Lighter Mini Spring Rolls With Lighter Plum Sauce 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!

CHINESE PLUM SAUCE

Steps:

• Place the plums, sugar, apple cider vinegar, unseasoned rice vinegar, soy sauce, Chinese five-spice powder, ginger coins, chile and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until the plums are soft, about 20 minutes.
• Allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a blender, filling halfway. Put the lid on, leaving one corner open. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters, and pulse until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender until smooth.
• Transfer the blended plum mixture back to the same pot and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick and you can see the bottom of the pot when you run a rubber spatula across the bottom, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a medium bowl or plate to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.
• The sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

LIGHTER MINI SPRING ROLLS WITH LIGHTER PLUM SAUCE

Steps:

• PREPARE PLUM SAUCE:.
• In a small saucepan, combine the plums, brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, and garlic.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
• When cool, remove and discard the ginger.
• PREPARE SPRING ROLLS:.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray. Coat a nonstick skillet with nonstick spray.
• In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce and sugar until smooth. Set aside until step 13.
• Set the skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the cabbage, carrots, celery and garlic and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until crisp tender.
• Remove the vegetables from the skillet and set aside until step 14.
• In the same skillet, cook the ground turkey, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until no longer pink.
• Add the soy sauce mixture to the skillet and stir well.
• Add the cooked vegetables and remove from the heat.
• Arrange the sheets of phyllo dough in one stack. Cut crosswise into 3 strips. Transfer 2 stacks of the strips to waxed paper and cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out as you work.
• Place 1 strip of phyllo on a work surface and lightly coat with nonstick spray.
• Place 1 tablespoon of filling at the short end of the strip, centering it between the edges.
• Roll up the strip and filling one-third of the way. Fold the right and left sides of the phyllo over the filling and continue rolling to the end.
• Place the roll, seam side down, on a prepared baking sheet.
• Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets and filling.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Serve hot with the plum sauce.