Vegetable Spring Rolls

Vegetable Spring rolls are ageless appetizers in my Chinese cuisine closet, my granny loves it, the kids in my family love it - it works in any kind of party. It is primarily made by rolling a mixture of shredded vegetables like cabbage, carrot, bell peppers  & sometimes even noodles & sprouts in to thin spring roll pastry sheets. There are many versions of the stuffing & the ways to cook these i.e. fry or boil or now a days even bake.  But for now, I decided to stick with the traditional Indo-chinese way of deep frying. Frying gives these spring rolls a crunchy texture which I definitely like. 

Ingredients: 

For spring roll stuffing:
1/4 cabbage finely shredded
1 carrot cut into fine juliennes
1/4 red bell pepper cut into fine juliennes
1/4 green bell pepper cut into fine juliennes
1/4 yellow bell pepper cut into fine juliennes
2-3 spring onions cut into juliennes
1 tsp green chili paste (or 2-3 green chilies finely chopped)
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tbsp hot chili sauce
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp oil

Also required: 
Few spring roll sheets (available in the freezer section of any Asian stores)
1 tbsp cornflour mixed in 2 tbsp of water
Oil for deep frying

Method: 
For Spring Roll stuffing:

• Heat oil in a pan & once hot add the spring onions. Saute & immediately add green chili & garlic paste. Saute for a min or till raw garlic smell disappears.
• Add the bell peppers & carrots & saute for 2 mins before adding the cabbage. 
• Now add the cabbage & salt, pepper to taste. Mix well. Cook for 2 mins. 
• Add the chili garlic sauce & mix. 
• That's it, our spring roll stuffing is ready. Allow it to cool completely before making the spring rolls. 

Tip: 

• The stuffing should be dry as moisture will make spring rolls soggy. To avoid this, cook this stuffing on high flame. If your mixture still does feel moist, then add a tbsp of cornflour & mix. The cornflour will help absorb moisture. 
• Don't cook the vegetables till they are soft. They should be semi cooked so that their crunchiness is retained.

To make Spring Rolls: 

• Thaw the spring roll sheets as per package instructions & cover them with damn cloth when you are making spring rolls. This will prevent them from drying. 
• Work with one sheet at a time. Place the sheet so that one of the pointed ends is facing towards you as shown in the picture. 
• Place around a tbsp (or more) of the filling at the the start of the corner & roll it half way through. 
• Now bring both the sides inside & seal them by applying some cornflour paste.
• Continue rolling till you reach the end & seal the edges well using cornflour paste.
• Place the completed spring roll on a plate dusted with flour to avoid them sticking to the plate. 
• Repeat the above steps to make as many spring rolls as you want. I was able to make 10 spring rolls using this stuffing. 
• Heat oil in a large vessel for deep drying & once hot, fry the springs rolls at even temperature. 
• Flip the spring rolls once they turn golden brown. Once both sides are evenly colored golden, drain & remove on absorbent paper to soak the extra oil. 

Tip: You can make these spring rolls ahead of time & fry them just before your guest arrive. Just make sure you cover them with damn cloth or plastic wrap.

That's it, our Vegetable Spring Rolls are ready. Enjoy these crispy appetizers with Ketchup, sweet n sour  sauce,chili sauce or any sauce of your choice. Serve hot!!

Happy Cooking!!
Shweta

Sending this recipe to event:
Let’s Cook #18 ~ Starters / Appetizers 

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