Spring Rolls (Haru-maki)

For 10 spring rolls

1 package spring roll wrappers
100-150 grams ground chicken (or pork or beef* - or a mixture)
Oil for cooking
350 grams minced vegetables, whatever you have, such as:
    1-2 cloves garlic
    ½ onion
    2 shiitake mushrooms (remove the stems)
    1 small carrot (finely grated)
    a few green beans
    ¾ C cabbage, Chinese cabbage, etc. (Beware, Chinese cabbage is really wet. You will need to drain some of the liquid before thickening.)

Heat a small amount of olive oil (or other oil you like) in a frying pan, and stir fry the meat and garlic. When it is about halfway cooked, add the vegetables and cook until they're soft. 

(*If you use ground pork or beef, cook it all the way and drain any excess oil before adding it to the mostly cooked vegetables.)

Season to taste with:

Salt and pepper 

Mix:

1 T soy sauce
½ t sesame oil
¾-1 t cornstarch

Add to the pan and stir around until the mixture is thickened. (The idea is to get those minced ingredients to hold together.)

If you want, add:

1 minced umeboshi (pickled plum)
and/or
A little sesame oil

Spread your spring-roll wrappers out like diamonds on the clean, dry counter. Put a rounded tablespoon of filling below the center of each one. Fold the bottom up, then fold the sides in and roll it up. You can seal the end by wetting your finger with a tiny bit of water and touching the end before closing it, but they stay pretty well sealed without doing that. Put them seam side down.





Heat about 1 cm of Canola oil in a small frying pan. When a wooden chopstick put into the oil bubbles a little, the oil is hot enough. Lower the flame.

Gently place 5 spring rolls in the hot oil, seam side down. When they are golden brown on the bottoms, flip them and cook the other sides. Place on a grill over newspaper to cool.

Serve with dipping sauce*:

3 T soy sauce
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 t chopped green onions (negi)
*or use the dipping sauce from Chijimi instead. 

Put rayu (Japanese chili oil) on the table for people to add to their sauce as desired.