Pork & Shrimp Spring Rolls
Ingredients
Filling
Meat - saute together
- 2 T peanut oil
- 1 T soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sherry
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground garlic
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/2 lb raw shrimp diced
Veggies - saute together
- 2 T peanut oil
- 1 T soy sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sherry
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground garlic
- ½ can minced water chestnuts
- 1/2 C finely chopped scallions
- ½ bag of coleslaw mix cabbage/thinly sliced carrots
- Carrots - thinly sliced to taste
Instructions
-
Add ½ bunch fresh cilantro (cut to your liking) after filling cools down.
-
Meat and vegetables are cooked separately. This ensures that the meat browns well - and prevents everything from being an overcooked, soggy clump.
-
Combine all into the wok.
Recipe Notes
Let the filling cool. Hot filling = steam = makes wrapper wet = not good
Tilt the baking pan on one side. This lets any extra liquid/juice dribble down, away from the filling, Discard the liquid. Liquid = makes wrapper wet = not good. The drier the filling, the better. You can also blot the filling with a wad of paper towels to get rid of any excess oil.
Here's my favorite brand of wrapper. It comes frozen, so you'll have to defrost.
Chinese Spring Rolls Recipe Tips for Good Wrappers
The best 2 ways to defrost spring roll wrappers: 1-overnight in the refrigerator 2-on the counter for 30 minutes. Once the wrapper are defrosted, open the package and immediately cover with a barely damp towel or paper towel to keep moist. The wrappers will dry out and crack quickly if left uncovered.
If the wrappers dry out and are stiff, you can put a few wrappers on a plate, cover with a damp towel and microwave on medium for 10 seconds. The wrappers will soften up.
Good spring roll wrappers are found in Asian markets. These are thin, fry up to a shatteringly thin crispy spring roll. Do not buy spring roll wrappers that you find in regular supermarkets near the produce section (usually refrigerated, next to the tofu). Those "pasta sheets" are way too thick and fry up to a chewy, thick, bubbly, hot mess.
Place 1 ½ Tablespoons of filling onto spring roll wrapper that is placed diagonally on your surface (I use a big cutting board). Fold bottom corner up over the filling, tightly. Fold both left and right corners in, tightly. Dip fingers in egg and spread on remaining corner. Roll up towards that corner, tightly.
Chinese Spring Rolls Recipe Tips for Storing & Freezing
Single layer only. If you put them on top of each other, without layer of plastic wrap/wax paper between them, they will stick together.
If you want to freeze spring rolls - use a freezer plastic bag. Remember the single layer tip…use wax paper in between layers even when freezing or you'll have a spring roll mess in a bag. They have to freeze in a single layer, not touching.
Chinese Spring Rolls Recipe Tips for Frying
For deep frying, the wider the pot, the more oil you'll need. But too small of a pot, you'll only be able to fry a couple of egg rolls at a time.
Ancient Chinese secret: Stick a wooden chopstick straight down in the oil. If the oil bubbles around the wood, it's hot enough. If no little bubbles around the chopstick = not hot enough. But make sure it's wood or bamboo chopsticks - plastic ones melt. If you don't have a wood chopstick, use end of a wooden spatula.
