Entree ( spring roll )

Ingredients

• 8 spring roll skins
• 2 oz thinly sliced pork, cut into thin strips (if you prefer vegetarian, you do not need to include the meat!)

Sauce mixture:

• 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or sherry
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce and cornstarch
• A few grains of pepper
• 2 large dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in water, drained and cut into strips
• 2.5 oz boiled bamboo shoots, cut into strips
• 2 cabbage leaves, cut into strips
• Half a teaspoon salt
• Flour-and-water paste (mix a little flour and water to make a paste: this will be used to "glue" the spring roll together
• Oil for deep frying plus 4 tablespoons more of oil

Instructions 

1. Combine the pork with the sauce mixture. Let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a wok, and stir-fry the pork briefly. Remove.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil and add the salt. Stir fry the vegetables, then mix in the pork. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool thoroughly.
4. Place some of the filling a little above the centre of each spring roll skin. Fold the upper edge over the filling, turn in the 2 sides, and roll it down to the bottom. Brush the bottom edge with the flour-and-water paste to seal it thoroughly.
5. Heat the deep-frying oil over moderate heat. Deep-fry the spring rolls until golden. Turn them frequently.
6. Serve immediately with table seasonings.                                                                    

Submitted by: Sara Nazmi, Saudi Arabia 

Shaima Alqifari