Vegetable Spring Rolls

As a child, my parents used to torture me by bringing me to a Dim Sum restaurant for lunch. I remember attending at what by all appearances was a Chinese Restaurant, but instead of being able to order the usual Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls adored by children everywhere, a tiny cart went table to table loaded with small misshapen globules that appeared to contain brains. The only comfort came in the form of Spring Rolls, which were the same fried treats available noon until night and could be dipped in sweet plum sauce.

Of course it was only when I returned to Dim Sum as an adult that I understood and appreciated the experience. The amount of time it takes to individually hand wrap each dumpling, the variety of fillings, and the presentation involved is staggering. Dim Sum is the dining experiences I have missed most this last year and is hard to replicate at home. Which made me all the more determined to do so. It is best made for a crowd, since each recipe tends to make enough dumplings for 6 adults, and the idea is to obtain variety. The best way to ensure Dim Sum at home is to make several courses and freeze all of them. When it is time to serve you can pull several dumplings and rolls our of the freezer and immediately steam or fry them to serve. And whether you are a fan of Dim Sum or not, these Spring Rolls are always a crowd pleaser and happen to be plant-based.

If you can find fresh Spring Roll wrappers here than use them. Grocery stores typically sell them packaged and frozen, which also works. Just defrost them overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for a few hours. If you do not have Shaoxing wine you can substitute dry cooking sherry. Shiitake mushrooms are available in some well-stocked grocery stores, online, or from your local Asian market.

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Adapted from The Woks of Life
Makes approximately 20 Spring rolls

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
10 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked until softened and thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, julienned (about 1 cup)
1 can bamboo shoots, julienned
1 small Napa cabbage, julienned (about 6 cups)
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
white pepper (to taste)
1/4 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 Tbsp cold water

For Wrapping:
1 package of spring roll wrappers
1 Tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 Tbsp boiling water
Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

Prepare your filling ingredients: soak the dried mushrooms for approximately 20 minutes, or until soften. Discard the stems or any sections that have not properly softened. Make sure to cut the vegetables in matchsticks that are uniform in length.

Heat a wok or large carbon steel skillet over high heat. Add 2 Tbsp of frying oil until shimmering and then add the garlic, mushrooms and carrots. Stir fry for 30 seconds, and add the bamboo shoots, napa cabbage and Shaoxing wine. Continue stir-frying for a minute. Adjust the heat to summer the mixture, as the napa cabbage will release a lot of moisture.

Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, and sugar. Continue simmering for another 3 minutes- until the napa cabbage is completely wilted. Add in the bean sprouts and stir in half of the corn starch slurry to thicken. There should be no standing liquid at all. If there is still liquid, add in the remaining corn starch slurry.

Transfer the filling to a large shallow bowl, and let cool. Place in the refrigerator to cool further- at least one hour.

Once the filling is completely cool you can start to wrap the spring rolls. The trick is to make sure the spring rolls are tight but not overstuffed. lace one of the wrappers on a flat surface in front of you, with a corner facing you. Use about two spoonfuls of the mixture per roll and spoon it about 2 inches from the corner that is closest to you. Roll it over once, away from you, and fold over both sides. Continue rolling it into a cigar shape. With your fingers or a pastry brush, brush a bit of the cornstarch water onto the corner of the wrapper that is farthest from you to seal it.

Place each roll on a tray and continue with the remaining rolls. You can then transfer the entire tray to the freezer until completely frozen and transfer them to a zip-lock bag, or proceed to fry them. [You can fry what you need and freeze the raw ones for a later use].

To fry the spring rolls, fill a small pot with oil until it is 2-3 inches deep. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat until it reaches 325 degrees. Add the spring rolls, a few at a time, frying in small batches so that the pot is not overcrowded. Roll them in the oil so that they cook evenly. Once they are golden brown, transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels. The cooked rolls can be kept warm in a 200F oven while you finish with the remaining rolls. Note: if cooking the rolls from frozen, do not defrost first. Just place them directly in the oil when frozen. They will take a few minutes longer to fry.

Serve immediately with your favourite dipping sauce. I prefer a Thai Sweet Chili sauce.