straight up veg

I find it strange that I would have to describe what a spring roll is, because I’m pretty sure everyone has had one at least once in their life (I seriously judge anyone that has never had a spring roll before… are you living under multiple rocks?!).

There are many sub-types of spring rolls that contain different types of fillings and wrappings, such as: Egg rolls (China), Lumpia (Philippines/Indonesia), Chả giò (Vietnam) and Summer Rolls (Vietnam).

The recipe I have today is a common Chinese dim sum style spring roll, filled with vegetables, aromatics and noodles. I mimicked this recipe after ones I had at a fantastic dim sum place.

**feel free to click on the red links for photo references**

Recipe makes approx.  30 spring rolls 

INGREDIENTS

• 60 8″ squares of spring roll pastry
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 head of medium green cabbage, julienned
• 2 medium carrots, julienned
• 16 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup bean thread or rice vermicelli noodles, cooked
• 4 green onions, julienned (bulbs & greens)
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 quart vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup of cornstarch slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water)

1. In a pan, add olive oil on medium heat. Add green onion, garlic and ginger. Saute for 2 minutes (until soft but not browned)
2. Add cabbage, carrots and mushrooms with 3 tablespoons of water. Saute on medium-high for approx. 5 minutes.
3. Add cooked noodles, soy sauce and sugar. Cook on medium for another 5 minutes. Make sure noodles do not stick to pan. Add more olive oil if necessary.
4. Let mixture cool down slightly. Set up wrapping station with cornstarch slurry, mixture and wrappers all at hand.
5. Begin filling and wrapping spring rolls (cornstarch slurry used to seal the wrapper). Add approx. 2 tbsp of filling onto 2 sheets of spring roll wrapper (I use 2 sheets so that they do not go soggy – 1 sheet is fine, if you are eating them right away). They should look like this.
6. Heat up 1 quart of vegetable oil to approx. 365°F (185°C). Fry spring rolls for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. Cut in half, and enjoy with your dipping sauce of preference. I use plum sauce, but you can also use Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce or whatever else makes you happy.