(Paw Pia Sot) Thai Fresh Spring Roll
These Thai Fresh Spring Rolls, known as Paw Pia Sot in Thai, are made with pastry wrappers and a customizable filling. They are served with homemade sweet and sour sauce for a refreshing meal or appetizer.
Growing up, my mom owned a Thai restaurant, and one of the appetizers she served was paw pia sot, which translates to Thai fresh spring rolls. You’ll commonly see Fresh spring rolls made with rice paper, like my shrimp rice paper rolls.
I always try my best to make my recipes easy and adaptable to the average home cook, but for this recipe, I had to keep the ingredients and steps authentic to my Mom’s recipe. While it’s not complicated, there are quite a few steps, just like my Thai fried spring roll recipe.
Ingredients for the Sauce
These are the ingredients needed to make the sauce served over the paw pia sot. It can be described as a trifecta of flavors: sweet, sour, and salty. This is very common in Thai cooking, just like the flavors in Pad Thai.
- Water
- White Sugar– To add sweetness to the sauce.
- Coconut sugar– Or use light brown sugar for color and a deeper flavor.
- Plums with Brine– I buy these at an Asian market, and they have a unique taste, so I can’t offer a substitute.
- Fermented Soybean Paste– This is going to add saltiness and umami to the sauce. It is similar to a miso paste, but try to find the brand I linked.
- Tamarind Concentrate– There are various types of tamarind puree and concentrate, try to find the Thai or Vietnamese kind.
- Sliced Peaches– These can be found at your local grocery store.
- Fried shallots– You can fry your own shallots or buy the ones from the Asian market.
Making the Sauce
This sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. It will last up to a week refrigerated. Add water to a pot along with white sugar and coconut or brown sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the plums and brine, tamarind concentrate, and fermented soybean paste.
Bring to a simmer, and after a few minutes, add the drained peaches and fried shallots. Allow to simmer for 10 more minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, allow the sauce to cool down, and blend until smooth. You can also strain the sauce to remove any bits. If the sauce is too thin, heat it back on the stove at low heat to slightly thicken. You want it to coat the back of a spoon.
Ingredients for the Spring Rolls
The main ingredient is the spring roll pastry wrappers, which I get in the freezer section at the Asian market. The other ingredients can be substituted or customized to your liking. In Thailand, you’ll sometimes find paw pia sot with BBQ pork or Chinese sausage.
- Spring roll wrappers– These will be frozen, so you’ll need to thaw them on the counter for 30 minutes.
- Bean sprouts– I blanched them in boiling water and then placed them in an ice bath.
- Cucumber– Remove the seeds and slice it into strips
- Carrots– Peeled and shredded thin
- Green Onion stalks– We’re only using the green part; you can save the whites for a different recipe.
- Jalapenos– I sliced them into coins and used as a garnish on the spring rolls and for some heat.
- Cilantro stems– You can use mint, coriander, or even arugula.
- Extra Firm Tofu– or substitute any protein of your choice.
- Chinese five spice– This is used to season the tofu.
- Eggs– Whisked with soy sauce and fried to make a Thai omelet (Kai Jeow/).
- Golden Mountain Soy Sauce– You can use regular soy sauce, but the flavor will be different.
Assembling and Serving
Once the sauce is made and all your filling ingredients are prepped, you can begin assembling the Fresh Spring Rolls. Carefully peel to separate the wrappers and place them under a damp towel to keep them moist.
Place one sheet of spring wall wrapper on a cutting board and layer with the filling ingredients in a stacked layer. Start rolling the spring roll and pulling the top to keep it tight. Slice off the ends and slice into bite-size pieces. Ladle the sauce over each piece and garnish with jalapeno slices.
These Fresh Spring Rolls are best served right after they are made; otherwise, the sauce and ingredients can make the pastry wrapper soggy.
If you need to make these ahead of time, I suggest making the sauce a day ahead. You can also prep the filling ingredients a day or morning before you need them. There’s no need to heat the filling ingredients; they can be used right out of the refrigerator. Then, just assemble the spring rolls before serving.
More Thai Appetizers
Thai Fresh Spring Roll (Paw Pia Sot)
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Ingredients
Sauce
- 12 ounces Water
- ½ cup White Sugar
- ½ cup Coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- 3 Plums with Brine
- 1 teaspoon Fermented Soybean Paste
- 3 tablespoons Tamarind Concentrate
- 15 oz Sliced Peaches drained and rinsed
- ½ cup Fried shallots
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Spring Rolls
- 12 Spring roll wrappers
- 6 ounces Bean sprouts Blanched
- 1 Cucumber sliced into strips and seeds removed
- 2 Carrots peeled and shredded thin
- 5 Green Onion stalks
- 2 Jalapenos
- 12 Cilantro stems
- 1 package Extra Firm Tofu drained and sliced into rectangles
- 3 Eggs whisked with soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon Golden Mountain Soy Sauce divided
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
Instructions
Sauce
- Add water to a pot along with white sugar and coconut or brown sugar.
- Once the sugar is dissolved, add the plums and brine, tamarind concentrate, and fermented soybean paste. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.
- Then add the drained peaches and fried shallots and allow to simmer for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and allow the sauce to cool down, then blend until smooth. You can also strain the sauce to remove any bits. If the sauce is too thin, heat it back on the stove at low heat to slightly thicken. You want it to coat the back of a spoon.
Filling Ingredients
- Drain and press the tofu, slice into long rectangles. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add a little bit of oil. Pan fry until lightly golden on both sides. Remove the tofu from the pan and slice into strips. In the same pan, add a quarter cup of water, a teaspoon of soy sauce, and one teaspoon of Chinese five spice. Add the strips of tofu back into the pan and coat on both sides in the liquid. Allow to simmer until the sauce is absorbed into the tofu strips.
- Whisk three eggs together and add 1 teaspoon of Golden Mountain soy sauce. Use the same skillet on medium heat with a little bit of oil. Pour the whisked eggs into the pan and swirl the pan to distribute them in a single layer. Place a lid on and allow the eggs to cook until done. Once the eggs are done, remove it in one piece and slice it into thin strips.
- Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a rapid boil. Add the bean sprouts for 1 minute and then remove with a strainer into a bowl with ice water. Then remove the bean sprouts and allow them to dry on a plate with a paper towel.
- Slice a cucumber in half and use a spoon to remove the seeds. Then slice each half into five strips.
- Peel the carrots and use a grater or mandolin to shred long fine strips of carrots.
- Remove the white part of the green onions, and use the long green parts. You want just single pieces.
Spring Roll Assembly
- Remove the spring roll pastry wrapper from the freezer and allow it to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes. Carefully peel to separate the wrappers and place them under a damp towel to keep them moist.
- Place one sheet of spring wall wrapper on a cutting board and layer with the filling ingredients in a stacked layer. Start rolling the spring roll and pulling the top to keep it tight. Slice off the ends and slice into bite-size pieces.
- Ladle the sauce over each piece and garnish with jalapeno slices. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and depends on ingredients and amounts used. Thai Caliente makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
