Spring Rolls

Many years ago a friend of mine and I took a Vietnamese cooking class through one of those adult education flyers you get from the City recreation department.  I had never done one of these things, so it was pleasant surprise when I found out the class was no-nonsense and we came in and got straight to the cooking.

Our instructor prepared a shopping list for us, which brands and where to get them, which was handy because some of the ingredients were a bit obscure.  Like most cooking, it's 50% technique and 50% ingredients, so it really helps if you see how something is done.  The only deficiency from the class was that the recipes did not have all of the quantities listed.  Luckily, I made copious notes!

So here are the recipes, which you can play around with to create a number of very nice Vietnamese meals.

Spring Rolls

1 bag of clear noodles*
8 large carrots
1 or 2 lbs ground pork
1 cup dried black mushroom (fungus)*
5 onions
2 packages of spring roll wrappers**
2 eggs
2 Tbsp salt
4 Tbsp black pepper
4 Tbsp oyster sauce (Panda brand)
4 Tbsp dark (cooking) soya sauce (Rooster brand dark label)
4 cups bean sprouts (optional, but I always use them)

*These are ingredients that you may have to get at a specialty store (or Superstore if you live in a big city).  The clear noodles are sometimes called cellophane noodles or bean noodles - they will be clear when you cook them, unlike rice noodles, which are white.  I have included links so you can see what these things look like.
**I usually use the flour-based square wrappers that come frozen, although you can also use the small dry rice paper wrappers.  The latter can bit a little harder to work with and do not freeze well, but they are very tasty.

Method:
1. Boil a pot of water, take off heat and add noodles to soak (as per instructions on pack).
2. Prepare vegetables- Soak black mushroom in boiling water till soft and chop finely.  Grate carrots (food processor is easiest).  Mince onions finely (food processor again is best here).  Chop up noodles with a knife (about 1" long or so).
2. In a medium bowl, mix pork, eggs, salt, pepper, oyster sauce, soya sauce together.
3. In a truly giant bowl, mix vegetable/noodles with meat mixture and bean sprouts.  You will need to use your hands and mix thoroughly.
4. (a) Thaw and separate spring roll wrappers.  Place a bit of of the filling inside and wrap, 'gluing' the end with some beaten egg.  There is a bit of a trick to this.  It's hard to explain how to do it, but there are hundreds of you-tube videos that will show you better than I can explain.
4. (b) If you want to use the clear rice paper wrappers, get a bowl of hot water ready and a clean tea towel.  Dunk the wrapper in to the hot water and place it on the tea towel.  Wait a bit and it will be soft.  Fill with filling and wrap.  These are self sealing so no egg needed, but they are like duct tape, once they are stuck to themselves, they don't come apart.
5. Deep fry on high setting until golden brown.
6. (optional)  This recipe makes a MASSIVE amount, which is handy because these freeze incredibly well.  In fact, they may actually taste better after they have been frozen and re-heated in the oven.  If you are planning on freezing them, just make sure they are cooked a wee bit less.  Think a lighter gold.  Re-heat in a toaster oven or regular oven just as you would store-bought spring rolls.

Next recipe posted will be fish sauce for dipping.