Spring rolls are, most likely, one of the first dishes that come to mind when we think of Asian food. Here, we will show the easiest way to make chinese spring rolls.
We also know this dish as Chinese rolls, thanks to its country of origin. However, in different parts of Asia, they adapt the ingredients and the preparation to the local cuisine and consume many versions of the spring rolls.
How to make chinese spring rolls?
An indispensable ingredient for spring rolls is Chinese cabbage. In places where a flat is not available, it is replaced by conventional cabbage.
And then, the best companion for the spring roll recipe is a good sweet and sour sauce, ideally homemade, which you can prepare according to our easy sweet and sour sauce recipe.
You will need thin and square dough sheets to make the rolls, some people use phyllo dough, but it is preferable to go to a supermarket of Asian products and buy the package known as “spring roll paper” or “dough for spring rolls.”
Prepare these spring rolls at home, much easier than you can imagine, thanks to this easy cooking recipe.
Type of recipe Meats
Chinese Cuisine
Keyword frying, Traditional recipe
Preparation time 35 minutes
Cooking time 25 minutes
Total time 1 hour
Portions 6
Calories 180 kcal
Author Lola
Ingredients: For the filling of spring rolls
1/2 kilo of Chinese cabbage
1/2 kilo of pork tenderloin
5 scallions stalks
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 large garlic cloves
4 cups of bean sprouts
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch or cornstarch
2 tablespoons of rice wine
1 teaspoon of sugar
Ground pepper
Salt to taste
Water
Vegetable oil
Sesame oil
For the assembly of the rolls:
1 package of sheets for spring rolls
1 egg
1 tablespoon cornstarch or cornstarch
Water
Vegetable oil
Preparation of the filling for the rolls
Start by soaking the Chinese cabbage well, under a stream of cold water, on a strainer. Then, drain it and cut it into ribbons or julienne. Once cut, place it on a strainer and cover with plenty of salt, then let it rest. The goal is for the salt to absorb as much liquid as possible from the cabbage.
While the cabbage rests with the salt, peel the garlic and cut it into slices or small cubes, depending on the cook’s preference. Then wash the scallion, drain it, and chop the green part into rings. Never use the white part for this recipe.
In the case of bean sprouts, wash them and drain them. Now take care of pork tenderloin, which should be clean and fat-free. Then chop it in julienne, that is, in thin ribbons.
If you do not have grated ginger ready, this is the right time to get our hands to work. It will be enough to get a piece of ginger, peel it, and pass it through the grater, until completing the equivalent of a tablespoon.
Already with ingredients prepared to make the filling of the rolls, we will take care of the Chinese cabbage, to desalinate it. Make balls with the previously cut cabbage ribbons, and pressing them by hand to squeeze them and make them lose as much liquid as possible. Push them against the strainer. Likewise, shake or remove as much salt as possible.
Then heat a wok with a splash of oil. There you will cook the garlic and the scallion for a couple of minutes. After this time, we will incorporate the pork loin strips and sauté until they change color.
Then take out the ingredients that are in the wok and reserve them in a bowl. Soon it will be the turn of cooking in the wok the bean sprouts for two minutes. Now, pass them to the bowl, with the other ingredients that have reserved.
Now it will be the turn to cook the Chinese cabbage or cabbage in the wok, for 5 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and reserve the cabbage in the bowl, with the other ingredients.
Preparation of seasoning for the filling of spring rolls
The next thing we will do will be a kind of sauce or seasoning for the filling. For this, we will place a couple of tablespoons of water in a cup or bowl, and dilute the cornstarch in it.
Once the mixture is fully integrated, without lumps, we will add the soy sauce, a teaspoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil and 2 tablespoons of rice wine.
Let’s stir until you get a homogeneous mixture. Then, we will reserve it and we will reheat the wok with a small splash of vegetable oil. Once hot, we will cook the ginger very quickly: just one minute, stirring constantly. Then we will return all the other ingredients that we had already cooked and that we have reserved in a bowl.
We will mix everything, and we will bathe it with the seasoning or sauce that we have prepared. Mix again, turn off the wok and reserve.
Armed with spring rolls
For this part of the recipe, the first thing we will do will be a mixture to glue the edges of the rolls. In a bowl, we will pour a couple of tablespoons of water and a tablespoon of cornstarch. Mix with a fork until both ingredients are perfectly integrated, without lumps.
Then we will add the content of an egg, and we will stir until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. The next thing will be to clean a workspace, such as a table or a large cutting board. There we will accommodate the first of the spring roll leaves.
In the center, we will place a spoonful of the filling that we have prepared for the rolls. With a kitchen brush, we will cover the edges of the sheet with the cornstarch and egg mixture we have just made.
We will fold the tips of the paper inwards, and then roll-up. Once the roll form is obtained, we will place a little egg mixture under the last edge, to seal the dough. We will repeat the process until all the filling, and all the leaves for spring rolls are finished.
Then, we will heat the wok again with a splash of oil, and once hot, we will place the rolls to cook. We will rotate them until they are browned evenly throughout their surface. Keep in mind that this process will be quick: if the wok is hot enough, they can brown in a matter of a minute or two. Only take into account what needs to be left between the rolls to cook well, and that you will need to fry them in shifts.
Serve your spring rolls accompanied by a good homemade sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy your meal.
Tips for preparing Chinese spring rolls
If you don’t have sesame oil at home, you can heat a handful of sesame seeds or sesame seeds, and then crush them with a mortar or a kitchen robot. You can replace the oil with this paste.
If you want to make an even simpler version of the spring rolls, you can use only one egg as a paste to paste or seal the rolls, without mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.
While you are assembling the rolls, make sure to keep the rest of the sheets of paper for rolls covered with a cloth, plastic film or in a container. The reason is simple: this ingredient easily dehydrates if you leave it exposed to the air.
If you like mushrooms, you can include half a dozen cooked mushrooms in the stuffing mix. You will only have to cut them into julienne before adding them to the rest of the mixture.
Optionally, you can also add a couple of handfuls of soy noodles to the filling mixture, but you will have to rehydrate them before using them.
In the case of the sheets to make the rolls, you could also use brick paste or rehydrated rice paper. However, I strongly recommend using spring roll papers, which are the richest and easiest to prepare.
