GREAT! Pork Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauce!

[GrillingFool]

Last night's new adventure. These are great, and even better with the dipping sauce!
I used the top half of Napa cabbage leaves to wrap.
Since I like lightly fried stuff, I precooked the pork filling so I could deep fry them for a shorter time.
Yeah, they are labor intensive, but I like that too, LOL!

Fried Spring Rolls Cha Gio

FILLING
2 oz Vermicelli noodles, cut into 2 inch length
1 large egg, beaten lightly
8 oz Lean Pork, shredded or ground
1/4 cup white onion, minced
2 Green Onions, chopped
3 oz Carrot, shredded
4 oz Bean Sprouts, blanced and drained

SAUCE
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
2 TBSP Fish Sauce, (you can substitute:Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup vegetable sauce
1 anchovy, minced and pounded
1 clove garlic, minced
Mix well)

ACCOMPANIMENTS
Lettuce leaves for wrapping.. napa, romaine, etc
2 oz EACH: Fresh mint, cilantro, basil leaves
1/2 English (hothouse) cucumber, seeded & sliced thin
Nuoc Cham dipping sauce
(Substitute: juice 2 limes, 1 cup vegetable stock, 1 tsp Splenda (brown sugar is better),
1/4 tsp Sesame oil, 2 clove garlic minced, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or dried peppers or fresh red finger peppers), 2 minced and
pounded anchovies)
This should be sweet, salty and a little spicy.


Cook noodles as directed, rinse, cool and cut into 2 inch lengths.
Marinate pork in 1/2 of sauce for about 30 minutes. Prepare vegetables and other ingredients.
Stir fry pork until it just begins to release juices, then remove from heat and cool.
To make the filling, in a large mixing bowl combine the snipped bean thread, egg, crab meat,
onion, spring onions, carrot and bean sprouts and remaining sauce. Add pork, mix well.

Place rice papers on a plate and cover with a very moist towel. Moisten the top wrap with water and cover for a minute.
Carefully remove the wrap, and moisten the next wrap, then cover with the towel. Repeat as you use wraps.
Use 1/4 cup of filling on bottom fourth of wrap from corner. Fold the corner over the filing, then fold
the right and left sides in over the filling. Roll the rice paper away from you, keeping the edges folded in,
until the packet is complete. Repeat procedure with rice paper until you have used up the filling.
You can use less or more filling as desired.
This will make about 8 wraps.
Head the oil in a frying pan over medium heat to about 300-350 degrees. Fry the rolls, a few at at time,
until crisp and golden on all sides. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Since the pork is pre-cooked,
you can cook them less, leaving the vegetables more crunchy!
To serve, place mint leaves, fresh coriander leaves, basil and a few strips of cucumber on a lettuce leaf.
Lay Spring Roll on top, sprinkle with dipping sauce, wrap up.... Enjoy! Have more sauce available for dipping....and napkins!

[texasgirl]

I don't have time to cook like that anymore, but, I would DEFINATELY love to taste that!! Those look awesome!!!

[bknox]

That looks awsome! Thanks for the photo!

I love spring rolls and typically make them from a thai cookbook I have. Yours sound every bit as great. I like that they are not fried.

Thanks again!