I've made some fresh spring rolls by filling rice paper sheets with vegetables, cheese and peanuts, without any cooking. I've kept the uneaten ones in the fridge for a night in a sealed box. The rice paper has lost its flexibility and moisture.
Is there a recommended way to store fresh spring rolls in a fridge for a few days, without losing the moisture of the rice paper?
In its recipe for Spring Rolls, What's Cooking America indicates:
Spring rolls can be made a day ahead. Cover them with a damp paper towel, then wrap well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Refrigerating firms and toughens the wrappers and noodles [inside the roll, in this recipe] slightly (if they are a little dry, wipe them gently with a damp cloth).
In the future, consider that you might not want to make the rolls until you are ready to eat them. Your filling ingredients will probably hold quite well on their own, and hydrating the wrappers to make the rolls is very fast and easy.
I'm making Spring Rolls for my brother's birthday. I will be storing them overnight in the fridge with a damp dish towel covering them. I discovered it helps a bit to rub a little Olive oil on the platter to keep the rolls from sticking. Also, it helps to keep them from touching one another while being stored, as they tend to want to tear when being pulled apart. Just little tricks along the way... I'd love to learn more!
I rub them down lightly with sesame oil, before I wrap them in Saran Wrap. I then put them in a large Square tupperware container and cover them with a lightly dampened paper towel or tea towel & seal. I also prefer rolling them on a damp tea towel, as it tends to stick less and it's easier to peel apart, verses getting stuck to a nice smooth plate! I generally don't like to leave them uneaten for more than 48 hours maximum, depending what's in them, but preferably I prefer sticking to the 4 to 12 hour, up to no more than a 24 hour period of time before eating. I definitely like to chill them and let them set a little bit, rather than eating them as soon as I roll them. Should they get too dry, I just wash my hands well and massage them with a light stream of water over the sink and then towel them off and serve. I always cut them in half diagonally with a WET knife, to avoid ripping the wrappers.
'A few days' is asking a lot. I wouldn't try to hold them more than overnight, personally.
When I've made spring rolls in advance (even just a few hours), my bigger problem was them sticking to each other and the container. I get around this problem by setting each spring roll in a piece of butter lettuce, and then wrapping the whole container tightly in plastic wrap. (but not touching the spring rolls ... if your don't have a deep enough container for the volume you're making, you could try adding a few more leaves of lettuce on top of any exposed spring rolls before wrapping).
I made some yesterday with shrimp, glass noodles fresh avocado,cukes etc and I made them 1pm yesterday. I had 1 left so i wrapped it tight in plastic wrap{i thought with the sticky rice paper, i will never get this unwrapped}. I stored it in the egg compartment of the refrig and closed the lid. Today at lunch at 12, it unwrapped beautifully, i cut it in half to inspect it. Avocado was not even brown. Tasted as great as they did yesterday. For those of you having trouble rolling, try to find square rice papers. They are 9x9 square and place it on a plate like in a diamond(1 point at top,1 at bottom and 1 on each side. Place your junk in the center and fold left side in, right side in, then roll like normal. It gives you more work space and you wont be near as intimidated.
Wrap each roll tightly in plastic wrap. Holds in the moisture and prevents them from sticking together.
Use lettuce leaf as a bed for each one and could used as part of the presentation, especially if you want to drizzle or serve a dip/sauce.
