Good Day Gourmet: Fresh spring rolls

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Fresh roll springs can be the perfect light snack or appetizer.

After a winter of heavy eating, Vanessa wanted to try something different, and fresher. Her fresh spring rolls can be customized and filled with whatever you desire. For this recipe, it will include shrimp with some vegetables, and patience. Your first few attempts at rolling rice paper may be a bit messy, but once you get the hang of it, it will be deliciously worth it.

Vanessa offered two rice paper options: a square-shaped one and circle-shaped one. The square one may be easier to roll, but the circle rolls will be less excess.

Other suggested roll ingredients: Sliced avocado, basil leaves, mint leaves, cooked chicken, cooked pork, shredded cabbage, radicchio leaves. Feel free to experiment! 

Watch the video above for directions; here's what you'll need to make it:

INGREDIENTS:
Rice paper
Shrimp; peeled, deveined, tails off, cooked
Green leaf lettuce
Vermicelli noodles or bean thread, cooked
Shredded carrots
Bean sprouts
Cucumber, julienned
Green scallion, cut to wrapper length and split lengthwise
Suggested sauces: Sweet chili sauce, or peanut-hoisin sauce (equal parts peanut butter and hoisin sauce, plus a couple tablespoons of water to thin out the sauce)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Prepare all the stuffing ingredients so they are ready to go and easily accessible.
2) Heat a pot of water (large enough to fit a whole rice wrapper). You want to water to be as warm as possible without it being too hot to the touch.
3) Keeping the rice paper unrolled and as taut as possible (without tearing it), soak the wrapper in water for several seconds until it is soft.
4) Place the wrapper on a clean, moistened surface (a slightly soggy rolling surface will keep the wrapper from sticking.)
5) Layer your stuffing ingredients on one edge of the wrapper. Feel free to use whatever ingredients you like, but here's how the above rolls were made: One leaf of lettuce, topped with a piece of green scallion, a pinch of shredded carrots, a pinch of sprouts, a small bunch of noodles. Try not to over-stuff the rolls or the wrapper could tear.
6) Start to roll, keeping the roll as tight as possible without tearing. Then, before the last turn, lay out three medium-to-large shrimp in a row and fold the two side ends of the wrapper over, and finish wrapping the roll.
7) Place completed rolls on a tray, separated, so they don't stick to each other. You may place small sheets of parchment paper between them to keep them apart.
8) Serve with a sauce of your choice!