Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls

1. In a bowl, soak the black fungus in boiling water and leave aside for 5 minutes then strain, pat dry, and roughly chop.
2. Place the cubed white potato in a bowl with about one tablespoon of water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
3. Rinse the noodles under a tap for a few seconds and then cut into 1-inch pieces with a pair of scissors.
4. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, onion, carrot, cabbage, potato, noodles, pork, prawns, salt, ½ teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon fish sauce, and pepper. Mix thoroughly (sometimes it helps to use your hands).
5. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water. Stir to dissolve and then place into the microwave for 30 seconds. If the mixture hasn’t thickened, then microwave for another 10 seconds.
6.  Place a wrapper in front of you with a corner pointing towards you, like a diamond (only separate a few wrappers at a time, as they will dry out otherwise – keep the others in the package).
7. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper and spread evenly into a small log shape across the wrapper.
8. Fold the side corners towards the middle and press down around the filling to make sure it is compacted.
9. Lift the bottom corner over the filling and roll tightly without squeezing the filling out.
10. Finish the roll with a bit of cornstarch mixture on the top corner to keep it together. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.
11. To cook, add enough vegetable oil to a pot so that the depth is at least 1 inch. Heat the oil on medium heat and then slide the spring rolls into the oil one at a time.
12. Cook the spring rolls until they are floating on top of the oil and are a golden color. It usually takes roughly 3 mins. Take them out with a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs and let them drain on a rack. Do not let them cool on top of each other. Repeat in batches.
13. While cooking the spring rolls, whisk together 3 tablespoons fish sauce, rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, garlic, chili, lime juice, 3 tablespoons fish sauce. Serve alongside rolls as a dipping sauce.

Recipe Notes
If your spring rolls are pale but cooked, then the oil is not hot enough. If your spring rolls are forming bubbles on the skin, the oil is too hot.
Recipe adapted from Scruff and Steph