Spring Rolls – Egg Rolls – Easy Recipe

One of my favourite items on a menu in a Chinese restaurant has always been Spring Rolls. They are basically the same as Egg Rolls. Though egg rolls usually have some meat in them whereas spring rolls most often don’t. However, for me they are the same, in essence. The reason I say that is because I think they can be adapted. You can use whatever vegetables you want, and include meat or not as desired.

For mine I decided to use cabbage, carrot, mushroom, onion and some minced pork. I also included vermicelli rice noodles, which I love so much. Then some seasoning and flavouring, soya sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper.

The casing for the rolls is a very thin pastry. It is often available in two kinds, shelf stable and frozen. Since I had never made the rolls before I read up a little on the type of pastry wrappers to buy. It seemed that the frozen ones were probably easier to use, so I opted for those.

In summary then, pastry wrappers, vegetable and meat if desired will make the perfect spring rolls or egg rolls.

Recipe

The recipe is actually quite easy to make. It does take time, though, since there are several steps.

Soak the vermicell rice noodles in boiling water to rehydrate them. They must then be drained thoroughly, after washing in cold water to stop them from cooking. Then cook the minced pork. Next all the vegetables are cooked, firstly the onion, carrot and mushroom. Add the cabbage and cook for a couple of minutes. Mix the vegetables with the pork and vermicelli and season with soya sauce, salt and pepper and stir in the sesame oil.

Then it is time to assemble the rolls. That process is actually very easy too.

Fry the assembled rolls in hot, flavourless oil for 5 minutes. They will be crisp and golden brown.

The filling for the recipe will make more than needed to fill 30 rolls(one packet of wrappers), but the extra makes a great lunch, for me at least.

My Rolls

I found it all very easy and had perfectly shaped rolls. I fried them for 5 minutes and drained them. For that I placed them on paper towel for a few seconds and then transferred to a wire rack. Since they were very hot indeed I left them to cool for a while before tasting.

I also fried them in small batches, to keep the oil at a fairly constant 180C/350F.

The rolls tasted fantastic, with a crisp casing and the wonderful filling. I also dipped them into a dipping sauce which worked so well too.

Since I made more than I needed I froze some on a tray and then bagged them up to use later. They will refresh very easily straight from frozen in an oven or an air fryer.

Another great recipe for the stove top(or griddle) is English Muffins.

Spring Rolls – Egg Rolls – Easy Recipe

Recipe by geoffcooCourse: Stove top recipesDifficulty: Medium

Servings

30

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time(all rolls)

40

minutes

Ingredients

• 500g(1 lb 2 oz) minced pork

• 227g(4 cups) thinly sliced cabbage

• 227g(4 cups) thinly sliced mushrooms

• 227g(2 1/2 cups) grated(or thinly julienned)carrot

• 200g(1 cup) finely chopped onion

• 200g(7 oz) vermicelli rice noodles

• 1 packet(30 wrappers) spring soll pastry

• 22ml(1 1/2 tbsp) soya sauce

• 5ml(1 tsp) sesame or peanut oil, for flavour

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Flavourless oil for frying and deep frying.

• Beaten egg(or a flour paste) for sealing.

Directions

• Soak the vermicelli in boiling water, according to the instructions on the packet(about 3 minutes).
• Drain the vermicello and immerse in cold water to stop the cooking.
• Drain thoroughly and set aside.
• Fry the minced pork until just cooked through, no need to brown the meat.
• Set the pork aside and heat a tablespoon of oil in the pan.
• Gently fry the onion, carrots and mushrooms, stirring to mix through, for about 6 or 7 minutes until softened.
• Add the cabbage and mix through, then fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until it has wilted and softened a little but it still has a slight crunch to it.
• In a large bowl mix the vermicelli, pork and vegetables together and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Add the soya sauce and sesame oil and stir through.
• Carefully peel one wrapper from the thawed packet, keeping the remainder cover with a damp cloth or paper towel.
• Place the wrapper on the work surface, on a diagonal, so that one corner is pointing toward you.
• Spoon about 4 tbsp(1/4 cup) of the filling onto the wrapper, towards the front corner.
• Wrap the corner over the filling and roll tightly, folding the sides over the top and continue rolling until just a triangle of pastry wrapper is exposed.
• Brush a little beaten egg on the edges of the exposed triangle and finish rolling to complete the roll.
• Place the roll on a tray, cover it with a towel or plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
• Repeat the process with all the wrappers.
• Heat some flavourless oil(about 2 inches deep) in a large pot until it reaches a temperature of 180C/350F.
• Fry the rolls in batches, without overfilling the pan, for 5 minutes until they have turned a golden brown colour.
• Place the rolls on some paper towel for a few seconds and then transfer to a wire rack to cool for a while before serving.