Ingredients
1tsp Hijiki black seaweed
0.7oz (20g) dried mushroom
0.4oz (10g) wood ear fungus
0.7oz (20g) vermicelli
2.1oz (60g) large chestnuts (soft ripe)
5.3oz (150g) beans (soft cooked)
5.3oz (150g) onion
7.1oz (200g) kohlrabi
6.3oz (180g) carrot
4.9oz (140g) king oyster mushroom
6.7oz (190g) taro
Seasoning: 1tbsp black pepper, 1tsp mushroom seasoning, 2tbsp vegetable oil, 1tsp salt
Steps
Preparing
Soak seaweed, dried mushroom, wood ear with hot water to soften; soak vermicelli with warm water.
Thinly sliced the onion. Julienne the kohlrabi, carrot, king oyster mushroom, and taro. Put everything in a large bowl and marinate with 1.5tsp salt. Mix well and let rest for 10 minutes, this not only marinates the vegetables but also helps dry them.
After 10 minutes, when the vegetables are less watery, squeeze out the water.
When the dried mushroom and wood ear have been softened, wash and slice them.
Cut the noodle into small pieces when soft.
Crush the chestnuts in a mortar.
When the seaweed expands, remove the water.
Drain the beans. I used canned beans. If you don't have canned beans, steam your beans until soft and drain them before adding to the mixture.
Making
Put all ingredients in steps 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 above in a large bowl, add seasoning (see Ingredients) and 2 egg yolks (if you are a vegan, replace the egg yolks with 1tsp nutritional yeast or use more beans for more nutrition). Mix all ingredients together.
Put the mixed filling on top of rice paper wraps and start wrapping. See the **BONUS notes below for more crispy rolls.
How to fry the spring rolls
Option 1: Traditional way
Fry rolls in oil on medium heat, then remove.
When ready to eat, fry again on medium heat, the rolls will be extremely crispy and delicious.
Option 2: Using an air fryer
Use a brush to spread cooking oil on the surface of the spring rolls, do not put too many rolls in the same air fryer at once, or they will lose their crispiness and stick together.
Fry at 200C for 10 minutes, then turn the spring rolls over and continue frying at the same temperature and time*.
Note:
*Depending on the power of the air fryer and the thickness of the rolls, the temperature to fry at may vary, so please check the spring rolls during the frying process to ensure the shell is crispy and golden to your liking.
*BONUS how to have crispy golden spring rolls, for those who don't have access to traditional Vietnamese rice paper rolls (the typical rice papers bought at an Asian supermarket overseas do not make for golden, crispy rolls in my experience).
Sauce for crispy and beautiful golden brown rice papers:
Make a sauce by mixing: 2 egg yolks, 100ml coconut milk, 1tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp brown sugar.
Arrange a batch of 3-5 rice papers on top of each other (don't use more than 5). Spread the sauce on both sides of each rice paper.
Then turn the whole batch upside down because the first one you spreaded has now absorbed the sauce and is soft enough for wrapping, while the last one is still a little hard. Once you have finished wrapping the batch, do the next one. Keep doing this until you run out of papers.
Tips for storing leftovers
This recipe is for 2 people 3 meals (equivalent to 5-6 people). You can freeze the uneaten part, but avoid the rolls sticking when you pack. It is better to pack them together after they have been frozen and hard. To do so, you can first put them in separate trays in the freezer, wait until the rolls are frozen, then pack them in a box and store in the freezer. To eat, you don't need to defrost the rolls, just take take them directly from the freezer, put some oil on the surface, and fry them in an air fryer according to the time and temperature above, the spring rolls will be as delicious as new.