If only the humble spring roll could talk.
She would chastise every greasy takeaway shop that left her for dead in a bain marie. She would rebel against being stuffed with grey meat-like matter and refuse to be seen in the frozen cardboard box aisle of the supermarket. She would start a viral Twitter campaign to rally the abused and neglected rolls from across the globe. And with the weight of good taste behind her, she would declare war on tepid fryers and oil that reeks of the stench of last week's fish special.
If only the humble spring roll could talk.
Well, the torture stops here. In defence of spring rolls everywhere, I devoted an afternoon to the art of the spring roll. I even made my own wrappers, which were not as difficult as I'd imagined. Of course you can use bought wrappers but if you have the time give these a go. The handmade wrappers cook to a golden crispiness and have a subtle salty flavour.
To keep your spring rolls happy you just need to remember a couple of things:
- make your filling special - try prawns, crab meat and good quality chicken or pork mince
- use plenty of fresh oil and get it hot - you should have furiously bubbling oil when your rolls hit the saucepan
- serve soon after cooking - your spring roll should crunch and crackle
At first bite I felt a renewed sense of faith in the spring roll. Crisp crunch and a sweet delicate filling. Not a rebellious roll in sight.
Prawn and Pork Spring Rolls
Makes 12
Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups water
300g raw peeled prawns, finely chopped into a mince
150g pork mince
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp white peppercorns, ground
1 eschallot, finely chopped
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
4 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp corn flour
vegetable oil
fresh chillies
coriander leaves, chopped
soy sauce
For the spring roll wrappers, mix together the flour, salt and water to form a smooth batter. Leave to sit for 30 minutes.
Heat a small non-stick pan (a crepe pan is ideal) until just warm. Remove the pan from the heat. Use your fingers to paint a thin layer of batter onto the bottom of the pan. Spreading the mixture out in a circular pattern is the easiest way to do it. Put the pan back on the heat until the edges of the wrapper crisp up. Peel off the wrapper and set aside. Repeat for the rest of the batter.
For the filling, mix together the prawns, pork, garlic, ginger, peppercorns, eschallot, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar.
Make your wrapper 'glue' by mixing together the flour and water.
To roll, lay out a wrapper and place a rectangular-shaped mound of filling in the bottom half. Pick up the bottom edge of the wrapper and fold over the filling. Fold in the left and right hand sides to form an envelope. Moisten the top half of the wrapper with the flour and water glue. Roll the bottom envelope over onto the top to form a neat parcel. Place on a tray covered with cling film and repeat the process until all the wrappers are used.
To cook the spring rolls, heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok. To test if the oil is hot enough, dip a wooden spoon handle into the oil. If fine beads of oil bubble around the handle then the oil is hot enough. Fry spring rolls in batches - do not overcrowd the pan. 2-4 at a time should be fine.
Drain spring rolls on paper towel and serve with a chilli, coriander and soy sauce dip.
