Spring Rolls With Napa Cabbage And Tofu Recipes

CHINESE SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Mix the pork with the marinade ingredients and set aside for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cut all of the vegetables to approximately the same size. You want everything the same size so each ingredient blends together.
• Brown the pork over high heat in 2 tablespoons of oil, and add the garlic, mushrooms and carrots. Stir fry for 30 seconds, and add the bamboo shoots, napa cabbage, and Shaoxing wine. Continue stir-frying for a minute. Adjust the heat to simmer the mixture, as the napa cabbage will release a lot of moisture.
• Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, and sugar. At this time, you have the option of adding 1/4 cup of the decanted water from soaking the dried mushrooms. It strengthens the mushroom flavor, so this is purely according to your personal preference. You may also have to simmer the filling longer to reduce the additional liquid.
• Continue simmering the filling for another 3 minutes--until the napa cabbage is completely wilted--and stir in the corn starch slurry to thicken. How much slurry you add depends upon the wetness of the filling (this varies if your cabbage had more moisture or if you did add the optional mushroom water), but there should be no standing liquid at all.
• Transfer the filling to a large shallow bowl, and let cool. Place into the refrigerator to cool further-at least one hour. It's best to start with a cold filling for easier wrapping. The key to wrapping spring rolls is making sure that they're tight, yet not overstuffed. It's best to use fresh spring roll wrappers if you can, as freezing the wrappers can result in the spring roll skin being a bit too damp.
• Place the wrapper on a flat surface so that a corner is facing toward you. Use about two spoonfuls of the mixture per spring roll, and spoon it about 2 inches from the corner that is closest to you. Roll it over once, and, like you're making a burrito, fold over both sides. Continue rolling it into a cigar shape. With your fingers, brush a bit of the cornstarch water onto the corner of the wrapper that is farthest from you to seal it.
• In case you're wondering, we did try egg wash instead of the cornstarch mixture to seal the spring roll but the egg wash "stains" the spring roll, so it's best to use the cornstarch mixture.
• Place each roll on a tray. This recipe makes about 18-20 spring rolls. You can also freeze these spring rolls on the tray overnight, and transfer them to a zip-lock bag when they are completely frozen for future use. We usually fry some fresh and freeze the rest, unless we are hosting a party, in which case, these go like hot cakes!
• To fry the spring rolls, fill a small pot (which requires less oil) with oil until it's 2 to 3 inches deep. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat until it reaches 325 degrees. Gently add the spring rolls one at a time, frying in small batches. Carefully roll them in the oil so they cook evenly until golden brown and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Prepare the dipping sauce by adding all ingredients to a small sauce pan. Mix and heat until just simmering and pour into a small bowl. Serve the spring rolls hot with the dipping sauce!

SPRING ROLLS WITH NAPA CABBAGE AND TOFU

Steps:

• Mix the mustard with 3 tbls. water and set aside.
• Heat 2 quarts water with the sliced ginger and 1 tbls. salt. When it boils, add the cabbage, scallions, anad broccoli and cook for 1 1/2 minutes.(the water won't return to a boil). Drain the vegetables, rinse them with cold water, then wrap them in a clean towel and squeeze a few times until dry. Combine them with the tofu, minced ginger, and garlic. Sprinkle with the sesame oil, sugar, vinegar, and 3/4 teaspoons salt. Toss well and taste the mix to be sure it's seasoned to your taste.
• Lay one egg roll wrapper on the counter at a diagonal, with a corner facing you. Heap 3 tbls. of the filling crosswise, near the base. Lay a cilantro(or parsley) sprig on top. Fold up the lower corner, fold in the outer corners, then wrap. Repeat, using the rest of the filling. Place the egg rolls on a plate and cover with wax paper, then with plastic wrap, until ready to cook.
• To cook, heat 1/2" peanut oil in a medium skillet until hot enough to quickly sizzle a corner of an egg roll. Add two egg rolls and fry until golden, about 2 minutes. Turn and fry the second side, then remove to paper towels to drain. Continue frying the rest.
• Serve hot with mustard sauce or dipping sauce of your choice. Enjoy!

NAPA CABBAGE SPRING ROLLS RECIPE - (4.3/5)

Steps:

• - In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water to boiling. Slowly add rice and return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover; let rice cool. Set rice aside. - In a 4- to 5-quart Dutch oven, combine 12 cups (3 quarts) water and the 1 tablespoon sea salt. Bring to boiling. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine 8 cups cold water and ice cubes. - Remove 8 outer leaves from cabbage. Make a cut through each individual leaf at the base where it attaches to the core. Trim out some of the woody stem area from the leaf. Set the remaining head aside. - To blanch, carefully add trimmed cabbage leaves to boiling water; cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until just wilted. Cool quickly by plunging cabbage leaves into ice water for 1 minute. Remove individual leaves from water and lay each flat on a cloth towel to dry. Set leaves aside. - For vegetable filling: From the remaining cabbage, finely chop enough to measure 1 3/4 cups. In a large bowl, combine the finely chopped cabbage, carrots, onions, parsley, sesame oil, lime peel, lime juice, the 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. - About one hour before serving, assemble rolls. (These rolls benefit from allowing the surface to dry a little, so making them an hour or so in advance of serving is a good idea.) First, squeeze out any excess water from the vegetable filling. Then, on the counter or cutting board, take a blanched cabbage leaf and lay it flat, with the base end toward you. In the center of the leaf, place 1/4 cup of the vegetable filling on center of leaf, then place 2 tablespoons of the rice on top of the vegetable mixture. - Roll the base end over the rice and filling. Fold both left and right sides over so that it just covers the opening on the edges. Continue rolling toward the end, wrapping tightly with care not to tear the leaf. Place finished roll on a serving dish with the end tucked under the roll, seam side down. Repeat with remaining leaves, rice and vegetable filling. - To serve, if you like, cut each roll in half crosswise on a diagonal to make 16 pieces. Serve with soy sauce or teriyaki sauce.