Crispy Vegan Rolls

This was our first try with Asian food, and due to our inexperience with Asian food, it took two separate sessions of working with this one to get it right.  But, man, was it worth it!

On Friday night (April 20th), we bought spring roll wrappers from the International Market.  Little did we know, they were rice paper wrappers, and not the same, doughy wrappers we were looking for.  They were brittle, and even when soaked in water as they should be, not the same kind of wrapper that's used for frying.  Saturday, Mike found egg roll wrappers.  Not the same, I know, but totally worked.  So we finished cooking on Sunday.

So. Here's the recipe, from Big Oven (we changed the serving size from the default 24 rolls to 10, and here's the measurements, which actually yielded 13).  I skipped the mushrooms and never figured out where to use the cornstarch...

Peanut oil; or vegetable oil

8 1/3 Shiitake mushrooms; chopped

1/2 tbCornstarch

Sesame Oil

7/8 Green onions; sliced thin

1/2 pkSpring roll wrappers;

7/8 tbWater

Salt

Pepper

1/2 bnCilantro leaves; chopped

1 1/4 lgOnions; chopped fine (we used 1)

1 1/4 Red bell peppers; chopped

1/2 Stalkcelery; chopped fine

2 1/8 Carrots; chopped fine

Note that if youre working ahead, the rolls can be assembled several hours before but should be sauteed close to serving time. (Traylor note: We inadvertently did this, since we couldn't find the right wrappers for a couple days.  We just refrigerated the filling in a tupperware and heated it for 30 seconds before adding it to the rolls.) Cook carrots in boiling salted water to cover until tender crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and refresh in ice water. When cool, remove from water and set aside. Cook celery in same boiling salted water until tender crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain and refresh in ice water. Drain again and add to carrots. Put 2 teaspoons peanut oil and 2 teaspoons sesame oil in large heated skillet. When oil is hot, add chopped onions, sliced green onions and bell peppers. Saute until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes. Toss in mushrooms and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery and cilantro and stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove skillet from heat and allow mixture to cool. Position 1 wrapper as diamond with pointed end toward counter edge. Brush beaten egg on top corner. Arrange 1/3 cup filling mixture in line 2 inches from bottom corner. Wrap corner over mixture and pull back to tighten. Fold over two sides and roll to end of wrapper. Repeat with rest of wrappers. Put 1/4 cup peanut oil and 1 teaspoon sesame oil in heated skillet. When oil is hot, add spring rolls in batches, turning until both sides are golden brown and crisp, about 1-1/2 minutes per side. Add oil between batches as needed. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

This was the perfect cook-together recipe for us.  New ingredients and techniques, fairly labor-intensive and complex, with a big pay-off.  We loved it!  And, we paired it with a Thai Sweet Chili dipping sauce - perfect!

We took a picture

We give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.