Recipe Instructions:
Ingredients
For the Spring Rolls
16-18 g dried wood-ear mushrooms
50 g dried glass noodles
270 g raw peeled and deveined shrimp
300 g ground pork
100 g beansprouts
32 g carrots, julienned
2 1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 medium to large eggs
1 cup water
1/8 teaspoon rice vinegar
16-18 spring roll wrappers
frying oil
To Serve
rice vermicelli noodles
soft lettuce
fresh herbs such as cilantro, mint, Thai basil
nuoc cham dressing (See Notes for suggestions on how to make it)
Instructions
Soak dried wood-ear mushrooms in hot water for 5 minutes or until rehydrated, then julienne. Soak glass noodles in room-temperature for about 20 minutes. Once softened, cut noodles into shorter pieces, about 2-3 inch long.
Chop shrimps into smaller pieces but not too small. Place shrimp pieces and ground pork in a mixing bowl. Then add julienned wood-ear mushroom, beansprouts, carrot, glass noodles, shallots, salt, pepper and fish sauce. Give everything a quick mix. Then add 2 eggs and mix well to combine.
Before wrapping the rolls, you can fry a small piece of filling to see if it is seasoned to taste and adjust if needed.
To a small bowl, add about 1 cup of water and a few drops of rice vinege (about 1/8-3/16 teaspoon). Place a spring roll wrapper on a clean surface and use your fingertips to dab some water from the bowl to wet the wrapper.
Once the wrapper sheet is pliable, place about 2½ tablespoons of filling near the top part of the sheet. Form the filling into a log shape, then fold the left and right sides of the rice paper over the filling. Fold the top part of the sheet over and then roll it up away from you. Set aside. Continue to wrap until you have used up all the filling.
Place a frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, heat a generous amount of oil. When the oil is hot, add the spring rolls and fry in a single layer. You may need to increase the heat slightly after adding the rolls to ensure the oil is hot and bubbling (not too vigorously). Fry for 4-5 minutes until the outside is lightly golden, flip once or twice. Transfer to a wired rack or place on paper towel briefly to absorb excess oil.
Let the rolls cool down for 5-10 minutes. Then heat the oil again over medium heat and fry the rolls the second time. This time, use a slightly higher heat than the first time to crisp them up. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the outside is deep golden and crispy. Transfer to a wired rack or place on paper towel briefly to absorb excess oil before serving.
Serve right away with noodles, lettuce, fresh herbs and dressing.
Notes
Below is my suggestions for making the nuoc cham dressing:
1 cup (240ml) warm water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons mince garlic
bird's-eye chili, minced (optional)
In a bowl, mix together water, sugar and fish sauce. Let it cool slightly then add lime juice. Taste and adjust to your liking. Then add garlic and chili.
Don't use ground pork that is too lean since it can be a little dry. When we have crab meat on hand, we like to swap some of the pork with crab meat.
Besides carrots and beansprouts, some people like to use jicama or kohlrabi in the filling. In the past, when I was short on time or needed to make a big batch, I sometimes took a shortcut by using a bag of slaw with pre-shredded cabbage and carrots.
Do not wrap too tight, or the rolls may burst when you fry them. The reason is the noodles in the filling will expand when frying.
Make sure you fry the rolls in a single layer and leave some room to move them around. Overcrowding the pan will lower the heat too much and the rolls will not turn out crispy.
