Vietnamese Spring Rolls

INGREDIENTS
4 Garlic cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Black Peppercorn
3-4 Coriander roots

4 Cups of Cabbage shredded
3 Carrots grated
1 Large Onion thinly sliced
150 Gr. Rice Noodles (3 squares)
500 Gr. Minced Chicken (optional)
5-6 Dried Chinese Mushrooms – soaked in water – finely chopped
25 Egg rolls wrappers
3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce (optional)
2 Tablespoons flour mixed with a little water to create a liquid glue.
2 cups of Vegetable Oil. (You can also bake them in a 180 Celsius oven, until golden brown)

METHOD
First, get your mise-en-place ready.; this means get all your vegetables peeled, cleaned and chopped according to the instructions below.
Using a mortar and pestle, mash the coriander roots (if not, you can use the stems of a coriander bunch) with the garlic and black peppercorn.

Soak the noodles for about 4 minutes in hot water, until soft and al dente.
Soak the Chinese mushrooms in hot water, until soft. Drain, dry them and chop them finely.

Using a Japanese Mandoline, shred the cabbage and onion. Grate the carrot and mix all vegetables, including the mushrooms, together in a large bowl. Salt & Pepper
In a large saucepan, saute the coriander paste in a few tablespoons of oil. Add the chicken and saute until cooked through and broken in small grains. Set aside in a bowl.
Using the same pan, saute the vegetables until soft and slightly crispy.
Add the cooked chicken to the pan and mix well.
Using a large baking sheet, pour the mixture and spread it across the pan. This will cool the mixture quickly and allow to start building your spring rolls.
Using pre-made spring roll wrappers, (I use the large ones 20 X 20 cm) place them in a diamond-like shape i.e. the tip of the wrapper in front of you. Put the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of the mixture at the top and roll until halfway. Flip each side to the middle and continue rolling until approx. 2 cm.
Using the flour glue, using you finger, put a little dab on sides and the tip of the egg roll and gently close it.
Continue until you use the entire bowl of cabbage mixture.
It makes approx. 22-25 egg rolls.

TIP DU JOUR
Serve with leaf lettuce, coriander and mint leaves. In a lettuce leave, put a few coriander and mint leaves and place the spring roll in the middle.
Serve with Red Chilli Sauce or Vietnamese dipping sauce.

They freeze well –
When ready to serve : Simply place them in a pan, covered with aluminium paper and defrost them in a 180 Celsius pre-heated oven, for about 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes, until they once again, become crispy.

Nu’o’c Cham Sauce
In a small bowl mix ;
6 Tablespoons Water
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime or Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 Thai Chili pepper finely sliced
1 Garlic clove thinly sliced