Spring Rolls

Crunch!!

Textural eating is such a delight. Sharp shards of pastry that quickly crunch away to bitey bliss. This can be somewhat missing from the glutenly challenged diet. Spongy pasta, with no al dente effect, cardboardy toast that tastes funny, and yes- I suppose that rice cakes do have a crunch, but not the sharp little splinters that make a cool noise when bitten into.

But fear not, dear Readers! Today we have crispy crunchy deep fried spring rolls. O.K, O.K, I know they're not something new. I was going for drama, building anticipation, just trying to make myself sound more interesting (sigh).

Anyway... these are very yummy spring rolls. I like to use my favourite Thai flavour profile, rather than a Chinese one, but the beauty of making your own recipes is that you can mix and match to suit yourself and your personal taste.

I won't give exact measurements for this recipe, if you like more meat, use more. If you like just veggies, leave the meat out. As long as you season the filling well it will still taste delicious.

Filling:

I like to use a variety of meats to add a variety of flavour! Today I chose chicken mince, pork mince and a few prawns. (I only used about half the amount shown in the photo).These are have quite a mild, sweet taste, I wouldn't use beef or lamb as they would easily overwhelm the rest of the ingredients.

These are some of my favourite noodles. They are mung bean or cellophane noodles. They retain some springy texture when done, and to prepare I just soak them in boiling water for a few minutes then drain really well. They also help keep the filling light and not too dense and meaty.

Now, the veggies. A bit of wombok- less sulphurous than other varieties, shredded carrot, a red chilli, corriander roots and stems, finely shredded kaffir lime leaves, a tin of drained and chopped water chestnuts for a nice crunch, ditto the chopped nuts, and a couple of spring onions.

Flavour to taste with ginger, garlic, a good few slugs of fish sauce, and a decent spoon of castor sugar. I know, but it makes a big difference and draws flavour out of so many ingredients.

Last but not least, an eggwhite to help bind it all together lightly.

Mix everything together thoroughly and let sit awhile to develop flavours.

Casing:

Dried rice paper rounds. The kind you use for fresh ricepaper rolls. Actually it's the same technique too, just make sure to use less filling and roll thinner so they cook quicker and through evenly.

Technique:

Place rice paper in some warm water and leave for just a few seconds. Place on mat or a teatowel is good too. The paper will soften a bit more, but don't let them get too soggy or they will split and not roll properly.

Put a line of filling about 1/4 way up the paper, but leave a gap at each end to fold over when rolling.

Roll up a couple of turns, then fold in edges at a bit of an inward angle. Continue to roll up untill finished.

Place seam side down and let the surface dry off in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Deep fry in hot oil until nice and crispy,a bit browned and filling is cooked through.

Drain them on a cake rack so they aren't oily and soggy.

Enjoy with a nice dipping sauce and crunch away!

So Readers, what's your favourite flavour profile?