Crab & Pork Spring Rolls

Crab & Pork Spring Rolls

Starters
Hors D'oeuvres, Crab, Vietnamese

Serves 12

These are a bit of a project, but you’ll be astonished at how good they are! The pork is critical in these crisp little rolls — the pork fat brings all of the other flavors together and provides an intensity and tenderness to the delicate crab. Don’t skip the pungent, kicky dipping sauce; it’s key to the flavor profile of this dish. This recipe can easily be halved.

Ingredients #

  • For the spring rolls: #

    • 1 oz dried shitake mushrooms
    • 1 lb ground pork
    • 1/2 lb jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over
    • 2 whole large eggs, lightly beaten
    • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
    • 3 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
    • 3 scallion, finely chopped
    • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    • Rounded 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 30 Vietnamese rice-paper wedges*
    • Peanut oil for deep frying
    • Special equipment: a deep-fat thermometer for deep frying

  • For the dipping sauce: #

    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 1/4 cup warm water
    • 1/4 cup fish sauce, preferably Red Boat
    • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
    • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
    • 1 garlic clove, minced
    • Fresh Thai or Serrano chile (2 to 3 inches; preferably red) including seeds, thinly sliced

Instructions #

Make the dipping sauce:

Stir together sugar and water in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in remaining ingredients and chill, covered, at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop. Bring to room temperature before serving (this will take about 1 hour).

Make the spring rolls:

Cover mushrooms with hot water by 1 inch in a bowl and soak 20 minutes (mushrooms will expand). Drain in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse thoroughly, then drain again. Trim off and discard any hard parts from mushrooms, then finely chop. (You should have about 6 tablespoons.)

Stir together mushrooms, pork, crabmeat, beaten whole egg, cilantro, ginger, scallion, garlic, and salt in a bowl until combined well.

Line a tray with wax paper. Put a double thickness of paper towels on a work surface and fill a shallow baking pan with warm water. Discard any rice-paper wedges with holes. Soak 1 wedge in warm water until pliable, 30 seconds to 1 minute, then carefully transfer to paper towels, arranging it with curved side of wedge nearest you.

Put 1 tablespoon filling in middle of curved side about 1/2 inch from edge and shape filling horizontally into a 2 3/4-inch log. Fold left and right corners of wedge over filling, overlapping slightly and aligning bottom edges. (Wedge will resemble an open envelope.)

Dab top corner with some yolk, then tightly roll up wedge away from you, making sure ends stay tucked inside. (Be sure to roll up wedges tightly or air pockets will prevent rolls from browning evenly when fried.) Put roll, seam side down, on tray and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Make more rolls in same manner, transferring to tray and arranging 1/2 inch apart. Keep loosely covered until ready to fry.

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a 5- to 6-quart pot over moderately high heat until it registers 365°F on thermometer. Fry rolls in batches of 5 or 6, keeping rolls apart during first minute of frying to prevent sticking and stirring occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer as fried with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. (Return oil to 365°F between batches.)

Cooks’ note:

Rolls can be assembled (but not fried) 1 month ahead and frozen on a tray in 1 layer, 1/2 inch apart, about 2 hours, then transferred to an airtight container or sealed plastic bag and kept frozen. Thaw in refrigerator, uncovered, in 1 layer, 1/2 inch apart, then pat dry before frying.