Vegetable Spring Rolls
Chinese Sping rolls stuffed with vegetables are the most tasty starter recipes. These rolls can easily made vegan if vegetarian oyster sauce is used. The spring rolls has its origins in the annual Chinese Spring Festival.
Yield: 20 servings
Materials
For the Filling:
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
- 6 dried black mushrooms
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 medium carrot
- 2 ounces bamboo shoots canned
For the Sauce:
- 2 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon chicken broth or water
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For the Spring Rolls:
- 2 tablespoons oil for stir frying
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 20 spring roll wrappers
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
Instructions
- Make the Filling
- About 30 minutes before assembling the filling, rinse and drain the mung bean sprouts to give them time to dry thoroughly.
- Soak the mushrooms in warm water to soften (20 to 30 minutes). Squeeze any excess water out of the mushrooms and slice thinly.
- Dice the red bell pepper. Grate the carrot and finely slice the bamboo shoots.
- In a small bowl, combine the oyster sauce, chicken broth or water, soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan, swirling so that it coats the pan. When the oil is sizzling, stir fry the vegetables, starting with the dried mushrooms, followed by the bamboo shoots, bell pepper, mung bean sprouts, and grated carrot.
- Stir in the sauce ingredients. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper if desired. Remove from the heat and cool.
- To make the spring rolls, lay a wrapper in front of you so that it forms a diamond shape. Brush the edges of the wrapper with lightly beaten egg or water.
- Place 2 tablespoons of filling in the bottom half, spreading it out sideways to form a rectangle shape, but not touching the edges. Lift the bottom corner of the wrapper and tuck it in under the filling. Fold over the left and right sides of the spring roll wrapper. Continue rolling up the wrapper. When you are almost finished, lightly brush the edges of the top corner of the diamond with the beaten egg mixture, fold over and seal.
- Fry the Spring Rolls
- Heat oil for deep frying to 360 F. When the oil is ready, carefully add the spring rolls, a few at a time, cooking until they are golden brown and crispy (3 to 4 minutes). Remove and drain on paper towels.
