Ginger-Pork Spring Rolls



Have I told you how much I am enjoying my new cookbook lately?  I love it.  I realize I may have OD'ed on talking about The Best Simple Recipes cookbook, but it just might be my new favorite right now.  Dinner has been ready in under 30 minutes every day this week, and this Ginger-Pork Spring Rolls is another one of the fabulous recipes that emerged from within its contents that will now be a staple in our house.  (You still have one day left to win your own copy.)

Why?  For one, every member of my family ate and enjoyed these spring rolls--from the gourmet, to the picky eater, to my 9-month old (who just ate the filling chopped up).  For another, it was a cinch.  I feel as though it took longer to clean the kitchen than it did to prepare and cook.  And another, they were fresh, light, nutritious, delicious, and satisfying.  My children were asking for seconds and my 7-year old ate 3 (three!)--each loaded with broccoli, carrots, purple cabbage, cilantro, and pork.  Need I say more? 

A couple things about making them.  You will need to visit an Asian grocery store or the international aisle of larger and well-stocked grocery stores for the rice paper wrappers, as well as the hoisin and chili-garlic sauces.  The chili-garlic sauce is mild in heat and with the quantity used, I did not notice much if any heat and my 9 month old gobbled it up in fistfuls.   Secondly, once wrapped, the spring rolls are sticky so beware of stacking.  A single layer on plates and/or your serving platter is necessary.  Finally, the original recipe called for a package of coleslaw, which I substituted for broccoli slaw.  Both slaws contain julienned carrots and shredded purple cabbage; the difference is coleslaw contains shredded green cabbage and broccoli slaw is made from shredded broccoli.  Either variation would taste great for this recipe, as well as shredding your own vegetables instead of purchasing a pre-made bag; however, the pre-made bag is one of the time saving measures America's Test Kitchen employed to get this meal on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Ginger-Pork Spring Rolls
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INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Asian chili-garlic sauce
1/4 cup water
1 (16-ounce) bag of broccoli slaw
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
6 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 pound ground pork
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
12 (9-inch) rice paper wrappers

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Combine hoisin, soy, and chili-garlic sauces and water in small bowl.  In another bowl, mix together broccoli slaw, cilantro, and scallion greens.

2.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Add pork and 1/3 cup hoisin mixture and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.  Stir in ginger and scallion whites and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Transfer pork to bowl with broccoli slaw mixture and toss.

3.  Spread clean, damp kitchen towel on counter.  Soak 1 wrapper at a time in a shallow bowl of warm water until just pliable, about 10 seconds.  Spread out wrapper on towel.  Arrange 1/2 cup filling on middle of wrapper, leaving 2-inch border at bottom.  Fold in sides and roll up tightly.  Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.  Serve, passing remainder of hoisin mixture.

Recipe from The Best Simple Recipes

This recipe is linked to What's on the Menu Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday, and Women Living Well.