Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Celebrate the Year of the Dog with these Vegetarian Spring Rolls, or enjoy them at any time. From the latest issue of the Australian 'New Idea'.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Yields: 30 vegetarian spring rolls

Ingredients

• 100  g  vermicelli bean thread noodles
• 20  g  dried shiitake mushrooms, about 10
• 230  g  sliced bamboo shoots, drained, finely sliced
• 2  garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 1  tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 200  g bean sprouts, trimmed (see Notes)
•  salt, to taste
•  fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (450 g) packet  frozen  spring roll wrappers, thawed
• 1  egg white, lightly beaten
•  vegetable oil, for deep frying
•  bottled  sweet and sour sauce, to serve
•  fresh herb, to garnish

Directions

1. Place the noodles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water; stand for 10 minutes or until the noodles are soft; drain well; using scissors, cut the noodles into large pieces.
2. Place the mushrooms in a small heatproof bowl and cover them with boiling water; allow them to stay covered with the water for 20 minutes or until they are soft; drain well and slice the mushrooms thinly.
3. Combine the noodles, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, garlic, hoisin sauce and bean shoots in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, to taste and mix well.
4. Brush the edges of one pastry sheet with a little of the egg white; place 2 tablespoons of noodle mixture on one pastry sheet corner and fold the pastry corner over the filling; roll up the pastry, folding in the sides to enclose the filling; repeat with the remaining pastry sheets, egg white and noodle mixture.
5. Heat the oil in a large, deep pan and deep-fry the spring rolls in batches until they are golden brown; drain them on absorbent paper.
6. Serve the spring rolls with dipping sauce and garnish with fresh herbs.
7. Notes: I'm not sure why - or quite where - bean shoots need trimming. Personally, I'll leave my bean shoots untrimmed! I left this detail in because it was in the recipe.