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Monday 23 October 2017

Vietnamese-style Fried Spring Rolls - gluten-free with homemade dipping sauce

Fried spring rolls always seem like something to dream of eating, unless you can find ones made with rice wrappers and fried in a designated gluten-free fryer. I've only ever found them at a couple of Vietnamese restaurants and they are delicious!  However, sometimes I want to be able to make and eat them at home.   After many attempts, I finally figured out the trick!  They need to be wrapped tightly, but most importantly, they need to have time sitting and drying in the refrigerator.  Any damp spots on the outer edges of your rice wrapper will be weak and liable to break while frying.  This recipe takes some preparation, but mostly you need to make the filling and roll up your spring rolls well in advance, so they'll have time to dry thoroughly before you fry them up! Enjoy!!!!
GF Fried Spring Rolls
Freshly wrapped spring rolls, ready for drying and then frying! 
Yes, these tasted like restaurant-style friend spring rolls! Yum! 

Fried Spring Rolls
Makes ~24 fried spring rolls (yes, you can halve the recipe!)

This recipe requires time for preparation, cooling, and drying.  Make sure you prepare the meat/vegetable filling early so it can cool.  Once you fill/wrap your spring rolls, you'll want them to dry in the the refrigerator ~2 hours before frying to alleviate stickiness upon cooking. 

Filling:
In a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, heat:
1 Tbsp avocado oil (or oil of your choice)

Add and cook 2-3 minutes:
2-3 leeks, thinly sliced and rinsed thoroughly
2 bunches green onions (~12 stalks), thinly sliced
salt & pepper (just enough to sprinkle/grind over the top)

Add, stirring until pork is cooked thoroughly (a few minutes):
3/4 lb ground pork

Add and cook 1 minute:
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
6-7 cloves garlic, minced

Add and cook 1 minute, then remove from heat:
2-3 Tbsp Bragg's soy seasoning (or GF soy sauce)
1 tsp agave or 1 tsp sugar

Put pork/vegetable mixture into refrigerator and allow to cool at least 1 hour.
Freshly made filling. 

Fill a large pot 1/4 - 1/2 with water and bring to a boil.
Boil 1/3 pkg of rice vermicelli noodles + 2 tsp salt for 5 minutes.  Drain and place noodles in a bowl.

Have a tea kettle of hot/boiling water readily available for preparing spring rolls.

Fill a plate with boiling water.  Quickly dip spring roll wrapper (rice wrapper) in hot/boiling water.   Place wrapper on a fresh plate, and quickly fill with a small handful of noodles and small spoonful of pork/vegetable filling.  Wrap the spring roll by tightly wrapping one half, folding in both sides, then fully rolling (like a burrito or egg roll).
A dollop of rice noodles and filling in the center of a dampened rice wrapper. 
Roll up one side, then tuck in the two outer edges.  Then you can roll it up the rest of the way.  

Place your freshly wrapped spring roll on a plastic-wrap lined pan or cutting board (one that will fit into the refrigerator).   Repeat with as many spring rolls as you like, changing out the water regularly so you are using very hot water.  You have filling to make ~25-30 - *the extra filling is great mixed with the noodles, or served atop noodles if you don't want to make a huge number of spring rolls.

Let spring rolls dry in the refrigerator 1 hour.  Flip them all over, and let them continue to dry on the other side for 1 hour (or longer).  *This is a key part of making these fried spring rolls.  If you don't let them dry, they'll break/burst during frying.

Spring rolls, partway through drying, being rolled over. 

Heat frying oil in deep-fryer to ~350-360 F.   Carefully place a spring roll into the oil.  Let it cook briefly, before rolling it over, to allow that side to cook briefly.  This will help remove the stickiness from the outer sides of the rice wrapper.  Carefully repeat, until you have 3 rolls cooking.   If the rolls touch before they have a chance to cook a little, they can stick together.  Not the end of the world, since they're still edible, but you don't end up with nice individual spring rolls.

Cook each roll approximately 3 minutes, until just browning.  The edges will be nice and crispy.  Remove to paper towel-lined pan or plate.

Serve hot, alongside dipping sauce of your choice, or the mix together the following dipping sauce:

Delicious fried spring roll dipping sauce: 

Mix together the following:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp Bragg's soy seasoning (or GF soy sauce)
1-2 tsp agave
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic-chili sauce

Enjoy!!!

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