Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Categories:

appetizer

Prep time: may take about an hour to 2 hours
Yield: Yields about 25 spring rolls

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with meat and shrimp

Ingredients

For nuoc cham dipping sauce
5 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce (preferably from Phu Quoc)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 fresh Thai chiles (2 to 3 inches; preferably red; including seeds), thinly sliced crosswise
Or just use the one from the store.

For spring rolls
7 1/2 oz very thin bean thread noodles (in small skeins, also known as cellophane or mung bean noodles*)
2 oz dried wood ear mushrooms
2 green onions
2 garlic cloves
2 cups grated carrots (4 to 5 carrots)
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 lb cooked ground pork/chicken
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce (preferably from Phu Quoc)
black pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 lb shrimp peeled and shredded
cilantro leaves
1-2 teaspoon corn starch
25 (8-inch) square frozen spring roll pastry wrappers made with wheat flour, thawed

Instructions

Cook the meat and let it cool. Fry the garlic in the 1 TS of oil. Add the shrimp and fry until they are pink. Let it cool. Now mix the meat, shreded shrimp, and all the ingredients. Using the spring roll wrapper put some mix into and fold it like a little envelop. Heat the oil and deep fry the rolls to a crisp. Make sure that the oil is not too hot or too cold, just perfect to cook it light pink.