Japanese Vegetarian Spring Rolls

1/2 cup carrots, julienned
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, julienned
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and chopped (discard stems)
1/2 package of nira (Japanese garlic chives), cut into 1 inch pieces
3 eggs, mixed well
1 cup bean sprouts
100g vermicelli
spring roll sheets (medium-sized ones work well)

1 cup water
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce, or 1 tbsp each of oyster sauce and soy sauce, to taste
1.5 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper, to taste

2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar

Over medium heat, heat a small amount of oil and scramble the eggs. Set aside. Add another small amount of oil to the pan and sweat the carrots. After a few minutes, add in the bamboo shoots and mushrooms and continue to sweat until the vegetables are soft. Add in nira and continue to cook a few more minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the vermicelli according to the package directions. Cut into 1-2 inch strips.

Once the vegetables are almost finished cooking, add in scrambled eggs and vermicelli with vegetables. Turn heat up to high. Add in sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to taste. In a separate bowl, mix together water and cornstarch and pour over the vegetable filling. Mix well and wait until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add in bean sprouts. Cool mixture completely.

Now the fun begins: Stuffing the spring rolls! I found a good video on youtube here. The key is to make sure your rolls are tight and not to have any holes. As well, make sure to put the shinier side on the inside with the filling (you might have to look at an angle to determine which side is shinier).

Once all your rolls are wrapped, add around 1/2 inch of oil to coat the bottom of a fry pan. Heat oil to medium-high heat. In batches, add one layer of spring rolls and fry until golden, approximately 2-3 minutes. Flip to other side and fry until the other side is golden-brown, another minute.

Mix equal amounts of soy sauce and rice vinegar (ie. 2 tbsp of each) to prepare your dipping sauce.

Serve warm spring rolls with dipping sauce.