A classic Chinese cuisine staple, these golden, crispy homemade vegetable spring rolls will beat the ones from your local Chinese takeout any day (big call, I know)!
What makes these spring rolls so good? It's the flavour-packed filling made with ingredients like umami powerhouse shiitake mushrooms, subtly sweet napa cabbage and carrots, balanced with delightfully crunchy textured wood ear mushrooms. The filling ingredients are sauteed with aromatics and seasoned before being rolled which adds complexity and deliciousness!
Sounds good? I think so too. Go on, give these crowd-pleasing crispy rolls a go and thank me later 😉
For more finger foods fit for entertaining, also check out my ultra crispy honey lemon chicken wings, Vietnamese rice paper rolls and 5-ingredient baked sticky wings!
An auspicious food - symbolising wealth
As the name suggests, traditionally, in China, spring rolls are eaten during the Spring Festival (aka Chinese New Year) to welcome the new season, spring. The festival runs for 15 days, following the lunar calendar.
Its golden colour and long, rectangular shape resembles that of gold bars. Thus, by consuming these golden rolls of crispy goodness, you're welcoming the new year with prosperity and wealth!
You'll find Chinese spring rolls (in Chinese, 春卷 'chunn juan') are usually filled with a mixture of vegetables, wrapped in a flour-based thin pastry and fried until golden and crispy.
Of course, such an iconic appetiser (or dim sum) has many variations across regions and countries. There are also meat-filled variations and sweet variations.
For example, spring rolls in America are made with thin pastries containing eggs (in addition to flour) thus they're referred to as 'egg rolls'. In Australia, you can find a variation called 'chiko rolls' often served at local fish and chip shops (and never at a Chinese restaurant)!
I found this article on China Highlights an interesting read if you'd like to learn a little more about lucky foods eaten during Chinese New Year.
Fantastic on their own or serve with some sweet chilli sauce.
Ingredients
- Spring roll pastry sheets - super thin pastry made of wheat flour, water, salt and vegetable oil. Similar to filo pastry, NOT rice paper rolls (they're for Vietnamese rice paper rolls). These sheets are sold in squares, sizes vary from large to small. Larger sheets make larger spring rolls and vice versa. Can be found at most Asian supermarkets in the frozen section. If you're in Australia, both Woolworths and Coles sell them too!
- Napa cabbage - can use savoy cabbage instead however I find napa cabbage to be slightly sweeter and softer in texture which works better for this recipe.
- White pepper - the preferred pepper of choice in most Chinese cooking as it's more subtle in flavour compared to black pepper. Nonetheless, if you only have black pepper, it's no deal breaker to use that instead.
- Shiitake mushrooms - opt for dehydrated ones and rehydrate to use as it's more aromatic compared to fresh shiitake mushrooms.
- Wood ear mushrooms - mild in flavour but adds a tender, yet slightly crunchy texture to the spring rolls. Wood ear mushrooms can be found at Asian supermarkets in dehydrated form, the same section as where you'd find shiitake mushrooms.
Step-by-step instructions
There are 3 core steps:
- Prepare the filling - wash, chop and saute until fragrant and the ingredients softened.
- Roll - this step takes the longest as you roll up each one. This recipe makes ~20 pieces.
- Deep fry - the quickest and easiest step! You most likely will need to fry in 2 batches, ~4 minutes per batch will do for the pastry to turn golden and crispy.
Prepare the spring roll filling
To start, rehydrate shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms with boiling hot water in separate bowls. Cover and it'll be ready in ~20 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and chop napa cabbage into thick shreds like in the picture below and cut carrots into thick matchsticks.
Once the mushrooms are rehydrated, thinly slice them like in the picture below. You can reserve the shiitake soaking water and use it as stock in the future (store in the fridge for up to 4 days). Discard the wood ear soaking water.
Cutting the vegetables into similar shapes and sizes will allow a consistent texture when eating. Except for garlic and spring onions as they're supposed to 'blend' into the vegetable filling so finely chop them.
Take the spring roll wrappers out of the freezer, remove them from the packageing and cover with a clean damp tea towel.
Now, it's time to bring the filling ingredients together!
In a large frying pan or wok, fry garlic and spring onions with oil until very fragrant and lightly golden. Add napa cabbage and stir fry until soft then remove from the pan and set aside. This will take about 5 minutes.
In the same pan, stir fry shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms with some oil until the shiitake mushrooms are golden and very fragrant. Then, add carrots and stir fry for a further 2 minutes to lightly soften the carrots.
To finish up, return the cabbage mixture back into the pan. Season with soy sauce, salt, white pepper and sesame oil.
Saute for about a final 2 - 3 minutes until the liquids released from the vegetables have been cooked out and the carrots are tender.
Transfer into a large mixing bowl to cool down slightly so that it's cool enough to handle.
How to roll spring rolls
To roll a spring roll, place a sheet of pastry onto the working surface in a diamond position - one corner pointing towards you.
Spoon roughly 2 tablespoons worth of filling onto the pastry, lower than halfway down the pastry just like in the picture below.
Roll up the pastry to about halfway, in the shape of a sausage, gently yet firmly to hold it's shape. Fold the right and left hand sides of the pastry inwards to seal the ends.
With one hand holding down the pastry, use the other hand to dampen along the remaining corner (marked in dotted lines in the below image). This will help seal it.
Finally, roll and seal the spring roll. This method is pretty much the same as how you'd wrap up a burrito (minus the water part to seal)!
That's it! If this is your first time, it might take a couple of tries to get the hang of it and once you're there, you'll fly through these! It'll take about just under 1 minute per roll.
If you plan on deep frying these at a later time, cover them with cling wrap (plastic) or store in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 6 hours. Any longer will risk the pastry getting soggy, freeze them instead. See below under 'making ahead' for instructions on how to freeze spring rolls.
Now it's time to move on to the last step - deep fry until golden and crispy!
Deep fry till golden
In a large heavy-based pot (I use a cast iron pot as it's sturdy and insulates well), preheat deep frying oil. Any neutral-tasting oil will work such as sunflower oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil or even light olive oil if you don't mind its subtle flavour.
In 2 batches, deep fry spring rolls for about 4 minutes or until golden and crispy.
That's it!
The best thing about making these yourself is that you can fill these golden bars of crispy goodness generously. I often find Chinese takeaways and even restaurants can get a bit stingy with the filling.
Although a lot more work than simply buying these, it's definitely satisfyingly rewarding to make these at home!
Alternatives to deep frying
Instead of deep frying the spring rolls, a healthy alternative is to oven-bake or air fry spring rolls. These methods can reduce the calories by ~50% or more (way less oil used)!
- Oven-bake method: line spring rolls on a lined baking tray and brush with oil. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 220°C (430°F) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and crispy. I did not turn them over halfway and they still turned out crispy all over.
- Air fryer method: brush spring rolls with oil then place in a preheated air fryer in a single layer. Air fry at 200°C (390°F) for 8 minutes or until golden on both sides and crispy. Flip halfway to ensure crispy on both sides.
Useful tips and tricks
- Cover the spring roll pastries with a clean, damp towel when not used. This will stop the ultra-thin pastries from drying up. They're impossible to roll with once dried up and will crack all over!
- Cut the vegetables into similar shapes and sizes. This allows even cooking and a consistent and refined texture when eaten.
- Do not cover spring rolls once deep-fried, baked or air fried. This will ensure they stay appetisingly crispy before eating. Covering will trap moisture (released whilst hot) which is a destroyer of crispiness! This logic also applies to other foods such as my ultra crispy fried honey lemon chicken wings, crispy honey chilli chicken, salt and pepper squid and even spinach and ricotta rolls.
- Test the readiness of the frying oil by using a wooden chopstick. I find this to be the easiest method. Simply dip the tip of a chopstick into the hot oil and if it sizzles immediately then the oil is hot enough to deep fry with. Alternatively, drop a small piece of spring roll pastry in, if it sizzles happily then the oil is ready.
FAQs
You can buy spring roll pastries at most Asian supermarkets in the freezer section. If you're in Australia, both Woolworths and Coles sell them now!
The spring rolls in this recipe are packed with a variety of vegetables so it's high in fibre and good nutrients! However, the deep frying part does add a lot of calories (oil) to each roll - about 50% to 100% increase in calories.
For a healthy alternative, opt for the baking or air fryer method (how-to above under 'alternative to deep frying'). Don't worry, they'll still be crispy!
Other suitable ingredients that can be added: firm tofu cut into thick matchsticks, soaked and drained vermicelli noodles, pork mince or chicken mince.
You won't need to pre-cook any of these before rolling, simply mix them in the cooked filling and adjust the seasoning to taste.
Making ahead
Got an upcoming get-together at home or just love the idea of having homemade Chinese spring rolls at the ready?
Great news, you can roll spring rolls up in advance and store them in the freezer. To cook, there is no need to thaw, simply deep fry, air fry or oven bake frozen.
Freezing spring rolls is no different to freezing dumplings (like my popular easy pork wontons):
- Line rolled spring rolls neatly in a large, lined baking tray or board that can fit in your freezer. Make sure there is a little space in between each roll so they do not stick together (important!). Freeze for about 1 hour (or until frozen/hard).
- Now you're good to place the frozen spring rolls stacked in air-tight containers or freezer-friendly zip lock bags and freeze until needed.
Made this recipe? Let me know your thoughts or questions by dropping a note in the comments section below.
I'd love to hear from you. 🙂
- Gen
Vegetable Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 20 sheets frozen spring roll pastry sheets covered with a damp tea towel
- deep frying oil canola, vegetable or sunflower oil
Vegetable spring roll filling
- 500 g (1.1 lb) napa cabbage finely sliced
- 1 carrot cut into matchsticks
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms rehydrate, drain, finely sliced (note 1)
- ⅓ cup dried wood ear mushrooms rehydrate, drain, finely sliced (note 1)
- 2 spring onions finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon oil neutral tasting - eg. canola, vegetable or sunflower oil
To serve
- sweet chilli sauce
Instructions
Prepare vegetable filling
- In a large frying pan or wok, saute spring onions and garlic with ½ tablespoon of oil. Once lightly golden and fragrant, add napa cabbage. Stir fry on medium heat until cabbage is softened. About 5 minutes, then remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, saute shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms with the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil until fragrant and lightly golden. About 2 minutes.
- Add carrots and saute for 2 minutes then add the cabbage mixture back into the pan. Add soy sauce, salt, white pepper and sesame oil. Stir fry over medium heat until carrots are tender and liquids released from the cabbage have been cooked out.
- Transfer the filling mixture into a large mixing bowl to cool down slightly.
Roll the spring rolls [see step-by-step images above]
- Place a pastry sheet onto the working surface diagonally, with a corner pointing towards you. Spoon ~2 tablespoons worth of filling onto the corner closest towards you, about halfway down the middle of the pastry.
- Roll up halfway in the shape of a sausage then fold in the right-hand side of the pastry towards the centre. Then, do the same thing with the left-hand side. This seals the ends.
- With one hand holding down the half-rolled pastry, use the other hand to dampen the remaining unfolded corner of the pastry with a little water. Roll over and seal the spring roll.
- Repeat to make ~20 rolls.
Deep fry until golden
- Preheat deep frying oil in a heavy-based pot (I use a cast iron pot as it's sturdy and well insulated). Once the oil has reached about 160°C - 180°C (320°F - 360°F), it's ready. (note 2)
- Deep fry spring rolls in 2 batches, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch over medium heat or until deep golden and crispy.
- Serve with sweet chilli sauce.
Notes
- Line rolled spring rolls neatly in a large, lined baking tray or board that can fit in your freezer. Make sure there is a little space between each roll so they do not stick together (important!). Freeze for about 1 hour (or until frozen/hard).
- Once frozen, store in air-tight containers or freezer-friendly zip lock bags in the freezer.
- Oven-bake method: line spring rolls on a lined baking tray and brush with oil. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 220°C (430°F) for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden and crispy. I did not turn them halfway through and they still turned out crispy all over.
- Air fryer method: brush spring rolls with oil then place in a preheated air fryer in a single layer. Air fry at 200°C (390°F) for 8 minutes or until golden on both sides and crispy. Flip halfway to ensure crispy on both sides.
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