Spring Rolls, Part 2: Authentic Spring Rolls
This recipe comes from Yan Kit’s Classic Chinese Cookbook,
The Veggies
I used green beans, as suggested as an alternate in the recipe, and regretted it — their bitterness is less appropriate than the sweetness of the peas would have been
Peel the carrots and cut them into thin strips, about the size of a small wooden matchstick. Put them into a bowl with 1 teaspoon salt, mix thoroughly, and let them sit 30 minutes. This will draw out the moisture (moisture is the enemy of a good spring roll filling). Squeeze out the water and set aside.
Slice the peas diagonally into strips about the same width as the carrots.
Soak the bean thread noodles in very hot water. Barbara Tropp’s book taught me that if you are using a Taiwanese brand, you need to soak for 5 minutes; a Chinese brand, 30 minutes. In any case, soak them until soft. Then chop them up into lengths about the same as the carrots.
Heat a wok and add the oil. When it is hot, add the ginger and scallions, stir-fry 5-15 seconds until fragrant. Add the peas and cook 1 minute; add the carrots and noodles, and stir-fry over high heat, letting the water evaporate thoroughly. Add the salt and soy sauce, turn it out onto a plate or wide bowl and let cool.
The meat
Soak the dried mushrooms in cool water until soft, which can take several hours. You can use hot water if you’re in a hurry, but I like the character better with the long, cold soak. Then cut off and discard the hard stems, squeeze out excess water from the caps, and cut them into thin slivers.
Cut the pork into matchstick-sized lengths. This is easier if you almost-freeze it first, or if you have a razor-sharp cleaver.
Peel the shrimp and cut them into matchstick-width strips. Yes, this is a pain.
Cut the bamboo shoot into matchstick-width strips. Sick of chopping yet? You’re done with that part of it.
Heat the wok and add the oil. Add garlic, ginger, and scallions. When fragrant, add the pork and cook for about 30 seconds, by which time it should be separated. Add the shrimp and cook until it’s mostly done. Add the rice wine, down the edge of the wok, and flip it around with the other ingredients as it hisses aromatically. Add the mushroom and bamboo shoot, stir everything around to combine, and when it’s all nicely heated through, turn it out into a bowl and let cool.
The Spring Rolls
Once both mixtures are cool, you can make the spring rolls. Beat the egg whites just enough to thoroughly break up the gel. Take a wrapper and lay it out with one of the corners toward you. Put two tablespoons of the veggie filling and one tablespoon of the meat filling in a horizontal strip about 1/3 of the way down from the top, and arrange it in an even rectangle that does not come too near the edges. Take the corner that’s farthest away from you and fold it toward you, over the filling. Brush the newly-exposed surface of the wrapper with the egg white; also brush the surface extending from the corner nearest you, to about 1/4 of the way up the wrapper. Fold the side corners over the filling and the brushed area you folded over the filling, and rub with your finger to seal. Roll toward you to complete the spring roll, making sure you have a good seal and no exposed filling. Your first ones will be ragged, but don’t worry about it as long as they’re sealed. After a while you get better at it.
I know it’s tempting to try to get more filling in there, and I won’t discourage you. If you can make it work, go for it.
Do this repeatedly until the filling is exhausted, or you run out of wrappers if you didn’t buy enough (1 package may be enough, 2 should be more than enough even if you mess up a few wrappers).
Heat the wok, then add the oil and heat it to 350 degrees. Add about 6 of the spring rolls and fry, turning to fry evenly, until light golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove and drain on multiple layers of paper towel. Repeat, making sure the oil has heated to 350 again before adding another batch.
Here is where you should store away and freeze or refrigerate the rolls you’re not going to eat the same day. Wrap them in a paper towel, to absorb moisture, if you’re refrigerating, and put them in a bag. If freezing, wrap them individually in plastic wrap so they don’t stick together. Thaw thoroughly before re-frying.
Heat the oil back to 350 degrees, and fry the rolls in batches a second time, 1-2 minutes until nicely golden brown. This really crisps them up in a way that a single frying can’t do. I strongly suspect that restaurants fry a lot of rolls in advance, and do the second frying right before serving.
Drain on paper towels, and eat as soon as they’ve cooled enough. The filling takes a lot longer to cool than the outside, so be careful not to burn your mouth.
Enjoy!