These Chinese-style spring rolls are filled with vegetables and pork mince wrapped in a thin, crispy exterior that shatters when you bite into them.
Ingredients
Filling
•Sliced bamboo shoots (about 4 ounces, see note 1)
•Peanut oil, divided
•Ground pork
•Diced shallots
•Shredded carrots
•Chopped green cabbage
•Diced water chestnuts
•Cornstarch
•Water
•Oyster sauce
•Salt
•Sugar
• Ground white pepper
Spring rolls
•Spring roll wrappers
•Egg, lightly beaten
• Oil for frying
To serve
•Sweet chili sauce
Additional equipment
•Large baking sheets (or use large plates)
•Dry cloths
•Spoons (for scooping filling)
•Brush (for brushing egg wash)
•Wok
•Paper towels
Instructions:
Prepare the filling
•Bring several cups of water to boil in the saucepan. Add the bamboo shoots and blanch them for 1 minute to get rid of the odour. Drain and rinse with cold water.
•Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in the wok over high heat. Add the pork and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until it starts to turn white on the outside. Use the end of your spatula to break up the meat into small pieces. Transfer the pork to a plate.
•Swirl the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil into the wok. Add the shallots and cook for about 1 minute. Add the carrots, cabbage, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts and cook for 2 minutes. Then, add the pork back into the wok and stir.
•In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water together so that you get a slurry. Use your spatula to brush the vegetables and pork aside to create a space at the bottom of the wok. Pour the cornstarch slurry into that space. Let the slurry thicken for 30 seconds before your stir, to incorporate it with the rest of the ingredients.
•Add the oyster sauce, salt, sugar, and white pepper. Stir to combine the seasoning with the ingredients.
•Spread the filling over a large baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes. Don’t transfer any liquid to the baking sheet. You do not want to wrap your spring rolls with hot filling. The heat will turn the spring roll wrappers soggy, making the spring rolls difficult to roll. It can also cause the wrapper to fall apart easily.
Set up the spring roll-making station
•The spring roll wrappers dry out easily.
•Then, cover the wrappers with a thick dry cloth to prevent them from drying.
•You can also cover it in plastic wrap.
•Have a large baking sheet or several large plates ready so that you can place the rolled up spring rolls on top.
•Make sure to have a dry cloth handy to cover the rolled up spring rolls.
•Place the filling and egg wash close by.
Prepare the spring rolls
•Take 1 sheet of the spring roll wrappers, and lay it on the counter in a diamond shape, with one corner pointed towards you.
Take about 2 tablespoons of filling and place it on the bottom.
•Grab the bottom corner and start rolling up the spring roll. Stop when you get to the centre of the wrapper.
•Fold in the left and right sides of the wrapper toward the centre.
•Use the brush to brush egg wash over the top corner.
•When you finish rolling up the spring roll, lay the rolled up spring roll over the baking sheet and cover it with the dry cloth.
•Repeat it with the remaining wrappers and filling.
Cook the spring rolls
•Line paper towels over a baking sheet or over 2 large plates.
You’ll be draining your spring rolls over these paper towels.
•Fill the wok with about 2 inches of oil (measured from the bottom of the wok).
•Heat the oil over medium-high heat for several minutes.
•If you insert a bamboo or wooden chopstick into the bottom of the wok and you can see tiny bubbles rapidly bubbling around the chopstick, it means that the oil is hot enough for frying.
•Carefully slide 5 spring rolls along the edge of the wok into the hot oil. This helps to prevent hot oil from splattering.
•Fry them for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping them halfway so that the spring rolls are evenly browned. •Once the spring rolls are golden brown, remove them from the wok with a kitchen spider or a skimmer.
•Continue frying the remaining spring rolls and turn off the heat when finished.
•Serve immediately with sweet chilli sauce.