Thai Fried Spring Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce

These smell so good when you are cooking them and taste even better. A nice little appetizer or snack when you are in the mood for something fried!

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Servings 20 -24 Spring Rolls

Ingredients

For the Spring Rolls:

4 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
4 coriander roots chopped (or 16 two-three inch pieces of cilantro stems)
1 cup chicken minced/ground (leave out and add more cabbage, or use tofu, for vegetarian)
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup green cabbage shredded
1 cup carrots shredded or finely julienned in 1″ or so slices
1/4 cup oyster sauce (or mushroom sauce for vegetarian)
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder ground
1 cup softened glass noodles aka cellophane, mung bean, bean thread, pre-softened to package directions
2 tablespoons flour plus 1 tablespoon water to make a “glue”
20-24 six inch spring roll wrappers
vegetable or peanut oil enough for frying (or bake at 400F for 25-20 min)

For the Sweet Chili Sauce:

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 garlic cloves finely minced
1 coriander root finally minced (or 4 two-three inch pieces of cilantro stems)
1-2 red spur chilies or fresno, finely minced (depending how spicy you want it)

Instructions

In a hot wok, add 4 tablespoons oil then add chopped garlic and coriander root and fry until fragrant (5-10 seconds). Make sure you are tossing it around with your wok spatula or whatever utensil you prefer…you do not want this to burn.
Add the minced chicken and fry until it is cooked and most of the moisture has evaporated, again continually tossing it around.
Add the vegetables (bean sprouts, cabbage, and carrots) and cook briefly, then add the oyster and soy sauces, sugar, and white pepper powder, stir to combine, and stir-fry for an additional minute.
Lastly, add the pre-softened noodles, combine and remove from heat to come to room temperature, you don’t want to add hot filling to the wrappers, it will soften them. Also, after the mixture cools, if there is a lot of liquid left in it drain most of it before filling your wrappers. You don’t want them to get soggy.
Mix your flour and water to make a paste, you will use this to seal the end of your wrapper to itself.
Take a wrapper and lay it down (rougher side facing up so you won't get bubbles on the outer side when it cooks, more for presentation) with points facing straight up and down and add about 2-3 tablespoons of filling to the bottom third of the wrapper and roll in from the bottom a little then bring in the two sides and roll almost all the way. Right before rolling all the way, use your finger and dip into the flour paste you made and run it on the whole open top point and then finish rolling.
Do this with the rest of the spring rolls and then start heating your oil to 350F and fry until golden. *See note
To make the sweet chili sauce, combine the white vinegar, sugar and salt and bring to a boil, then lower to simmer until most of the vinegar smell is gone, about 15-20 minutes. Add the minced garlic, coriander root/cilantro stems, and chili’s. If you have a mortar and pestle you can roughly pound them instead of hand mince. Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced and is slightly thickened. It will thicken more as it cools. Completely cool before using. You can make this a day or two in advance and have it ready.

Notes

You can make these a day ahead of time by putting them in a sealable container and between each layer add a piece of wax paper. Add another piece of wax paper on top and then a damp cloth or paper towel on top of that and seal with plastic wrap and then the container top. The next day, heat your oil and fry. You can also freeze them right after you roll them to take out at a later date to fry at 375F. Just make sure that they are not touching each other when they freeze. Then just take them out and fry them from their frozen state, in smaller batches since the cold will lower the oil temperature, for about 6 minutes or until golden and warmed through.