Thai Spring Rolls

Makes about 20 large rolls, or 40 small ones


4 cups bean sprouts, washed and drained
6 large dried mushrooms
3.5 oz (2 bundles) bean thread noodles
20 stalks cilantro
2 green onions
1/2 cup crab meat
1 cup shrimp
1/2 cup ground pork or beef
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)
2-4 teaspoons fructose or sugar

20 square 6 1/2 inch Chinese wonton wrappers, or 40 square 4 1/2 inch
wrappers
2-3 cups vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Soak mushrooms in hot water until soft, then slice thinly. Soak bean thread noodles in boiling water until soft. Use scissors to cut coarsely into about 1 inch lengths. Chop cilantro. If you have the roots, wash well, pound in a mortar and chop fine. Slice green onions lengthwise 2 or 3 times, then cut into 2-inch lengths. Shred crab meat. Peel and de-vein shrimp, chop fine.

Heat a wok on high 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Reduce heat to medium and add cilantro, roots. Stir. Add pork, cook stirring 2 minutes. Add shrimp, fry 1 minute. Add bean sprouts, mushrooms, noodles, green onions and crab meat; cook stirring until well mixed and sprouts are slightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add pepper, fish sauce, and fructose. Mix well and turn into a bowl. May be prepared in advance.

Place each wonton wrapper on work surface so that it is a diamond shape. Place a heaping tablespoonful of filling in the centre of the wrapper and mold the filling into a cylindrical shape with your fingers. Pick up the point of the wrapper closest to you and fold it over the filling so that the wrapper just covers the filling. Brush a little water on the corner furthest from you (acts like glue). With the thumb and forefinger of each hand, fold the ends of the wrapper in toward the centre, then roll the whole thing away from you to make a tidy cylindrical roll. At this point, they may be refrigerated up to 24 hours. Never deep fry and then reheat.

Heat about 2 cups oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer set at 400oF. Cook a few at a time until wrappers are a deep golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Serve with sweet, hot or salty dipping sauces. Crisp, fresh vegetables such as cucumbers (try this salad) and carrots make nice contrasting accompaniment. Try other meats, such as tuna, swordfish, chicken, turkey, scallops and squid.