cobb salad, plus a little nest of rice noodles.

My guiltless bleu cheese dip was a natural pairing here. It’s not a cobb salad without the blue cheese. It just isn’t. Not even optional – mandatory. Unless you don’t care for blue cheese, in which case it would be a cobb-like salad. I suppose I couldn’t hold that against you. We can still be friends if you don’t like bleu cheese. Promise.

Ingredients:

Recipe makes 6 spring rolls, or 12 halves

• 2 hard boiled eggs (diced)
• 1/2 avocado (thin sliced)
• 1 cup romaine lettuce (thin sliced)
• 1/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles
• 6 slices cooked bacon
• 1.5 cup cooked vermicelli rice noodles
• 1 cup pre-cooked chicken (diced)

Bleu cheese and bacon. Hard to argue. Just go with it.

It’s really hard to be this close to bacon and not eat it. Nearly impossible. If you’re looking for a way to test your will power, get reeeeaaaallly close to fresh bacon and see how long you can go without eating it. Maybe take bets. 10 seconds is torturous.

Ingredients:

Recipe makes 6 spring rolls, or 12 halves

• 2 hard boiled eggs (diced)
• 1/2 avocado 9 (thin sliced)
• 1 cup romaine lettuce (thin sliced)
• 1/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles
• 6 slices cooked bacon
• 1.5 cup cooked vermicelli rice noodles
• 1 cup pre-cooked chicken (diced)

Directions:

Making these little guys is mostly about the wrapper. Once you get that down, you’ll be moving along smoothly!

• Prep your fillings and have close at hand
• Prepare rice noodles by soaking in boiling water for 4 minutes, draining and running under cold water, or according to package directions
• Dip a sheet of rice paper completely in warm water, and let rest on a smooth surface for 15-20 seconds before filling. In this time it will soften, and be just right for rolling
• Place your fillings of choice in the middle of the wrapper and fold over the ends
• Fold over one side, and tuck under gently tightening the roll
• Finish by rolling over the other side of the paper. The paper will stick to itself almost instantly.

I’m getting pretty good at rolling these things. It’s pretty easy! If you’re handy with a burrito, it’ll be any easy skill to pick up.

Fusion food. Yum! You can really put anything you want in a spring roll. So versatile!

Related Posts:

• Guiltless Bleu Cheese Dip
• Vietnamese Pizza with Spicy Peanut Sauce