Asian food - Surprising spring rolls.

Yesterday, my father and I went to the Chinese district of Paris (13eme arr) to do the usual shopping at Tang Freres' and Paris Store's. I love spending time in the departments, seeking for new ingredients to cook. So, as I was wandering in this asian food paradise, the idea of making spring rolls came up to my mind; and especially these spring rolls: chicken and sweet potato spring rolls with lotus seeds and black mushrooms. Actually, my mom invented this recipe a few years ago because she wanted to cook something new with sweet potatoes and I completely loved it.

So today, on this windy Sunday, I've decided to make them; I've just changed slightly things. It took me two hours to make them! Rolling spring rolls is indeed a long and fastidious task but when you're done and you see these cute little rolls made by yourself ... well it is such a satisfaction that you immediately forget that you were just fighting with the fine rice noodles an hour ago ...
Besides these spring rolls come on purpose as it's Chinese New Year this week-end!

I took some pictures of the preparation; Hope it will help you to roll your spring rolls!

Ingredients:
for 30 spring rolls (Since making spring rolls is quite a long task, I always make plenty of them and freeze them. It's really practical since they can remain two months in the freezer compartment. So now, if friends drop in on you unexpectedly, you'll have something nice and original ready in your kitchen!)

- 30 spring roll pastry; - 1 big sweet potato; - 4 chicken breasts; - 1 or 2 spring onions

- 200g of fine rice noodles (soak them for 10min in cold water and them cut in 3 or 4); - 100g of black mushrooms (black mushrooms are usually sold dehydrated so soak them one hour before you begin the preparation) ; - 100g of lotus seeds (same thing for lotus seeds; they are usually sold dehydrated but they need to be soaked the night before the preparation);

+ - 3 eggs (+1 egg to paste the pastry); - salt & pepper

For the sauce:

- 8 tbspoons rice vinegar

- 6 tbspoons granulated sugar

- 2 tbspoons water

- 1 tbspoon fish sauce

Directions:

1) Dice the sweet potato and steam it; when it's done, let it cool down

2) Mix together the chicken breasts, the lotus seeds, the black mushrooms, the spring onions; add 3 eggs, season, and mix again to obtain an homogenous stuffing

3) Mash the sweet potato

4) In a bowl, put together the cut fine rice noodles and the stuffing + add the sweet potato; mix the preparation with your hands

5) Take a full tbspoon of the stuffing

6) Put up each side and roll up neatly and firmly

7) Brush the top side with some beaten egg

8) Fry them until they're golden and serve with some salad and mint leaves and the sauce.

How to make the sauce:

1) Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and let the mixture boil until it caramelizes and then remove from heat.