Spring rolls are a type of Chinese snacks made of meat and vegetables that are wrapped in sheets called spring roll wrappers. The wrappers are made of flour and made into thin sheets like paper. Spring roll is a type of small chops that are popularly called Dim Sum. I will show you how to make spring rolls at home and also how to wrap spring rolls easily.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized carrots
- 4 medium-sized potatoes
- 3 tomatoes and 1 clove of garlic
- Green beans or peas
- 1 Spring onions. I used this because spring rolls are made using the vegetables available during the spring season in China.
- One small onion bulb
- Green and red chili peppers
- Green bell pepper
- Oyster sauce and soy sauce
- 1 seasoning cube and salt to taste
- Half medium-sized cabbage. The main ingredients in spring rolls are cabbage and meat. Other vegetables as included in this recipe can be added as you like.
- Minced meat. Pork is commonly used in making spring rolls but I am using beef; chicken can also be used. For the vegan version, some people use only vegetables and are therefore called veggies spring rolls or vegetable spring rolls.
- Vegetable oil or any cooking oil you have.
Steps on How to Make Spring Rolls at Home
Preparing the Vegetables
- Wash and slice your vegetables into thin slices.
- The carrots can be grated using the larger holes of a grater.
- Peel and cook the potatoes and then mash it with a fork
- Other vegetables should be minced or cut into small sizes
Making Spring Roll Filling
- Place a pan on the heat and add 4 tablespoons of cooking oil. When the pan is heated, add your chopped onions and minced garlic and stir fry until the onions are translucent.
- Add the minced meat and stir fry for 10 minutes. You can add 4 tablespoons of water to it and cover to allow cooking of the meat. To the meat, add 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and stir to combine.
- Now, add your chopped tomatoes and allow it to fry to reduce the water content
- Bring in the remaining vegetables: carrots, cabbage, spring onions, and chopped green bell pepper; also add the red and green chilies and stir fry until the vegetables are soft.
- Taste for seasoning, and add as needed.
- Turn off the heat and allow your spring roll filling to cool
How to Wrap Spring Rolls
- Get your spring roll wrapper and place it on a flat surface
- Fetch two spoons of your vegetable and meat filling and place it on the surface of your spring roll sheets. The filling should be close to the edge of the wrapping sheet.
- Pick the edge with your two hands and roll it over the filling so that it covers the filling completely. Use your thumb to pin the covered filling while the remaining fingers should be used to bring the two opened ends together towards the middle where your thumbs are.
- Roll the wrapper again to cover the two ends. When you are close to the end of the wrapping sheet; dip one of your fingers in a glue made with 3 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of water (to form a paste). Use the glue to rub on the surface of the spring roll wrapper; this helps to glue the spring roll and prevents it from separating when frying. Fold the wrapper completely and then place the spring roll with the glued surface facing downwards to help exert pressure and make the glue firm.
- Repeat the process until you are done filling all the wrappers you have.
Frying your Spring Rolls
There are 2 ways to fry your spring rolls; you can either deep-fry them or simply pan-fry them. Deep frying helps to fry evenly at the same time because the whole spring roll is immersed in the cooking oil.
- Place a pan on the heat and allow it to heat up and then add your fresh spring roll into it.
- No need to stir for deep frying because the cooking oil will completely cover your spring roll; this is not the case for pan-frying where you need to be stirring and turning the spring rolls to ensure even frying.
- Once your homemade spring rolls become brownish or golden in color, they are ready.
- Remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel and repeat the process until you are done with all the spring rolls.
This is the simple way to make this spring roll recipe; it can be eaten with a dipping sauce such as peanut sauce or you can simply snack on it.
Nutrition and Calories
Every 100 grams of Spring roll contains about 154 calories, 8 grams of fats, and 4.3 grams of carbs. With meat added, the protein content can be up to 32 grams. These nutritional facts are estimates as the ingredients and quantities used are highly variable.
For a gluten-free spring roll, makes sure you are using a wrapping sheet made with a gluten-free flour such as tapioca flour, almond flour, or cornstarch.
Spring roll vs Egg roll
The major difference between Spring roll and Egg roll is in the thickness of the wrappers used. The fillings are basically the same, consisting mainly of pork and cabbage as ingredients. Other vegetables or meat can be added or replaced. The wrapper of spring rolls is very thin compared to the wrapper of egg rolls that is thick. Another difference is that egg roll is of American origin whilst spring rolls are of Chinese origin.