Dainty Spring Rolls

Ever since I was little, I had always looked forward to having people over for dinner and there was nothing I liked more than having 10+ people crowded around the table, working towards a meal. Dumplings are a real favourite of mine and spring rolls come at a close second.

The problem with these dainty morsels is that they're quite time consuming to make so they're only brought out for special occasions when there are a lot of helping hands. Being vegetarian, though, they are quite an inexpensive party snack -especially when compared to the store bought ones!

Much of the ready-to-eat variety that I have come across are often too large so the pastry to filling ratio is not quite to my liking so I find myself craving some of mum's dainty ones -with just the right amount of crunch! 

Remember to cool and drain before wrapping!

The greatest thing about spring rolls is that you can put anything you want in it -just make sure you've chopped it up teeny tiny so it cooks quickly and doesn't burst through the skin when you cook your spring rolls. What this means for the hard-set meat eaters is that you can include some pork mince in the filling too! Or chicken, or beef, or fish! 


..Maybe not fish.. 

Pop them in a fry pan until golden and crispy.

So if you are craving some snacks this weekend, why not invite some friends around and make my mother's spring rolls? Check out the step-by-step wrapping instructions below (and then maybe bring some my way?)

1. Cut large sheets into quarters. This one's been cut in half once already.

2. Position a quarter in front of you so it is in a diamond shape and spoon approximately 2 teaspoons of filling in the centre.3.  Bring the bottom corner up towards the middle.4. Bring in the sides and, using your finger, dab some beaten egg on the top edge.5. Roll the rest of it up and repeat above steps.

6. Eventually, you will end up with a nice little heap for frying.

Lucy's notes and tips:


1. Shallow frying spring rolls uses less oil and means that your rolls won't fill up with hot oil if you neglect to wrap them up tight.


2. Getting rid of the moisture in the filling is important! This ensures your wrapper doesn't get soggy and break.


3. Resist the urge to eat them as soon as they come out of the pan. THEY ARE HOT!


Spring Rolls -the ones I grew up with (makes 48 snack sized rolls)

Ingredients:
1 carrot, julienned
250g bean sprouts
10 big dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and cut into small pieces
1 spring onion, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon cornflour, mixed with 2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon white sugar
Salt and white pepper for seasoning
1 egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon oil, plus extra for frying
12 large ready-made sheets of spring roll pastry, thawed (you can get these from Asian supermarkets)


Method:
1. Heat the first measure of oil in a frying pan and add the first 4 ingredients and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
2. Stir in the cornflour mixture. Season with soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper and stir well to combine.
3. Take the ingredients off the heat once the bean sprouts have become see through and set aside to cool.
4. Once cool, drain most of the liquid.
5. Cut the spring roll wrappers into equal quarters.
6. Position a quarter in front of you so it is a diamond shape and spoon approximately 2 teaspoons of filling into the centre of the wrapper. Bring the bottom corner up towards the middle and fold in the sides. Brush the top edge with the beaten egg and roll all the way to the top (it's easier if you look at the pictures..)
7. Repeat step 6 with the remaining wrappers and filling.
8. Heat a frying pan over high heat and pour enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and wait until hot. Carefully place the spring rolls side by side and turn every minute or so until all sides are golden and crunchy. 
(Note: Unless you have a gigantic pan, you will probably have to do this in batches. Allow about 5 minutes for each batch.)
9. Remove and allow to drain on paper towels.
10. Serve immediately with some sweet chili sauce.