Vegivore Eats | Crispy Spring Rolls (by Julia)

A day in the life of cooking special-diets meals for multiple individuals/families in the same day means that I'm drawn to recipes that are flexible. Considering the time constraints of working for only a few hours in someone else's kitchen, my clients' grocery budgets and food preferences (not to mention dietary guidelines), versatility and adaptability are a must. By buying larger quantities of fresh (and many local) ingredients, knowing I can easily suit everyone's needs by switching one thing out for another in semblances of the same recipe, I can make time and money go farther.

Enter the Thai appetizer "Po Pia Tod", or as we know them, Crispy Spring Rolls. Simple in concept but complicated in flavor, a "fried-and-true" classic of South/East Asian street food culture, they are crunchy little catch-alls, made traditionally with bits of produce and meat for a grab-it-and-nom-it snack, and served with a sweet and sour sauce.

In the world of true Thai cooking, there are no measurements. Food preparation is done by instinct and feel; years of family methods and experience. Thai chefs cook with their tongues...taste, taste, taste 'til it's right, then serve it. In their world, recipes are just suggestions. Thai food considers sweetness, sourness, creaminess and saltiness, then hot spiciness...as long as the dish is balanced you can get creative and truly can't go wrong.


With spring rolls you can fry them or not, and while any extra heat on a day like today isn't ideal, flash-frying it is the key to getting that golden goodness and crispy restaurant-like crunch that make them so special. Plus, the presentation is superb-- unlike simply-wrapped salad rolls, where any contents are shown through the transparent wrapper, these will always be beautiful and caramel-colored, no matter what you stick in them. And -- bonus -- if you use rice wrappers (not the Chinese wheat ones) this recipe is totally gluten-free as well as vegetarian.

Napa cabbage, carrot (Dick's Market Garden, Lunenberg, MA), taro, water spinach (aka "Ching Quat", Flats Mentor Farm, Lancaster, MA), scallion and rice vermicelli along with garlic, white pepper, lime, sesame and soy sauces. Rolled in rice wrappers, fried, and presented with spicy sweet-and-sour sauce.

  
CRISPY SPRING ROLLS
Makes 8-10

• 1 t minced garlic
• 1 t minced shallot
• 3/4 t pepper
• 1/2 t cilantro
• 1/2 t mint
• 2 t fish sauce
• 1 T low-sodium tamari sauce
• 1 T sugar
• squeeze of lime
• 1.5 c veggies of your choice
• 1/2 c cooked rice vermicelli
• 8-10 rice spring roll wrappers
• beaten egg
• 1/2 c vegetable or peanut oil (for frying)
• spicy Thai sweet and sour dipping sauce (recipe follows)

1. Take the wrappers out of their package. Cover with a damp towel.
2. In a food processor, combine the first 5 ingredients. Pulse until uniform. Add in the next 5 ingredients. Pulse until uniform (but not mush).
3. Cut down the cooked noodles to a more manageable size. Gently combine by hand with the veggie mixture. (Voila -- your filling is done!)
4. Carefully separate a wrapper and place it in front of you in a diamond shape.
5. Brush a light layer of beaten egg on top of it.
6. Place 2-3 T filling just below the imaginary line running horizontally through the middle of the wrapper.
7. Fold the wrapper up and over the filling, pulling back to tighten. Continue until you see a triangle of wrapper left, then fold in the sides and continue rolling until finished. Seal with a dot of egg if the stick isn't good. Place seam-side down on a plate or baking sheet and continue with the remaining rolls.
   (Here's a good video tutorial of the rolling process, should you need or want it -- skip to 3:15)
8. To fry, heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350 degrees -- bubbles will appear in the oil -- and fry the rolls until deep golden brown (start reeeally watching around 1 and a half minutes).
9. Drain on a wire rack over a paper towel.
10. For the sauce, whisk together 1 t Sriracha (+ 1 minced Thai bird's eye chili, optional), 3 T sugar, 1/4 t salt, 1 T rice vinegar, 2 T water. Microwave until the sugar dissolves, stirring every 15 seconds.

Dip, crunch, enjoy.


For a vegetarian's protein boost, here's a link to an awesome peanut dipping sauce recipe. You'd be surprised how well that stuff goes with...anything. Another idea to round out your meal is to use edamame (soybeans) or tofu inside your rolls. 


PRO TIP: The more neat and tightly rolled your spring rolls, the less greasy they will be.
PRO TIP: These can be baked instead of fried (375, keep an eye on them until done)! The downside is that they get soggy more quickly and won't get that deep caramel color.

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