Recipe: Pork Spring Rolls

Ah spring rolls... fried, crispy tubes of pork goodness. What's not to love? I like to make small rolls to discourage double-dipping and they're also extra cute in minature size! Yes, there are a lot of ingredients but the complexity of flavours and texture is what makes these spring rolls so special. Also the recipe makes 50 small rolls and they freeze very well. So a little bit of work results in many tasty snacks down the road. It's well worth the effort.
If you don't eat pork (you don't know what you're missing!) - you can also substitute chicken or turkey or minced shrimp.

Makes 50 rolls

-1 lb. ground pork
-1 small onion diced
-2 garlic cloves
-2 stalks of green onion, thinly sliced
-1 large handful of cilantro chopped (about 1/4 cup)
-2 medium carrots, grated
-one 10 oz. can of shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
-1 tsp. grated ginger
-1 egg, plus 1 egg beaten for wrapping
-1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
-1/2 tsp white pepper
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp seasame oil
-1/2 tbsp fish sauce
-4 tbsp oyster sauce
-1 bundle of glass noodles*
-1 pack of spring roll wrappers (5" square size) Thaw for 40 minutes if frozen.
-vegetable oil for frying

* To prepare the glass noodles, place them in a bowl with very hot water for a few minutes until they soften. Drain and cut them roughly into 1-2" pieces in length.

• Mix all ingredients (excluding the extra egg and the spring roll wrappers) into a large bowl. Use your hand to incorporate everything, but do not overmix or packed the filling down. You don't want the filling to dense.
• Peel and separate the spring roll wrappers.
• Place one wrapper on a clean surface with one point towards you (like a diamond).
• Dip your finger into the beaten egg and spread some on the top corner, furthest from you.
• Place a small spoonful near the bottom corner, closest to you. Roll the wrapper up and around the filling.
• Fold in the two points on each side towards the center. Continue to roll the filling up to the top and over the egg wash.
• Continue with remaining filling and wrappers.
• Heat oil to 180C (350F).
• Fry in small batches until golden brown. Drain on excess oil on some paper towels.
• Let the rolls cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve with oyster sauce and siracha sauce or nuac nam (traditional dipping sauce). Enjoy!