Spring Rolls (Made in Vietnam)

Fried Spring Rolls (from Vietnam) 

I took a cooking class in Hanoi, Vietnam this summer, and these spring rolls were delicious! I made them both in Hanoi, but also on a boat in Halong Bay, Vietnam. The are really easy to do, and also lots of fun.  Make them with your friends at a dinner party!

Serve with: Bun Cha Dipping Sauce

Cooking in Vietnam

Ingredients for Spring Rolls:
6 dried shiitake (or wood ear) mushrooms
1/4 cup cellophane noodles
1 small jicama (or water chestnuts), with moisture removed
1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 crab meat
1-2 shallots, finely diced
1 egg, lightly whisked
Pinch Salt
Pinch Pepper
Rice Paper Sheets
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
Pour boiling water over mushrooms and allow to soak for 20 minutes. Drain and squeeze to remove any excess liquid.  Remove the stems. Thinly slice the mushrooms and set aside.

Immerse the cellophane noodles in hot water for one minutes, then rise under cold water. Cut noodles into small pieces (about 4 cm).

In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms, noodles, jicama, pork, crab, shallots, eggs, salt, and pepper. 


Mix well, making sure ingredients are combined evenly. 

To make the spring rolls, take one sheet of rice paper, and dip into water for one second.  (do not soak). Place on a flat surface and spoon 2 tablespoons of mixture on the bottom third of the sheet.

Lightly squeeze the mixture in the spring roll to remove air bubbles, then roll into cylinders. Fold in the two sides and continue rolling.  Set aside, seam down, and continue making more rolls. 



Heat oil in a deep pan. Fry the spring roll until they are crispy and brown. (We had to do it in a shallow pan and just repeated it twice.)