Vietnamese Spring Rolls
These are a veganized version of the classic, savoury Vietnamese spring rolls. They use a myriad of vegetables with glass noodles and wood ear mushroom to get a balance of texture and umami goodness in the filling.
Servings: 36 -40 spring rolls
Ingredients
- 1 loose cup 20 g dried wood ear fungus (buy sliced if you can, if not, sliced into thin strips about ½ inch or 1 cm long)
- 1 bundle 40 g of mung bean thread (sometimes labelled vermicelli)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion 170 g, very finely minced
- 2 medium carrots 150 g, peeled and minced
- 1 heaping cup ~180 g taro root, peeled and minced
- 24 oz 680 g veggie ground crumble (two packages of ground round, or about 3 cups of frozen beefless crumble)
- ½ tsp 2 g ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp 45 mL vegan fish sauce OR soy sauce
- 1 package of 6 x 6 inch vegan spring roll wrappers**
- 1 tbsp 7 g cornstarch
- 2 tbsp 15 ml water
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- To Make the Filling
- Soak the wood ear fungus and mung bean thread by submerging them
in two bowls with warm water. Let reconstitute for about 5-10 minutes. - In a large wok or pan over medium heat, combine minced onion, carrots and
taro root, the veggie ground crumble, pepper, and vegan fish sauce (or soy
sauce). Cook until vegetables have started to soften. - Drain the mung bean thread and wood ear fungus and chop to about ¼
inch-1/2 inch (1/2 cm to 1 cm) long pieces. Add the chopped mung bean thread
and wood ear fungus to the mixing bowl and mix well until everything is evenly
distributed, and cook to heat through. You'll see the noodles start to absorb some moisture and make the mixture thicken. Remove from heat and set aside. - Separate the layers of spring roll wrappers and arrange for easy
access on a plate. Cover with foil or a clean, damp tea towel so they don’t dry
out. - Prepare your cornstarch mixture (water + cornstarch) in a small bowl to
seal the spring rolls. - To fill the spring rolls, arrange a wrapper like a diamond with a
point facing you. Add about 2.5 tbsp of filling to the bottom third of the
diamond, and centre it as a horizontal log. Take the bottom corner and start to
roll, tucking it tightly around the filling, rolling it up about halfway up the
wrapper. Tuck in the left and right sides tightly, and continue to roll
tightly, sealing the top tip with a dab of water and then completing the roll.
It takes a bit of practice, but you’ll find the balance between rolling tight
enough that everything is in place but not so tight that you tear the wrapper. Use
a finger to stir through the cornstarch mixture and apply a slight layer to the
outside corner of the spring roll to seal the spring roll. - Repeat until all the filling is used up, and arrange the spring
rolls in a single layer on plate or a freezer safe container. Separate each
layer with parchment paper for ease of use. Freeze while the oil is heating up
so that the spring rolls stay intact better while frying. - To fry, heat up about 2 inches of oil in a medium-large pot until
about 375F (190C). Carefully fry the spring rolls, about 4-6 at a time
(depending on the size of your pot) flipping occasionally until golden all
around. Remove once you get a nice golden brown (the ends will get a bit of a
dark brown). Drain on paper towel or on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Enjoy on
their own, dipping in Nước Mắm Chấm Chay, sriracha sauce, or over a classic bowl of bún! - These freeze well for 4-6 weeks, and you can fry from frozen. If
freezing for storage, be sure to store in an airtight container to prevent
freezer burn.
Notes
I've been informed that there is a mislabelling of the spring roll wrappers I used in this recipe and that they are in fact, not vegan. I suggest using rice paper instead, I have rice paper that says for frying or for eating fresh. Some of the frying rice paper is thicker! I use regular rice paper and just wrap with one layer. When you freeze, make sure none of the sides touch (they'll stick together), and then once frozen, you can freeze stacked together. You can fry from frozen or fresh, they will bubble up a lot more than the egg-roll style wrappers, but both are delicious!