Happiness is biting into a hot, golden spring roll. Their crispy shell shatter to reveal a juicy and flavoursome filling. Perfectly accompanied by a spicy dip or sweet chilli sauce, spring rolls are a crowd pleaser. They are easy and fun to make, as well as, highly customisable.
Traditionally, spring rolls are popular during the Spring festival in East China and they symbolise wealth. They consist of a thin, elastic dough wrapper with a sweet or savoury filling and they are deep fried until golden brown. For our version of spring rolls, we opted to bake them rather than fry them (we only whip out the frying pan when absolutely necessary!). However, we have also included instructions for frying in the box below.
Spring rolls are great to make ahead and keep in the freezer uncooked. Freeze them in a single layer before transferring them into boxes or bags. We always buy the pastry dough as this is a tricky one to try to make. Simply make your filling and get rolling!
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT SPRING ROLLS
Can I fry the spring rolls instead of baking them?
Frying is the best way to cook spring rolls for the most ‘authentic’ experience. Frying results in golden and crunchier rolls.
To deep-fry or pan fry the spring rolls, heat oil in a pan on medium high. When the oil is hot, gently lower the spring rolls in the oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes, turning them a couple of times until golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
How can I customise the filling?
Swap out the chicken for another protein. Alternatively, for a vegetarian filling, completely eliminate the chicken and add more mushrooms.
Add onions, bean sprouts, greens and herbs of your liking to the filling.
Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 packet spring roll pastry (recommend TYJ spring roll pastry)
- 5 spring onions
- ¼ large cabbage (or 1/3 medium)
- 3 medium carrot
- 8-10 mushrooms
- 2 chicken breasts (optional)
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- small pinch ground cloves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil (plus more for brushing/ frying)
Instructions
For the chicken (if making chicken spring rolls)
- Marinate the chicken with salt and pepper and 1 tbsp of the oyster sauce.
- Pan fry the chicken on medium heat turning once until the chicken breast is cooked through.
- When cooked, remove from the pan and allow to cool. Shred the chicken and reserve.
For the spring roll filling
- Prepare the vegetables: shred the cabbage. Peel and grate the carrots. Slice the mushrooms and finely slice the spring onions. Finely chop the garlic.
- In a large bowl add the cabbage, carrots, pepper, oyster sauce, salt, cornstarch, ground cloves and ground cinnamon.
- In a large pan or wok, heat the oil on high heat. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds. Next add the sliced spring onions and stir briefly.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.
- Last add in the vegetable mixture and cook on high heat for a couple of minutes until the vegetables are slightly wilted but still have some bite.
- Allow the filling to cool completely. If making chicken spring rolls, add the chicken after the vegetables are cooked and mix thoroughly.
For the spring roll assembly
- Gently peel a wrapper from the spring roll wrapper stack. Keep the stack covered with a damp kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out.
- Place the wrapper on your work surface with the smooth side down and a pointy edge facing you. Gently spoon some of the filling in a log shape onto the wrapper about a third of the way to the bottom closer to you). Take the pointy edge and fold over the filling tightly. Next bring in the sides and continue rolling (see images above for guidance). Use water to seal the edge if baking.If frying use a (1:3 cornstarch to water mixture to seal the wrappers).
- Repeat until all the spring rolls have been used.
Baking the Spring Rolls
- Bake the spring rolls on a rack above a tray. Brush or spray the spring rolls with oil.
- Bake at 190°C for 25 to 30 minutes or until the spring rolls are golden. Turn once after 15 minutes.
Serving
- Serve the spring rolls hot or cold with a sweet chilli sauce or spicy/ tangy dipping sauce.