Home Made Spring Rolls

I have made spring rolls on and off for a few years. I always just thrown some mince and left over veggies in a pan, what till it cools and then make them up, pop them into the freezer for another day when I really need them. So when someone emailed me and asked me to convert this recipe for the Thermomix, I though I would see what I could do with this one. Obviously I have changed a few things for my taste and made a much bigger batch, because if you re going to take the time to make spring rolls, you might as well make a whole heap, use what you need and put the rest in the freezer. This recipe is based on “Deep Fried Spring Rolls” in “New Asian Cooking” cookbook. Thanks to

Budget Busters

These are a great way to use up a few vegetables, and bits of left over mince. The recipe says 500g of mince. I used around 200g of pork, 200 of chicken and 100g of prawn meat, but it really doesn’t matter, you could use any combination of mince as long as it is around 500g. Or you could just add half the meat and more vegetables, what ever suits you. Personally, I think this is the Chinese way of using up left overs, but making them yummier in the process!

I always choose to deep fry at high temperatures because you will always get the best results and they won’t be oily. If you shallow fry your spring rolls, they tend to get oily and absorb more fat. When frying use a good quality oil. I use Safflower Oil, but canola oil is much cheaper, so if you are on a strict budget, this would be a better option. I’m sure you could also give them a quick spray and use the air fryer, but oil frying is always a bit tastier.

After using the oil, let it cool down in the fryer and strain it through a muslin clothe or chux super wipe back into the bottle or a glass jar and place a used once for spring rolls tag on it. You can then use it for your next batch of spring rolls or something else you would like to fry so you are saving money! When reusing oil, I would only recommend reusing it twice at the most, then tip it into some dirt somewhere, remember to never put oil down the sink!

Buy your spring roll wrappers in the freezer section of my local Asian food store. You could make them yourself, but why, when they are so fiddly to make and it cost me $2.19 for 30 large wrappers (I think they are about $4 now) They may be a bit hard to get apart, so be careful with them… but they do have a lot so stretch and give, which make them much easier to make than. The originally recipe says to paste two together with some corn flour… but I did one and found that it was way too thick… so one layer was enough for me!

I served the spring rolls with my home made CHILLI JAM that I don’t cook as long so it is sweet chilli sauce!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
5cm ginger
500g mince (combination of pork, chicken and prawn works great)
1 tin, drained sliced water chestnuts. (100g approx)
3 sticks celery (160g approx)
2 carrots (140g approx)
150g cabbage (approx)
80ml chicken stock (water and TM paste is fine)
1 tablespoon (20g) cornflour
2 teaspoons (10g) sesame oil
1 heaped tablespoon (30g) oyster sauce
2 tablespoon (40g) soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
25 large or 50 small spring roll wrappers
2 litres oil for frying

There are so many different types of spring roll wrappers, but these are the ones I use from my local Asian store.

Method

1. In a heated frying pan add oil, chopped onion and sauté until transparent. Add finely diced garlic and grated ginger, stirring until fragrant.
2. Add in mince, finely died celery, carrots and shredded cabbage and roughly chopped water chestnuts.
3. Stir mixture allowing to cook for around 5 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, mix stock, cornflour, and sauces until well combined and add to frying pan. cook for another 10 minutes… it should be nice and thick and stick together… You may need a bit more stock if it is too thick.
5. Allow mixture to completely cool and follow “Making Up Spring Rolls” after the Thermomix Method.

6. Heat oil in a large pot and using a metal food thermometer heat oil to 180ºC. I normally leave the Thermometer in the pot so I can see if the heat has gone down and wait for it to return after cooking rolls. The oil normally take about 10-15 minutes to get to temperature on an electric stove, so be patient!
7. Place spring rolls carefully into the hot oil about 2 or 3 at a time depending on how big your pot is and cook until golden brown.

8. Place onto a paper towel covered plate and serve immediately with the dipping sauce of your choice.

THERMOMIX METHOD

This recipe is suitable for the TM31, 5 and TM6.

1. Place onion, garlic and ginger into the mixing bowl and chop 3 seconds/speed 5.
2. Scrape down the bowl and add oil and sauté 4 minutes/Varoma/speed 1.
3. Add roughly chopped carrots, celery, and cabbage and chop 5 seconds/speed 5, scrape down the bowl.
4. Add in chestnuts, your combination of mince, flour, sesame oil and sauces and cook 8 minutes/100º/REVERSE/speed 2. Use the spatula to help mix the ingredients around for the first minute, then leave to cook.

5. Allow mixture to completely cool and follow “Making Up Spring Rolls”
6. Heat oil in a large pot and using a metal food thermometer heat oil to 180ºC. I normally leave the Thermometer in the pot so I can see if the heat has gone down and wait for it to return after cooking rolls. The oil normally take about 10-15 minutes to get to temperature on an electric stove, so be patient!
7. Place spring rolls carefully into the hot oil about 2 or 3 at a time depending on how big your pot is and cook until golden brown.
8. Place onto a paper towel covered plate and serve immediately with the dipping sauce of your choice.

MAKING UP SPRING ROLLS

1. Place the square spring roll wrapper into a diamond shape on the bench and add 1 tablespoon of mixture for small and 2 tablespoons of mixture for large in the corner facing toward you.

2. Roll the wrapper over the mixture and squeeze lightly so it looks like sausage and roll over again to completely cover the mixture.

3. Fold in the sides of the wrapper tightly.

4. Brush the end corner of the wrapper with a little water and roll up the rest of the spring roll.

5. Cook as instructed.

That’s it… not so hard after all!

You can use any combination you like… just make prawn ones or what about some vegetarian ones, with lots of Chinese vegetables?

Please let me know what you think and what flavour combinations you prefer… Do you have a favourite Chinese that just make the best springs rolls or are you always disappointed when you bite in?

Thanks for reading…

Enjoy Irresponsibly!

Liz xx

If you like this recipes maybe you will enjoy these?

Chilli Jam (Thermomix Method Included)

Garlic and Chilli Mussels (Thermomix Method Included)

Chinese Cooked Chicken (Thermomix Method Included)

Elizabeth Connolly

subscribe to receive 3 FREE eBooks

I have been cooking since I can remember. I am a Thermomix consultant, so now (whenever possible) try to give you Conventional AND Thermomix methods for the recipes. I like to share tips on how to save money and how making food from scratch isn't really that hard (especially with a Thermomix). If you have any questions about the Thermomix or cooking/food in general please email me as I'm happy to chat.
Liz xx
P.S Don't forget to subscribe to receive your 3 free e-Books.