Fried Spring Rolls (Po Pia Tod ปอเปี๊ยะทอด)
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Serves: Makes 36-40 three-inch spring rolls
 
Ingredients
  • 36-40 6″x6″ frozen spring roll skins, thawed and kept under a kitchen towel
  • 226g firm tofu, cut into 1″ matchsticks
  • 80g dried glass noodles or mung bean threads, soaked until pliable and cut into 5″-6″ pieces
  • 226g fresh bean sprouts
  • 20g dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in warm water until pliable and sliced thinly
  • 20g peeled garlic
  • 20g finely chopped cilantro stems or roots
  • 4g whole white peppercorns
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup water or sodium-free broth
  • 1-1½ cups vegetable oil for frying
  • Thai sweet chili sauce, store-bought or homemade
Instructions
  1. Make the seasoning paste by pounding together in a mortar, the garlic, cilantro roots, and peppercorns; set aside.
  2. Put the 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet and set it on medium heat. Fry the seasoning paste until fragrant.
  3. Add the tofu to the pan, followed by the mushrooms and the bean threads.
  4. Add the water or broth to the mixture along with the fish sauce and oyster sauce; stir-fry until the bean threads start to soften up.
  5. Observe the moisture in the pan and adjust the heat accordingly. You don’t want the filling to scorch and burn; at the same time, you don’t want a wet filling either.
  6. Once the excess moisture has evaporated and the bean threads are softened, add the bean sprouts; stir just until the sprouts are wilted.
  7. Take the skillet off the heat and allow the filling to cool completely. The filling must be cooled before they can be used; otherwise, the residual heat will create steam inside filled spring rolls and cause the skins to break during the frying.
  8. Fill each spring roll skin with 1-2 tablespoons of the filling, following the instructions in the post.
  9. Put the remaining vegetable oil in an 8-inch skillet set over medium-high heat. Fry 3-4 spring rolls at a time until crispy and golden brown.
  10. To avoid deep-frying, you can arrange the spring rolls on a baking sheet and brush the outsides thoroughly with vegetable oil. Bake them seam-side down in a 375°F oven until crispy. Baked spring rolls will not be golden brown like fried spring rolls and they lose their crispiness sooner than their fried counterparts. But when fresh out of the oven, they’re crispy and delicious.
  11. Serve the spring rolls with the sweet chilli sauce.
Recipe by SheSimmers at https://shesimmers.com/2011/06/fried-spring-rolls-po-pia-tod-%e0%b8%9b%e0%b8%ad%e0%b9%80%e0%b8%9b%e0%b8%b5%e0%b9%8a%e0%b8%a2%e0%b8%b0%e0%b8%97%e0%b8%ad%e0%b8%94.html