Crispy Spring Rolls
RECIPE
(makes 12)
▪75g or 2-3oz rice vermicelli (soaked for 20 minutes, drained, and cut)
▪Olive oil (or peanut oil)
▪100g or 1 1/4c mushrooms, small diced
▪Salt
▪225g/.5lb raw shrimp
▪225g/.5lb ground pork
▪30g or 2Tbsp soy sauce
▪50g or 3Tbsp oyster sauce
▪5g or 1 sm clove garlic, grated
▪1 egg
▪10g or 3Tbsp cilantro, chopped
▪50g or 1/2c scallion bottoms, thinly sliced
▪50g or ⅓ medium carrot, shredded
▪2qt or 2L neutral oil (or enough to fill a heavy bottomed med-large sauce pot no more than halfway full of oil)
▪Spring roll pastry
Cover vermicelli with water to soak for 20 minutes.
In a saute pan over medium high heat, add a squeeze of oil followed by mushrooms & a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and saute until the’ve lost their water & are browned.
Transfer mushrooms to a bowl to cool while you prep the other ingredients.
Add shrimp and pork to a food processor and process until shrimp is mostly broken down and the meats are combined. Stop before it becomes a paste.
Add meat combo into a bowl with the mushrooms along with soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, egg, cilantro, scallions, carrots, and drained and cut rice noodles. Mix to combine.
Heat a medium-large sauce pan over medium-high heat and add in about 2qt high smoke point neutral oil. Keep the oil level no more than halfway up your pot. When ready to fry, the temperature should be 350F/175C.
Lay down 1 piece of spring roll pastry in a diamond shape (corner pointing towards your body) and add about 75g of the meat filling near the bottom corner. Roll as shown @12:18.
Use a cornstarch slurry to seal.
Drop spring rolls into oil (carefully away from your body) working in 2 batches. Fry for 5-6 minutes until golden brown and crisp, flipping over after about a minute.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
CHILI SAUCE
▪100g or 1/2c water
▪5g or 1 sm clove garlic, grated/minced
▪5g or 1/2Tbsp ginger, grated/minced
▪25g or 1.5Tbsp fish sauce
▪50g or 3Tbsp rice vinegar
▪65g or 1/3c sugar
▪25g or 2Tbsp sambal (garlic chili sauce)
▪15g or 1Tbsp ketchup
▪2 Tbs Cornstarch slurry (5g/2t cornstarch stirred into 25g/1.5Tbsp water)
Add to a small sauce pan: water, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, sambal and ketchup and bring to a boil. Cook down to reduce by about half (about 5 minutes) then stir in cornstarch slurry and bring back to a boil.
