Chinese Crispy Spring Rolls

Sue Lau's Note:

This is a vegetarian version of spring rolls. You can replace the mushrooms with minced meat if you like a regular version. If you like shrimp, just add them in place of the carrots. This recipe is posted by request, and comes from Linda Doeser.

• Total Time: 42 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 40 spring ...

• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 bunch scallion
• 2 carrots
• 2/3 cup bamboo shoot, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups mushrooms
• 3 -4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 20 egg roll wraps (approximate)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch paste
• flour (for dusting)
• oil (for deep frying)
• soy sauce (for dipping, or other dipping sauces, as desired)

Directions:

1. Shred vegetables to the same size and shape as bean sprouts.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok and stir-fry vegetables for 1 minute.
3. Add salt, sugar, light soy sauce, and rice wine.
4. Stir-fry 2 minutes more; drain and cool.
5. To make a spring roll, cut the wrapper in half diagonally.
6. Place 1 tbsp of veggie mixture one-third of the way down the wrapper, then turn the wrapper so the small tip of the diagonal is pointing away from you.
7. Fold the wide edge of the wrapper over the filling and roll over one time.
8. Fold in the sides, and roll the wrapper away from you one time more.
9. Brush the upper edge of the wrapper with cornstarch paste (to make cornstarch paste, simply mix 4 parts cornstarch to 5 parts cold water, and stir till dissolved).
10. Finish rolling the spring roll, keeping it a bit tight.
11. Sprinkle some flour on a baking sheet (to keep spring rolls from sticking), and rest the spring rolls there, flap side down, while you finish making the other rolls.
12. To cook, heat the oil in a wok or fryer until hot, then reduce the heat to low.
13. Fry the spring rolls in batches, making sure not to crowd, cooking until they are golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes.
14. Remove rolls from oil and drain on paper toweling.
15. Serve hot with soy sauce, or sweet and sour and hot mustard, if desired.

Reviews

[4QTpies]

Delicious! I prepared these spring rolls exactly as written and they were perfect. This was my first time making them homemade and it was pretty easy. I served them with a Thai dipping sauce (Thai Dipping Sauce for Spring Wrap or Egg Rolls) and veg. fried rice and it was a great dinner! Thanks!

[spatchcock]

Loved these. I forgot to get carrots at the store, so I upped the bean sprouts by quite a bit. The filling didn't look like much, but with by making the wraps smaller as the recipe instructs I got lots of spring rolls-probably about 17-20. Loved that these were vegetarian and loved the result of julienning everything. It really made a difference in the texture. Thanks for posting!

[Miraklegirl]

These were wonderful. I followed the ingredients exactly as written, but I did make some changes to the preperation. Rather than hand julienning all the vegetables, I chopped the carrots and scallions in the food processor until they were finely chopped, added the whole bean sprouts and hand chopped mushrooms. The bamboo shoots I bought were already julienned. This was a time saver and I don't believe it compromised the results in the least. There was still alot of texture and crunch. I had a hard time following the instructions for folding, so I merely folded the cut wrapper in half and then folded in the ends. They looked perfect after frying. I prepared them completely the day before my party and then heated them on a cookie sheet at 300 for about 10 minutes to crisp them up and heat them. Served with plum sauce. They were delicious and were by the far the favorite appetizer of the evening. Thanks Sue. I always enjoy your recipes, and hope you don't mind the few minor simplifications I've mentioned.