Spring Rolls, Ramen

Dinner 9/19

Spring Rolls

Ramen

The trickiest thing about the spring rolls isn't the ingredients (shredded napa cabbage, carrots, shiso leaves, bean threads, shallots, garlic, ginger, tamari), how to seal them (1:1 ratio of cornstarch to water, brush the edges & roll tightly) or even the deep-frying (375F for 2-3 minutes). It's where to find wrappers that don't have animal products in them.



We haven't yet found them in regular grocery stores -- all the wrappers have egg, milk or whey in the ingredient list. The only place we've found them is at our local Asian grocery store. Even then, you still have to (repeat the vegan mantra): read the ingredient list.



The ramen used shiitake mushroom broth as the base. To make that, save the woody stems when you trim shiitake mushrooms until you have about a cup, then pressure cook the stems with eight cups of water for 45 minutes (at 15psi). The result is wonderfully aromatic broth that adds an umami depth to the soup.

Tags: shiitake, ramen, soup, spring rolls, napa cabbage, carrots, bean threads, shiso, noodles, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666