Thai Spice Baked Spring Rolls with Pork

Spring was in the air and on our minds. One of the local deer herd chose an area in our yard to drop her fawn and I could hardly keep Anita away from it... Anyway, we were thinking of spring and it came to mind that we hadn't had spring rolls or dim sum in a long time. So there we went on a crusade to develop a proper recipe.

Spring rolls are a large variety of filled, rolled appetizers like Dim Sum found in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine. Because of our love of Asian foods and Thai flavors in particular, we decided to craft a recipe for Thai spice spring rolls with a pork and vegetable filling. We also decide to bake them to give them a crispy baked crust. They turned out to be delicious and fulfilled all of our hopes. The recipe follows, late but not forgotten in the midst of our latest heat wave; when all we are thinking of is the possibility of a cool, rainy winter or perhaps just a cool one or two. N'est ce pas?

Makes: 10 spring rolls
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 15-18 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
For the marinade:
1 T sesame oil
2 t Thai fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1" fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 T plum sauce
2 t rice wine vinegar
1/2 t Sriracha
1 T soy sauce
1 t 5 spice powder
For the spring rolls:
1/2 pound cooked pork, cut in 1/4" strips 2" long
2 green onions, sliced 1/4" rounds
1 carrot, julienned in 1" strips
1/2 C bean sprouts
1/4 C cilantro, chopped coarse + some for garnish
1 egg
For the dipping sauces:
We used a Yakasoba Sauce, which is slightly salty, and a Plum Sauce, which is sweeter, for dipping.

PREPARATION:
1. Combine the marinating ingredients in a small bowl. Cut the pork into strips place in the fridge in a plastic bag for several hours to marinate.
2. Cut the spring roll ingredients and combine in a medium sized bowl. Add the marinated pork with some of the marinade.
3. Lay the wrap diagonally as a diamond shape with one corner towards you. Spoon filling diagonally across the wrap.
4. Pull the corners in from each side (about an inch) then start the wrap leaving the last 2" open to brush the egg onto it for sealing. Finish the wrap and brush the whole top of it with the egg. Continue this process for the rest of the wraps.
5. Lay the wraps on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 400* for 10 minutes. Rotate cookie sheet in oven and bake another 5-8 minutes. Watch the last 10 minutes to make sure they are not becoming too brown. If they are loosely cover them with aluminum foil.

SERVING:
The spring rolls can be served as appetizers, part of a complete meal or for a whole meal in itself. They should be served individually, warm with a dipping sauce on the side, or warm on a platter with assortments of dipping sauces. It all depends on what you're up to. Anyway, thank you for reading this far and...

Bon appetit,
Tom and Anita

Thai Spice Baked Spring Rolls with Pork