These vegetarian spring rolls come out golden and crisp, with a nutty filling that smells of spring onion oil. What makes them good is the fried taro strands folded through the filling. The difficulty is wringing out the jicama, since a wet filling tears the wrapper during frying.
One to two hours in the freezer before deep frying over medium heat gives the best shell. Shredded jicama has to be wrung completely dry for the filling to stay dry. The shredded taro is fried golden on its own before it joins the rest.
This batch weighs about 1.9kg, at roughly 203 calories per 100g.
Method
Soak 50g glass noodles in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes until soft, cut into lengths and drain. Blanch 1 piece of white tofu in boiling water for 5 minutes, then mash it in a cloth bag and wring it dry.
Rinse 60g mung bean, soak in warm water for 2 to 3 hours, rub off the skins and steam for 15 minutes. Shred 200g jicama, toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and wring it dry. Shred 200g carrot and 400g taro. Soak 30g wood ear mushroom in warm water for 10 minutes, trim the stems and chop fine. Separate the white and green parts of 2 spring onions and slice both.
Fry 4 tablespoons oil with the spring onion whites and strain out the spring onion oil. In the same pan, put 2 tablespoons of that oil with the tofu, 1 teaspoon vegetarian seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and stir fry over medium heat until firm.
Heat 1000ml oil and fry the shredded taro until evenly golden, then lift onto paper towels.
Mix the tofu, fried taro, wood ear mushroom, jicama, carrot, mung bean, glass noodles, fried spring onion whites and spring onion greens. Season with 2 teaspoons vegetarian seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1/2 teaspoon MSG and pepper, then mix well.
Stir 1 tablespoon all purpose flour with 2 tablespoons water into a paste. Fold one edge of the rice paper over, spoon in about 1/2 tablespoon of filling, fold in both sides and roll it up, dabbing the paste along the seam to seal.
Heat 200ml oil until it shimmers and fry the rolls over medium heat until golden on both sides, then lift onto paper towels.
Make the dipping sauce. Simmer 60ml water with 2 tablespoons pineapple juice and 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend over low heat for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, pour into a bowl and add 2 tablespoons vegan fish sauce, 1 teaspoon lime juice and the minced bird's eye chili.
Tips
One to two hours in the freezer before deep frying over medium heat gives the wrapper an even golden crispness.
Jicama wrung completely dry keeps the filling dry so the wrapper does not tear during frying.
Shredded taro fried on its own first stays crisp inside the filling.
A moderate amount of filling per roll is safer, as tightly packed rolls burst along the seam in the oil.
Blanched tofu needs a hard squeeze in a cloth bag, as any water left makes the filling soggy and the rolls collapse.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.