Mai's Spring Rolls (sort of)

I grew up in a couple of different states but all of them were complete white bread.  When I was growing up I considered fried rice at Chinese restaurants to be exotic.  Then, in high school, I met my husband.  Not only did he grow up in several different countries but his mother was Vietnamese.  Needless to say, my children are MUCH more adventurous than I was at that age.

We love spring rolls.  Who wouldn't?  Unlike Chinese spring rolls, Vietnamese spring rolls are mainly meat.  They are deep fried and traditionally wrapped in lettuce and dipped in a fish sauce dipping sauce.  I've made the dipping sauce but it smells up the entire house.  I've been married for close to 15 years and I had attempted them over the years but I had never been truly successful at it, but more on that later.  Two years ago my inlaws came and spent about a month with us.  My mother in law, Mai, showed me a few tricks and, voila, spring rolls.

I have made them may times in the last two years.  It is a favorite birthday request, I've also made them for school parties and neighborhood parties.  One of our traditions is that we don't do a big Christmas dinner, instead the kids help me make spring rolls and wontons.  People ask me for the recipe a lot.  I will say that this is one of THOSE recipes.  I don't have actual amounts for, well, anything really.  Most of it is to taste.  The more you make them, the more you get a feel for how you like it and what the filling should look like.  During my years of experimentation I did discover that even the not quite right ones still disappear without complaint.

Here you go:

For the filling you need:
- Country Style, Boneless Pork Ribs - Cut into large chunks and frozen slightly.  This was about 3 pounds
- Shrimp - This was about 1 pound.  Doesn't matter what size.  If you don't like shrimp you can substitute crab or chicken or turkey
- mushrooms, I usually buy a 8 ounce container
- green onions
- several cloves of garlic
- a couple of carrots
- fish sauce
- sugar
- salt
- pepper (I happened to use white pepper this time)

First, the mushrooms.  I just throw them in the food processor.  Mai uses a knife.  I'm not that patient.
Before:

After:

I started using the country style ribs because ground pork is not always available and its often a weird texture.  Mai actually asked the butcher at the Asian market to grind it for her and he did.  I tried that at Albertson's and guy didn't quite laugh at me but he wanted to.  I freeze them a little because it makes them easier for my slightly ancient food processor to grind up.  My food processor is also little so I do it in batches.

Before:

After:

Last task for the food processor is the shrimp.  I take the tail off and don't even defrost them.  Put all three in a big bowl:

Add minced garlic, grated carrot, sliced green onion:

Now for the seasoning.  A quick note about fish sauce.

I know its scary.  I know it smells absolutely horrible.  It really does add something undefinable to the finished dish though.  Unless you have a fish allergy, use it.  I've used both Thai and Vietnamese fish sauces.  I can't tell the difference, I know that some probably can.  I buy mine at the Asian market but I've seen it at regular markets too.

I forgot to take a picture of the various seasonings.  I add a couple of Chinese soup spoons of fish sauce, some salt, quite a lot of pepper and about a tablespoon of sugar.  The sugar balances the flavor and helps with the browning.  After that, mix it all together:

Let it sit for at least 30 minutes or so to let the flavors blend.

One of the best things that I learned from Mai was about the wrappers.  For all my earlier attempts at spring rolls, I used rice paper wrappers.  Rice paper is stiff and brittle.  It has to be soaked in water to become pliable and they never, ever, ever fried up right for me.  When they are done right, they are divine.  However, they are a bitch and a half to deal with.  Here is the cheat:

There are a couple of different brands, all found at the Asian market in the frozen food section.  Won ton/egg roll wrapper are not the same thing.  After you defrost them, you peel them apart.  They are extremely flexible and easy to work with and they fry up beautifully.  I still prefer the rice paper spring rolls, but only if the person making them is not me.

Now you are ready to roll them up.

Lay one wrapper out on an angle.

Add approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling in the bottom corner.

Bring the bottom corner up and wrap it around the filling.

Fold both sides over and roll tightly, from top to bottom.  I use a little water to wet the end and seal it.  I don't know that this is necessary all the time but I live in the desert and everything dries out fast.

All that is left is to fry them.  I always fry outside on the burner on my barbecue.  It saves me from driving my husband insane.  They deep fry so you need a couple of inches of oil.  Bring the oil to about 350 degrees.  Fry until golden and cooked through.  Usually about 5-7 minutes.  My kids fight of who gets to try one to make sure that they are cooked through.

I serve them with sweet chili sauce.  Not as authentic as fish sauce dipping sauce but much easier and not as smelly.