Homemade plum sauce lifts these spring rolls out of the everyday… but if you don’t have time to make your own, feel free to use a commercial plum sauce, or sweet chilli sauce – we won’t tell anyone!
INGREDIENTS:
500g Bigeye Ocean Perch fillets, skin off, bones removed, chopped
500g green Prawns, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon grated ginger,
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt flakes, to taste
8 shiitake, finely chopped (see notes)
4 green onions, finely chopped
200g bean sprouts
1 packet small spring roll wrappers
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Plum Sauce
330g cooked pitted plums
½ teaspoon sambal oelek (see notes)
1½ teaspoons plum vinegar (see notes)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated palm sugar
½ teaspoon grated ginger
METHOD:
Make Plum Sauce: combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve, pushing down to extract as much liquid as possible; set aside.
Combine fish, prawns, ginger, garlic and a good pinch of salt in a food processor and mix to a paste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in mushrooms and green onions.
Lay 6 wrappers out on a work surface, covering the rest with a damp cloth to prevent them drying out. Place 2 teaspoons of filling on one corner of each wrapper and top with a few bean sprouts, pressing them into the paste. Fold the corner of the wrapper over the filling and then fold the two sides in. Roll up towards the remaining corner to form a small log shape. Brush the last corner with a little water to stick the wrapper down.
Heat oil in a wok or deep-fryer to 180°C.
Deep-fry spring rolls, in batches, for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Drain on paper towel then serve hot with Plum Sauce.
NOTES:
Shiitake are Asian mushrooms available fresh from many fruit and vegetable shops; if they are unavailable use oyster mushrooms. Sambal oelek is an Asian paste of salt and chillies, a quick way to get a chilli kick into any dish; substitute 1 small red chilli finely chopped if you prefer.
Plum vinegar is available from Asian grocery stores and some delicatessens, you could substitute malt vinegar if you like.
ALTERNATIVE SPECIES:
Redfish, Scorpionfish.