Vegan crispy spring rolls

Bo bun with homemade bean sprouts and mints from Mum's garden

Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie 😁 -
Jim Davis (Garfield's creator)

Crispy and delicious veggie spring rolls, perfect for appetizer, snack and for me, a Bo Bun, a complete meal with vegetables.

Ingredients

Filling

50 g glass noodles, soaked 30 mins in water at room temperature, drained and cut into 2 cm

1 handful of dried black fungus mushrooms, soaked 30 mins, washed and finely chopped

100 g mung bean sprouts, crushed in hand

1 handful of peeled chestnuts jar, crushed into crumbs

2 grated carrots

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

1/2 onion, finely chopped

a pinch of salt and pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tsp soy sauce

12 round rice papers, 22 cm

Frying

sunflower (or another vegetable oil with a high smoke point)

Side dish

lettuce

cucumber cut into sticks or pieces

mung bean sprouts

fresh mint

Dipping sauce

200 ml water (filtred)

4 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp soy sauce

4 tbsp cider vinegar

=> bring water to a boil, add sugar, mix well until dissolved; add soy sauce, cider and mix gently; let it cool before pouring into a container and before placing in the fridge

• shallot, finely chopped
• grated carrot
• red bell pepper, finely chopped or red chili for those who like spicy
• crunchy crushed peanut

Preparation

Filling

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl to completely combine.

=> ensure that filling ingredients are dry and not overly wet, to avoid rice paper rolls from becoming soggy

Folding

1. first, place a clean damp tea towel (lightly damp) onto the working surface
2. place a rice paper into the water and let it soak for 10 secs and then place on the tea towel
3. when it becomes soft and almost dried, place a tablespoon of the filling into the centre in a horizontal line
4. fold the bottom corner over le filling
5. fold the left and right side over the filling
6. roll the spring roll up tightly (but too much either)
7. if needed, brush some water on the edges of the wrapper to glue
8. lay them on a large plate lined with kitchen paper  (or clean tea towel) and let them dry

Frying

Depending on the pan or tall skillet, fry in small batches at 160/170° C.

For a crunchy spring rolls (like French fries), fry them twice, partially cooked and let them cool completely before frying again or storing in the freezer for later):

• the first frying is to cook the filling, just until slightly golden, at 160/170° C for about 7-8 mins, and take them out to drain

• the second is to crisp up the exterior until golden brown, at 170/180° C for about 5-6 mins

Serving

with the side dish and a small bowl of dipping sauce:

• for each small bowl, a pinch of 
• shallot, finely chopped
• grated carrot
• red bell pepper, finely chopped or red chili for those who like spicy
• crunchy crushed peanut

Eating

with lettuce

• wrap a spring roll in a large piece of lettuce, add fresh mint, cucumber, mung bean sprout and dip in the sauce

Bo Bun

As for me, I like making a Vietnamese Bo Bun but with Japanese soba noodles; in a large bowl, place a bundle of noodles, a small handful of bean sprouts, some pieces of cucumber, lettuce in pieces, some fresh mint leaves (and some other asian aromatic herbs), crushed peanuts, the dipping sauce, 2 or 3 spring rolls chopped into pieces.