How to Roll Spring Rolls

Whether your filling has an amazing taste or you are cooking the rolls in an expensive wok, neither will matter if you don’t roll your spring rolls correctly.

Whether your filling has an amazing taste or you are cooking the rolls in an expensive wok, neither will matter if you don’t roll your spring rolls correctly. Rather, you’ll end up with cracked, messy or even oil-filled spring rolls. To make sure each roll turns out most perfectly, follow these simple guidelines and tips. After all, it is nearly all about the thin, crispy blanket that holds and protects your delicious filling.

Banner

Important Notes

  • Try your best to purchase your wrappers from an Asian food market. Oftentimes, they are fairly cheap. More importantly, they will turn out much better than if you used wrappers available at the average grocery store. Those ones are usually thicker and turn out chewy—lacking the ability to become a thin, crispy casing. The perfect wrappers will be paper thin, almost translucent, labelled as spring roll wrappers and usually found in the freezer section.
  • If the wrappers you are using are frozen, you can either thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter at room temperature for about half an hour. If you thaw them at room temp, do not leave them unattended for over 30 minutes. If you must leave them, cover them with a damp paper towel in order to retain moisture. Otherwise, you’ll end up with dry wrappers that tear and crack. If for some reason your wrappers do dry out, pop them in the microwave, cover again with a damp paper towel, and nuke for 10 seconds. Your wrappers should be ready for rolling.
  • Spring roll recipes use various combinations of ingredients for the sealing solution. Some use a mixture of corn starch and water while others may use a basic egg wash. You can also mix flour with water to create a sort of glue. If this is your first time making egg rolls, stick with what is suggested in the recipe you are following. After you have made them a few times, you may start to favor one solution over the others. As long as your egg rolls stay tight throughout the cooking process, stick with the solution that works best for you.
  • When it comes to filling the rolls, you do not want to be too generous. If you stuff the wrappers to the max, they will probably end up cracking and leaking. Instead, stick with just a tablespoon or so. It may look like the tiniest bit of filling, but spring rolls are meant to be small, light and delectable. After all, this is just an appetizer.
  • The filling should be cooled before adding to the roll. Hot filling will create steam and make the wrapper soggy. It will also keep cooking the veggies which will result in a soggy filling. The best spring rolls have a light and crispy outside.
  • When you have constructed all of the spring rolls, you may decide to store some away for future enjoying. It is best to do this before you have fried them. Place the uncooked rolls, not touching, across a cookie sheet or large plate. If you have to stack the rolls, separate each layer with a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper to prevent sticking. Once they have frozen solid, you no longer have to keep them from touching and can store them all together in a ziploc bag or container of your choice. When you are ready to enjoy them, let them thaw in the fridge for several hours, covered by a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out. Then, fry as usual.
    • Lay the wrapper flat on a flat clean surface, so it appears as a diamond, not a square. 1/3 of the way up the wrapper, place a heaping spoonful of the cooled vegetable mixture. Fold the corner pointing towards you, up, over the filling. Roll the spring roll once more. Tuck the sides in and continue rolling. Seal the outer edges of your spring roll. Keep the rolled spring rolls covered with a damp paper towel, until they are ready to be fried. Fry a few spring rolls at a time until they are a nice light, golden brown Golden crisp vegetable spring rolls with mouth-watering flavor.
  • It is best to fry your spring rolls using a wok. Your oil should be about 1 ½” deep and heated to 350 degrees. The wider and shallower your pan is, the more oil you will have to use. The shape of the wok helps keep the amount of oil needed to a minimum. If not, try using a small or medium-sized skillet with at least 3” tall sides. Do not overcrowd the rolls in the wok or skillet, as this will cause them to stick together and cook too slowly. Turn the rolls over frequently to promote even cooking. Spring rolls are finished when the wrappers have become golden brown.
  • We at ChineseRecipes.com love frying in avocado oil due to its high smoke point and mild flavor. We find this a healthy alternative to other oils. This is our favorite brand.

Instructions

Place the spring roll wrapper in front of you on a clean, flat surface. A bamboo cutting board works nicely. From your perspective, the wrapper should appear as a diamond, not a square.

Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on the wrapper, 1/3 of the way up from the corner pointing toward your body.

Grabbing the corner pointing toward you, fold it away from you, over the filling.

Roll one more time.

Fold in each side of the wrapper toward the middle. Make sure you have folded them straight in so that the folds are parallel like railroad tracks. Your wrapper should be look similar to an envelope at this time.

Using your sealer solution and a clean marinade brush (or your fingertips), paint the solution along the top inside edges, in the same area you would find the glue on a real envelope.

Going back to the bottom edge of the roll, grab the covered filling and roll away from your body, keeping the ends folded in tightly. Try not to let any air bubbles get pushed inside your wrapper. Air bubbles will create greasy spring rolls.

Place prepared rolls on a dish or baking sheet, seam side down, not touching one another. To keep them supple, cover with a damp paper towel until ready to fry.

Heat oil to 350 degrees.

Add only a few rolls at a time. Do not overcrowd as you need room for them to cook and you don’t want to drop the temperature of the oil. If the oil isn’t hot enough, you will get greasy spring rolls.

Turn and brown all sides.

Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool. Cooling is important! Think about it—these are coming out of a 350 degree vessel of oil, which retains the heat in the food longer. You don’t want to burn your guest’s mouths, so let them cool a bit before eating.

 
You can enable or disable the printing of a recipe image by clicking on it.
Banner

This site uses 'cookies' to maintain browsing session, serve advertising, perform anonymized usage analytics, and provide the service of this website.