Otherwise known as “Valerie’s experimentation with Thai food continues”! I’ve been having so much fun re-creating some of my favorite Thai restaurant recipes at home. It’s always fascinating to me to learn about food from different cultures. I had never tried Thai food until I moved to San Francisco, but as soon as I did, I fell in love. There are so many complex flavors, and delicious spices.
Friday night was Date Night, and since we’re still Staying at Home, I decided to make Panang Curry (but with chicken this time) and Crispy Spring Rolls as an appetizer. Once again, I turned to Hot Thai Kitchen. I’m really loving her videos. They are very clear and easy to follow, with great tips along the way.
I don’t normally like to deep fry a lot of foods, because it makes a mess and the kitchen ends up smelling like grease for a while, but these are worth it! And since I only made a few, the mess was minimal. The recipe made 12 rolls, so I fried 6 and froze 6 for next time. The package comes with 25 wrappers, so next time I will double the recipe and freeze more of them. The rolling was really a lot easier than I thought it would be, and the wrappers were not at all hard to work with. Loved the tip of separating the wrappers first – it really made things move along more quickly once I got to rolling.
I also made the dipping sauce featured in her Shrimp Cake recipe. Super fast and easy. As with a lot of stir-fry, most of the time is spent in chopping and prepping. Once that is done (and a lot can be done ahead) the cooking is very quick. I prepped everything, started the rice, then cooked the Spring Rolls, since they are too hot to eat immediately anyway! While they cooled a bit, I made the Panang Curry, which takes about 5 minutes to cook.
I have lots of Glass Noodles left, so up next, Glass Noodle Stir Fry! Stay tuned.
Crispy Spring Rolls from Hot Thai Kitchen
Ingredients
- 40 g Glass noodles dry
- 120 g ground pork
- 3 tsp soy sauce divided
- ¼ tsp black peppercorns ground
- ½ tsp white peppercorns ground
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3–4 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in water until soft (at least 1 hour), then finely chopped **I used fresh, since I had them on hand**
- 1 ½ cup finely shredded cabbage
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 6 cilantro stems finely chopped **I omitted these, since I can’t eat cilantro**
- ½– 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2–3 Tbsp water as needed
- 8- inch spring roll wrappers 12-14 pieces, thawed
- 1 egg beaten, for sealing the wrapper
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Sweet Chili Sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Soak glass noodles in room temperature water for 10 minutes. Drain, then cut into short pieces with scissors.
- Mix ground pork with 1 tsp of the soy sauce, set aside.
- In a wok or a large sauté pan, add a little vegetable oil. Add garlic, black pepper, and white pepper; stir until garlic starts to turn color slightly. Add pork and cook until the pork is no longer clumpy and is almost done. Add shiitake mushrooms, noodles, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, cilantro stems, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp soy sauce, and sugar. Toss until noodles are fully cooked and cabbage is wilted, adding a splash of water if noodles start sticking. Remove from heat, taste, and add more salt as needed. Put the filling into a bowl and let cool before wrapping.
- While the filling is cooling, peel the wrappers apart so it’s easier when you wrap. (Spring roll wrappers tend to be hard to peel apart right out of the package, so it’s good to separate them before wrapping.) Keep them covered with a very slightly damp towel so they don’t dry out.
- To wrap, place a wrapper on the counter with one corner towards you. Place about ¼ cup of the filling towards the bottom of the diamond and shape into a log. Fold the corner closest to you over the filling. Pull slightly towards you to make a tight wrapper. Roll once. Fold right side of the wrapper over, then fold the left side over (like a burrito). Paint some of the egg wash on the corner that is farthest from you. Roll up and seal.
- Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a pot to 350°F. Add spring rolls and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. (Don't fry too many at once, or the temperature of the oil will drop, resulting in a greasy roll.) When they are done, place on a cooling rack with a paper towel underneath.
- Serve with store bought or homemade dipping sauce.
