TROPICAL SPRING ROLLS WITH CHILE SAUCE

Tropical Spring Rolls with Chile Sauce image

Yield Makes 4 first-course servings

Number Of Ingredients 17

For chile sauce
1 cup Asian sweet chile sauce* (preferably Mae Ploy brand)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon palm sugar* or packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh hot chile (such as Thai or serrano, preferably red), including seeds
For spring rolls
1 1/2 lb shrimp in shell, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped (1/2-inch pieces)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 teaspoon salt
8 Chinese spring roll wrappers*
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
About 1 cup vegetable oil

Steps:

Make chile sauce:
Stir together sauce ingredients in a bowl until just combined. Chill, covered.
Make spring rolls:
Stir together shrimp, cilantro, and salt.
Put 1 spring roll wrapper on a work surface with a corner nearest you, keeping remaining wrappers covered with plastic wrap. Spread 1/2 cup shrimp mixture across wrapper, 3 inches from bottom corner, to form a 4-inch log, leaving a 1 1/4-inch border at each end. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners and roll up snugly to enclose shrimp. Stir together water and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth, then brush seams with mixture to seal. Transfer roll, seam side down, to a baking sheet lined with wax paper and keep covered with plastic wrap. Make more spring rolls in same manner, transferring to baking sheet as formed.
Heat 1/4 inch oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then fry 2 or 3 spring rolls, seam sides down, until golden, about 2 minutes. Turn over and fry until other side is golden, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry remaining spring rolls in same manner. Halve and serve hot or warm with sauce.