# Looking for Spring Roll Recipe



## larry_stewart (Nov 19, 2014)

Tonight is Chinese food night at my house.
Along with other things, I'll be making spring rolls ( vegetarian).

When I get them at the restaurant, they taste great.

When I make them at home, they taste good.

So, I'm looking for Great ( maybe Im missing something ( other than the meat/ shrimp (just to avoid the bad jokes that will probably follow)))

So, if any of you guys / gals has any TNT Spring Roll Filling suggestions, that taste right out of the Chinese restaurant kitchen,  feel free to share them with me .

Thanks ,

Larry


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## CraigC (Nov 19, 2014)

I've never had Chinese spring rolls, but the book "True Thai" has good recipes for fresh and fried spring rolls.


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## ShannaLee83 (Nov 19, 2014)

I would be interested in finding a good easy recipe. I would prefer something that doesn't involve frying though. Pesky gastric bypass and gall badder removal...


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## larry_stewart (Nov 19, 2014)

I had a recipe ( which of course I lost) which involved baking instead of frying.  Sure, it wasn't as good, but it definitely wasn't bad.  Im still searching for it


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## ShannaLee83 (Nov 19, 2014)

I order fried ones everytime we have take out, but I would love to make a huge batch, freeze them and have them ready to go whenever.


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## ShannaLee83 (Nov 20, 2014)

Meatless Monday: Crispy Baked Eggrolls

Starter recipe I just found but I can see where I would tweek it. I will make it after the holidays for Asian night.


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## GA Home Cook (Nov 20, 2014)

One I do is with broccoli slaw mix you buy in the vegetable section.  You can stir fry it or just nuke it


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## CharlieD (Nov 20, 2014)

Larry, I do not make spring rolls, but do make eggrolls often. The main thing as I found out is to properly season you stuffing, or whatever it's called. 
What do you mean by spring rolls, or rather what kind wrapper is used for spring rolls?

P.S. Just went and Googled the difference. I still stand by my suggestion. Make sure your veggies are seasoned well, taste them before rolling them in. Do you have veggies you prefer to use? How do you prepare them?

P.P.S. If you are talking Chinese then it is egg roll, if  you are talking Vietnamese then it is spring roll.

these are two eggroll sckins I use the most often:
http://www.slim-shoppin.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/dsc00428.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QkvrqjWK4tY/T6xvZOJ2xGI/AAAAAAAABVU/p4zU7svMFqs/s1600/DSCN5104.jpg

I am always in a hurry and use the shortcuts whenever possible. I buy a 1Lb pack of cole slaw, I small pack of shredded carrots and one small pack of bean sprouts. Bring water to boil add carrots, then cabbage, boil for 2 minutes, drain well, season. Personally I use garlic salt, paprika, brown sugar, cayenne pepper and a little bit of sesame oil, the last one is very important. Roll them fry in not too much oil, I fry one side first then turn upside down, if I have too little oil I turn on the sides at the end. Very important not to fry too much, because they continue to cook even when the rolls are out of the pan. The combination of sugar and cayenne pepper gives very interesting taste plus some sweet and sour sauce and you are in for a treat.


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## CraigC (Nov 20, 2014)

Charlie, spring rolls are usually made with a rice based wrapper. They are also made in Thai cuisine. I searched and found Chinese spring rolls, so they seem to exist.


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## Dawgluver (Nov 20, 2014)

The best spring rolls I've ever had were at a couple of Vietnamese restaurants.  The rice wrappers were steamed, not fried, and almost transparent.  The fillings were, as I remember, shredded carrot, very thin glass noodles, cabbage, maybe red peppers and bean sprouts.  Some mint, and one place had a fresh chive sticking out.  The sauces served with them were exquisite!  Sweet, hot, with shreds of carrot and hot pepper flakes.  Sadly, the one restaurant here closed many years ago.  The other one friends took us to for our then upcoming wedding, more than 27 years ago.

A woman on the Cooking Channel made them for a wedding a while back, can't remember the name of the show, but they looked lovely and very easy.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 20, 2014)

I haven't had Chinese spring rolls, but I've had and made Thai spring rolls - not the fried ones (well, I've had them, but I haven't made them). I prefer the fresh version. I posted my recipe for it long ago. This time, I used peanut sauce. There's also a recipe for a dipping sauce made with soy sauce, vinegar, mirin and ginger: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/thai-spring-rolls-and-spicy-peanut-sauce-43904.html 







This recipe uses rice paper wrappers that are dipped quickly in water to soften them. Don't leave them in too long or they get too soft and tear easily. Lay them on the counter and dab with a towel to remove excess water, then fill. You can replace the shrimp with whatever suits your fancy 

These are the wrappers I use:


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## Addie (Nov 20, 2014)

Would brushing the roll with melted butter still keep them vegetarian and crisp them up at the same time?


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## GotGarlic (Nov 20, 2014)

Addie, are you referring to the recipe I posted? This one is intended to have a soft wrapper, so you don't cook it at all. If you include chicken or shrimp, they're precooked and chilled. And, imo, butter doesn't go with Asian flavors. 

Something with butter is vegetarian but not vegan.


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## CWS4322 (Nov 20, 2014)

Larry--I assumed you were looking for a recipe for deep-fried Chinese springrolls  using eggroll wrappers and not a recipe using rice paper. I have tons of combos for rice paper rolls (summer rolls). I do think it is in the seasoning re: the ingredients and the dipping sauce(s). I love adding mint to the veggies, more of a Vietnamese summer roll.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 20, 2014)

I think of spring rolls as fresh (not fried) with egg roll wrappers and egg rolls as fried with rice paper wrappers. So it would be helpful for you, Larry, to specify which you want to make


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## Efrain (Nov 20, 2014)

My mom gave me an amazing recipe for spring rolls.  Check it out at my blog here.

What I like most about this recipe is that it was not only fun to make, but it was delicious as well!  I like recipes where there can be some friend or family member involvement-  Nothing makes cooking better than doing it with a friend http://www.discusscooking.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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## CharlieD (Nov 20, 2014)

We'll have to wait till Larry chaims in. He talks about Chinese night, but Spring rolls.


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## larry_stewart (Nov 20, 2014)

Here , or at least at the Chinese restaurant I eat at, the spring rolls are fried , they are almost like a mini egg roll with a thinner skin, but definitely deep fried.  So basically, any egg roll filling suggestion would do.

I have had the fresh raw rolls in the rice paper before , which were excellent ( I think I had them at a korean restaurant, and another Asian fusion restaurant. So, although not what I waas looking for in this thread, Being that Chinese night has come and gone in my house this week, Ill take any of the above ( fried w/ egg roll wrappers or Fresh with Rice wrappers)   Dont worry if vegetarian or not, Ill worry about any substitutions I feel necessary, but the seasoning would be helpful.


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## CharlieD (Nov 20, 2014)

Larry, try my recipe. You'll love it, if you do not I'll pay you back for all the items. It is simple strictly vegetarian.  True and tested. 


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## Addie (Nov 20, 2014)

GotGarlic said:


> Addie, are you referring to the recipe I posted? This one is intended to have a soft wrapper, so you don't cook it at all. If you include chicken or shrimp, they're precooked and chilled. And, imo, butter doesn't go with Asian flavors.
> 
> Something with butter is *vegetarian but not vegan*.



Yes, but Larry has never stated that he was vegan, just vegetarian. My suggestion was just a thought. He doesn't want to fry them. Every time he has asked for assistance, he has always stated baked, not fried.


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## larry_stewart (Nov 20, 2014)

Im vegetarian , cheese, butter fine by me ( sea food, poultry, beef, pork ...  not good ) 
Frying tastes %100 better IMO, but at home, I try to keep it as healthy as I possibly could.  When I  go to the restaurants, health doesn't play as important of a role for me.


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## larry_stewart (Nov 20, 2014)

Most recipes I've tried in the past are primarily cabbage based ( whether it s green cabbage, nappa cabbage, combo) , in addition ive seen scallions, water chestnuts , bamboo shoots, shitake mushrooms, carrots, celery.  Many call for a little corn starch.

Out of convenience, Ive used precut coleslaw mix ( usually carrots and cabbage)  then made whatever additions i had in the house.   All versions ive tried tasted good, but are all missing that 'restaurant touch', probably cause I dont deep fry them.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 20, 2014)

Addie said:


> Yes, but Larry has never stated that he was vegan, just vegetarian. My suggestion was just a thought. He doesn't want to fry them. Every time he has asked for assistance, he has always stated baked, not fried.



My response wasn't just about Larry's question. You asked if it was vegetarian. I was just offering more information.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 20, 2014)

I don't digest cabbage and other cruciferous veggies well, which is one reason why I prefer spring rolls. Another is that I just prefer the taste of the fresh ingredients and light sauce that come with spring rolls.


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## CharlieD (Nov 25, 2014)

I do not deep fry mine. I simply fry on two sides. The rest gets cooked by itself so to speak.


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## aberfold (Nov 25, 2014)

I am Vietnamese. Growing up, my mom would fry spring rolls wrapped in rice papers (its much thinner than egg wrappers and almost translucent). You probably had rice papers on Vietnamese Fresh Summer rolls.
For health reason, I don't fry my spring rolls and bake them instead! (hope mom doesn't read this! )
You can saute your vegetables, drain off the excess liquid and let them cool. Wrap a tablespoon of the filling in egg wrappers. Place the spring rolls on lined baking sheet with parchment paper and ****spray your spring rolls with PAM *****.  Bake them in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. The spring rolls should come out golden brown and crispy. (never tried baking spring rolls wrapped in rice paper though, let me know if anyone tried it)


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## CWS4322 (Dec 1, 2014)

I stuffed egg roll wrappers (brushed on both sides with egg) with homemade kimchi (drained) to which I added mashed up chickpeas. OMG, served with more kimchi on the side, I am totally addicted. Two of my favorite foods--kimchi and chickpeas deep fried in an egg roll wrapper.


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