Scrumptious Fu Jian Style Chinese Spring Rolls

Paper Thin Flour Pastry Stuffed With Pork, Ginger, Garlic & Vegetables

"An image is worth a thousand words" - So I am going to presume that this pic is doing its job in convincing you to fix these mouthwatering FuJian style spring rolls. There are so many different styles of spring rolls in Asian cooking from Goi Cuon - summer rolls from Vietnam,  Po Piah  from Singapore & Malaysia to Lumpia from the Philippines. Each of these are unique from the choice of ingredients from meat, seafood to turnips to the way they are prepared - some are fried and some are  raw un-fried. And sooner or later we're going to fix everyone of these because I can live on them!

Today's FuJian style spring rolls has a simple list of ingredients - ground pork, cabbage, carrots & mushrooms lightly seasoned with oyster sauce, sugar, black pepper and some salt (I also throw in some ginger & garlic because  it just tastes so good) Wrap in paper thin flour pastry sheet that you can buy at any Asian store, deep fry & you're done. You can sit back & bite into the most scrumptious drool-evoking appetizers (or dinner in our case). 

I know that you're probably thinking I'm a beer short of a six pack right about now, talking as though making spring rolls is not back breaking work. Well let me tell you, I once had a friend in Sydney who kept cribbing about how long it took her to fix these - like 2 hours. Turns out she was fixing them for 12 people! Helllow..If you're fixing anything for 12 people its going to take some time! The way I look at it, if you want to fix these for 12 people, they'd better be friends and come on over for a spring roll party & do the work with you!

For a family of 4, fixing 20-21 spring rolls, these took me about an hour at the most.  Here's how - about 15-20 minutes for cutting, 5 minutes for sauteing, 25 minutes for rolling, 5 minutes for deep-frying & you're done. Now I'm not saying you start fixing these on a weeknight when you've just got home at 7.30pm and the kids are throwing peas on the wall...but on a weekend..well, that's a different story.

A very important component to making these spring rolls successfully is to use only the wheat flour, paper thin variety of spring roll pastry sheets  - not the wonton sheets and certainly not the thick egg roll sheets (may the earth swallow me whole, the day I start using those)

Onto our ground pork & vegetable spring rolls -

 

Prepare all the fresh ingredients before beginning at the stove.

Green Cabbage - Quarter & thinly slice - Slice as thin as possible into 1-1/2" long strips. I do not recommend using a food processor because you'll end up with chopped up cabbage instead.

 

Carrots - Use regular carrots or baby carrots. Peel and Cut into 1-1/2" lengths.  Slice as thin as possible and then julienne into thin strips. Set aside.

 

Green Onions - Cut into 1-1/2" lengths. Slice and julienne into thin strips. Set aside.

  
  

Mushrooms - Cut the mushroom caps as you would a hamburger bun. Julienne into thin strips. Set aside.

 

Garlic  - Peel & finely chop the cloves.

Ginger - Thinly slice into 3-4 slices. Julienne into thin strips and then chop.

 Once all the ingredients are ready to go, heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add vegetable oil. Add the ginger & garlic. Saute for a couple of seconds.

 

Add the ground pork and saute for about 30 seconds or so till it turns from pink to opaque. 

 

Add all the remaining vegetables except for he mushrooms. Saute for about 2 minutes till the cabbage has blanched.

 

Add the mushrooms and saute for 1 minutes till soft. Add the oyster sauce, sugar, salt & pepper. Stir. Taste and adjust seasonings. Set aside to cool.

If you are serving these at a party or for a large group, you can roll up the spring rolls, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate earlier in the day, layers  separated by parchment paper. Then all you have to do is deep fry them when you are ready to serve.

I am using the TYJ brand, 6 inch/50 sheets packet of frozen flour spring roll sheets. If you are using the  larger sheets  you may have to double the quantity of the filling.

  

Remove the spring roll pastry from the wrapping. Peel off the top sheet. Cover the remaining with a damp cotton cloth so they do not dry out.

  

Spread a spring roll sheet out with the corner pointing towards you. Keep a bowl of water handy. Dip a pastry brush in water & wash the sheet all over with water, but especially at the edges.

  

Place 1-1/2 tbs of filling in the lower corner of the sheet, just below the center line. Spread the filling into a sausage shape. Roll over the corner of the sheet over the filling.

 

Dip your finger in the water and apply water to  the sheet on each side of filling. Fold the right and left sides of the pastry sheet over the filling.

 

Roll as tight as possible and when you get to the last triangular flap, dip your finger in water and apply water over the flap. Fold the flap over  and press to seal the spring roll well.

Cook's Note - The water in the entire process acts as a 'glue' and seals the spring roll.

Continue the process till all the spring rolls are formed.

Refrigerate for use an hour or so later (separate layers with parchment paper & cover with cling wrap) or proceed with the deep frying.

Cook's Note - Double check & make sure all the spring roll flaps are sealed before frying. If some have comes loose dip your finger in water & reseal shut.

In a deep frying pan, heat the oil for about 3-4 minutes on medium heat till very hot. Drop about 4 spring rolls at a time and fry for less than a minute till a light  golden brown. 

  

Flip the rolls throughout the frying process for uniform browning. Once the spring rolls are a light golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon onto a kitchen paper lined plate.

You can also re-heat the spring rolls once you have fried the entire lot by dropping them into hot oil for approx 30 seconds, just before serving.

For a homemade dipping sauce - combine soy sauce, sesame oil, crushed garlic, 1 Thai red chilly, 1 green onion, 2 tbs hoisin sauce, grated ginger and powdered sugar. Stir. Taste & adjust seasonings. Refrigerate till ready to use.

All in all, these spring rolls are a definite crowd pleaser and the flavors are delicate and light, infused with the fresh taste from the ginger, seasonings & vegetables.

I hope you try & fix these - though they are a little time consuming these will be well worth your effort & your belly will be so happy. Promise!

Recipe for

Scrumptious Fu Jian Style Chinese Spring Rolls

Makes approx 21 rolls

Preparation time - 20 minutes

Rolling time - 25 minutes

Cooking time - 10 minutes

Shopping list -

1/2 lb ground pork

1/4 lb shrimp, shelled

1/8  green cabbage  (to make 1-1/2 cup thin strips)

2 medium carrots  (to make 1 cup thin strips)

5 green onions, (to make 1/2 cup thin strips)

3-4 Shitake mushrooms (to make 1/2 cup strips)

3 slices fresh ginger root

3 garlic peeled cloves

1/2 tbs oyster sauce

1/4 tsp  sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 packet, TYJ brand (or equivalent), 6 inch/50 sheets thin, frozen flour spring roll sheets

1 tbs vegetable oil for sauteing

2 cups vegetable oil or peanut oil for deep-frying

Dipping Sauce- 

4 tbs soy sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbs hot water

1/4 tbs powdered sugar

1 Thai red chilly, finely chopped

1 crushed & finely chopped garlic clove

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 tbs Hoisin sauce

Preparation-

Filling -

Prepare the vegetables -

Green Cabbage - Quarter & thinly slice - Slice as thin as possible into 1-1/2" long strips.

Carrots - Peel and cut into 1-1/2" lengths.  Slice as thin as possible and then julienne into thin strips.

Green Onions - Cut into 1-1/2" lengths. Slice and julienne into thin strips. 

Mushrooms - Cut the mushroom caps as you would a hamburger bun. Julienne into thin strips. 

Garlic  - Peel & finely chop the cloves.

Ginger - Thinly slice into 3-4 slices. Julienne into thin strips and then chop.

Filling - Heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add vegetable oil. Add the ginger & garlic. Saute for a couple of seconds.

Add the ground pork and saute for about 30 seconds or so till it turns from pink to opaque. 

Add all the remaining vegetables except for he mushrooms. Saute for about 2 minutes till the cabbage has blanched.

Add the mushrooms and saute for 1 minutes till soft. Add the oyster sauce, sugar, salt & pepper. Stir. Taste and adjust seasonings. Set aside to cool.

Dipping sauce -

In a small mixing bowl combine all ingredients. Mix well and add additional hoisin sauce to thicken mixture to your desired consistency if needed.

Set aside for 1 to 2 hours to allow flavors time to blend. 

Before serving, pour mixture into a small microwave  safe bowl to warm or warm in a  saucepan on stove top.

Preparing the spring rolls -

Remove the spring roll pastry from the wrapping. Peel off the top sheet. Cover the remaining with a damp cotton cloth so they do not dry out.

Spread a spring roll sheet out with the corner pointing towards you. Keep a bowl of water handy. Dip a pastry brush in water & wash the sheet all over with water, but especially at the edges.

Place 1 tbs of filling in the lower corner of the sheet, just below the center line. Spread the filling into a sausage shape. Roll over the corner of the sheet over the filling.

Dip your finger in the water and apply water to  the sheet on each side of filling. Fold the right and left sides of the pastry sheet over the filling.

Roll as tight as possible and when you get to the last triangular flap, dip your finger in water and apply water over the flap. Fold the flap over  and press to seal the spring roll well.

Cook's Note - The water in the entire process acts as a 'glue' and seals the spring roll.

Continue the process till all the spring rolls are formed. Refrigerate for use later in the day, separating with parchment paper or continue deep frying.

In a deep frying pan, heat the oil for about 3-4 minutes on medium heat till very hot. Drop about 4 spring rolls at a time and fry for less than a minute till a light  golden brown.     

Flip the rolls throughout the frying process for uniform browning. Once the spring rolls are a light golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon onto a kitchen paper lined plate.

You can also re-heat the spring rolls once you have fried the entire lot by dropping them into hot oil for approx 30 seconds, just before serving.

Enjoy with dipping sauce!