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Author Topic: A Recipe for Fried Rock Bass Spring Rolls  (Read 2151 times)

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Offline HD

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July 6, 2016
A Recipe for Fried Rock Bass Spring Rolls
by Jamie Carlson

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Fried rock bass spring rolls served with nuoc cham.

I have always loved catching rock bass. They attack with an almost violent bite, and if you get a good-sized fish it can put up an entertaining fight. They will also bite on just about anything you want to throw at them. When I was a kid I would take my fishing pole down to the dock and bait my hook with a piece of Oscar Meyer hot dog and would catch dozens of rock bass right under the boat lift. My grandmother would clean all of them and fry them up for lunch. A lot of people shy away from rock bass as table fare, but I contend that fresh-caught rock bass are as good as any other panfish.

This past June I was up on Leech Lake. I was looking for walleyes and cast out a plain lindy rig with a shiner minnow. As soon as the sinker hit the bottom I had a fish. I could tell right away that I had a rock bass just by how erratically and violently it was fighting. I got that one in the boat, got my line back in the water as fast as I could, and got another one. In a very short time I had six good-sized rock bass in the live well. A couple of them were 9-inchers.

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As you might recall, I love to fry fresh fish in a saltine breading and eat them with tartar sauce, but I have been trying to use some of the fish I catch in new—and international—ways. A while back I was at a Vietnamese restaurant and ordered the shrimp spring rolls. The spring roll wrapper was lighter and crispier than an egg roll wrapper would be, and the shrimp on the inside was sweet and delicate. I asked the owner if he would share the recipe with me. He said if he did that, I would never come back. He did end up telling me the basics of what went into it though, and I tried it for the first time with perch but I've used crappies and sunfish as well. I've made these spring rolls probably a dozen times, and have tweaked the recipe little by little. And I think I've finally got it right.
Fried Rock Bass Spring Rolls
Recipe makes about 12 spring rolls

1 lb. fresh panfish fillets
8 oz.  drained water chestnuts
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. palm sugar (or regular sugar)
1 medium carrot
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic, minced
2 tsp. fresh-grated ginger
1 tsp. minced lemongrass
12 spring roll wrappers
Oil for frying

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined into a paste. The carrots and water chestnuts should not be smooth—you want small chunks that give the fish filling some texture.

Place a quarter cup of the mixture in the center of the spring roll wrapper, and then roll into spring rolls. Mix together 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to make a glue to help seal the spring rolls shut. Heat your oil to 350 degrees and fry in batches for 5-6 minutes.

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Photo by Jamie Carlson
Ready to fry

Serve the spring rolls with a nuoc cham or sweet and sour sauce.

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Offline Cherrywood

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i'm going to have to give this a shot. looks like we can sub. the rock bass for other panfish like blue gill or crappie i assume? i don't catch a whole lot of rock bass.

Offline corny13

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Offline dew2

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i'm going to have to give this a shot. looks like we can sub. the rock bass for other panfish like blue gill or crappie i assume? i don't catch a whole lot of rock bass.
CW do you think they really used spring roll wrappers?? I dont they dont deep fry!! Maybe a mistake on the recipe?Spring roll wrappers are rice paper soaked in warm water.I think they used egg roll wrappers and deep fried just like a egg roll which is exactly what they are.
 We'll give em a go soon as I go net a few bullheads!!
 Tasty soundin recipe forsure!!!
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