Silky Dolls

Text by Josie Wu　Translated by Ann Lee
Photos by Andy Lin

In Guizhou Province, China, some wrapped spring rolls are nicknamed "Silky Dolls". The tradition of these 'dolls' comes from an ancient story of a woman who discovered an abandoned baby. The woman made spring rolls from whatever ingredients she could find to feed the baby; since she was from a poor family, neighbors and other families in the village also gave her their leftover food. Soon, the woman realized that bulbous ingredients made the rolls resemble little dolls and the thin wraps gave them a silky sheen. From them on, she referred to these rolls as 'silky dolls'.

For today's crowd, David Yeh, the Executive Chef at Oriental Cuisine, tells our Taiwan Fun readers how to make one of their own Silky Dolls.

Ingredients (makes 16 rolls):
16 spring roll wraps
50 grams (g) each of: bean sprouts, sliced seaweed, sliced carrots,
sliced pickled radish, sliced cucumbers, celery, sliced mustard root, and ginger slices marinated in plum juice
6 g salt
3 g brown sugar
10 g black pepper
10 g chili pepper
8 g soy sauce
10 g vinegar
3 g chili oil
3 g chopped ginger
5 g chopped garlic
6 g chopped green onions
15 g vegetable broth
10 g crispy beans
6 g chopped coriander

Steps:
1. Place bean sprouts, seaweed slices, and plum marinated ginger on a spring roll wrap. Sprinkle the crispy beans on top.
2. Roll the wrap so one end is bigger than the other, keep the bigger end open, and leave the smaller end empty (without ingredients). Finish folding the wrap.
3. Use the seaweed slices to tie a knot around the spring roll, this also serves a decorative purpose.
4. Create the dipping sauce by mixing the salt, brown sugar, black/chili pepper, soy sauce, chili oil, chopped ginger, garlic, onions, vegetable broth and coriander.
5. Dip the roll in the sauce and enjoy!