Spring rolls and the Olympics

Yesterday evening, while the world was glued to their TV to watch the live telecast of the launching of the Olympics 2008, I was busy wrapping spring rolls.

I love deep fried spring rolls but lately, the prices of the spring rolls have gone crazy. One tiny bite costs 70 sen. So, I decided to DIY because it is really easy to make spring rolls. I bought a packet of the prepared spring roll skins. There are 50 sheets in there. Do buy those which is labelled ‘Eggs’ because the skin is nicer than the plain flour type.

spring rolls

I do not like fancy stuffs in spring rolls because as it is, the deep fried, crispy skin and a touch of chillies sauce are flavourful enough. So, here’s what I used in my spring rolls fillings :

Vegetables

Turnip – about 300 grams

Carrot – 1 medium size

Cabbage – about 200 grams

And here’s the no brainer way to prepare the vegetables. Just grate them with one of those cheap food grater. You get a huge plate of nicely cut vegetables.

Next, under running water, mix all the three vegetables together. This will make the carrots, turnip and cabbage combine nicely.

For the flavourings,

Pound one handful of dried shrimps. Otherwise, use those pinkish Japanese crabsticks and cut them finely.

Chopped three pips garlics

Salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar

Oil

Method

Heat oil. Stir fry garlic and dried prawns till fragrant. Add in the vegetables. Fry till the vegetables are limp, add the flavourings. Taste. It should have a sweetish/saltish taste.

Remove the vegetables from the wok and leave to cool. If the vegetables are soggy or has gravy, use a sieve and gently press out all the liquid. Otherwise, your spring rolls will be too limp and soft.

spring rolls

Once the fillings are cooled, wrap the spring rolls and deep fry. You can see how to wrap spring rolls from my previous post.

To make spring rolls, you just need to remember few basic things, ie. the vegetables which can be anything like cabbage, turnip, carrots, french beans, beans sprout or fresh mushrooms. To make the vegetables tastier, add something like fresh shrimps, soya bean cake, crab meats, dried Chinese shitake or dried shrimps. Simple, right?

If you wish to find a more elaborate recipe for spring rolls, do go to my other food blog.

2 Replies to “Spring rolls and the Olympics”

  1. Now I know why those spring rolls I make turns limp and soft. Ooo.. must press out all the liquid :p
    I LOVE Spring rolls. Usually I add minced chicken and pickle mushroom and it taste great. Must try your method above.

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