->Spring Rolls 07 <-

8 oz thin rice vermicelli or 2 bunches Japanese alimentary paste noodles

Peanut sauce or Nuoc Cham

1 oz cellophane (bean thread) noodles

1 tb dried tree ear mushrooms

6 dried Chinese mushrooms

1 lg carrot, finely shredded

1 lg leek, white part only, chopped

6 water chestnuts, or 1/2 sm Jicama, peeled and chopped

1 lb firm bean curd (tofu), crumbled

1 c fresh bean sprouts, coarsely chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 tb nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce)

2 eggs

1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c Sugar

40 sm Rounds of rice papers (banh trang),

6 1/2 inches in diameter

Peanut oil for frying

Prepare the Vegetable Platter, noodles and dipping sauce. Set

aside.

Soak the noodles in warm water and the mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes, drain. Cut the noodles into 1/2-inch lengths. Remove

and discard the stems from the mushrooms, squeeze to extract most

of the soaking liquid. Mince all of the mushrooms.

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl,

blend well with your hands. Set aside.

Assemble the rolls: Fill a large bowl with 4 cups of warm water

and dissolve the sugar in it.

Rice paper is quite fragile. Work with only 4 sheets at a time,

keeping the remaining sheets covered with a barely damp cloth to

prevent curling.

Immerse the rice paper, one sheet at a time, into the sweetened

warm water. Quickly withdraw it and lay it flat on a dry towel.

Do this with 4 sheets without letting them touch each other. The

rice paper will become pliable within seconds.

Fold over the bottom third of each round. Put 1 generous teaspoon

of filling in the center of the folded-over portion. Press it into a compact rectangle. Fold one side of the paper over the mixture,

then the other side. Roll from the bottom to the top to completely

enclose the filling. Continue until all of the mixture is used.

(The rolls can be prepared 1 day in advance. Wrap and refrigerate.)

2 skillets. Pour

1 to 1 1/2 inches

of oil into each skillet and heat to 325F. Working in batches,

add some of the rolls without letting them touch, or they will

10 to 12 minutes, turning often, until

golden and crisp. Remove the rolls from the oil with tongs and drain on paper towels. Keep warm in a low oven until all of th

rolls are cooked.

To serve, each diner wraps a roll in a lettuce leaf along with some

noodles and selected items from the Vegetable Platter and dips the

package in the dipping sauce.

The fried rolls can be frozen, then thawed and reheated in a 350F

oven just to crisp and heat through.

Yield: 40 rolls.

PLUM SAUCE

1/2 c plum preserves

1 tb vinegar

1 tb soy sauce

1/8 ts garlic powder

1/8 ts ground ginger

1 ds ground red pepper