Fried Spring Rolls (Poh Pia Tod)

Soak noodles and mushrooms

Soak the glass noodles in warm water for 10 minutes until soft and pliable, then drain and snip into short 3–4 cm lengths with scissors. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes, squeeze dry, then finely chop, discarding the hard stems.

• 50 g glass noodles
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms

✅ Done when: the noodles bend easily without breaking and the mushrooms are soft enough to chop

Cook the filling

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat, fry the garlic until fragrant, then push it aside and pour in the egg, scrambling it into small pieces. Add the pork and cook, breaking up lumps, until it is no longer pink, then stir in the mushrooms, carrot and cabbage and cook for 2–3 minutes until just softened but not fully limp, since they will cook a little more inside the hot roll later. Add the noodles, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and white pepper, mix well, then take off the heat and fold in the spring onion and bean sprouts raw, for crunch.

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• 300 g ground pork
• 6 mushrooms (from step 1)
• 150 g carrot
• 200 g cabbage
• 50 g glass noodles (from step 1)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 2 spring onions
• 50 g bean sprouts

✅ Done when: the pork is fully cooked through, the vegetables are just tender, and everything is well mixed and seasoned

Cool the filling

Spread the filling out on a tray or wide plate so it cools faster, and let it come to room temperature, about 15–20 minutes. This step matters: hot or steamy filling softens the wrappers and tears them while rolling, and traps steam inside that makes the fried rolls soggy instead of crisp.

✅ Done when: the filling feels cool to the touch all the way through, with no warmth or steam left

Wrap the rolls

Lay a wrapper on your work surface with one corner pointing toward you, like a diamond, and place about 2 tablespoons of cooled filling near the bottom corner. Fold the bottom corner up over the filling, roll once tightly, then fold in the two side corners like an envelope. Brush the top corner with the flour-and-water paste, roll up firmly to seal, and keep the stack of wrappers covered with a damp cloth so they do not dry out and crack.

• 25 sheets spring roll wrappers
• 1 tbsp + 2 tbsp flour-water paste

✅ Done when: the roll is tight, evenly packed with no air pockets, and the seam is sealed shut

Fry until golden

Heat the oil in a wok or deep pot to 160–170°C (320–340°F) and fry the rolls in small batches, turning them often, for 4–5 minutes until deep golden and crisp all over. Do not crowd the pot — too many rolls at once will drop the oil temperature and the rolls will turn greasy instead of crisp. Lift out and drain on a wire rack set over paper towels.

• 1 litre vegetable oil

✅ Done when: the rolls are evenly golden brown and sound hollow and crackly when tapped

Serve hot

Let the rolls rest for a minute so the inside settles, then serve immediately while still hot and crisp, with Thai sweet chili sauce for dipping.

• to serve Thai sweet chili sauce