Spring rolls are a popular dish that originated in ancient China, where they were served during the Spring Festival. Now, we can enjoy it at any time, so I have plenty of wonderful childhood memories of my mother making spring rolls for me. Today, I’m going to share her recipe.
As with all stuffing-wrapped-in-skin foods, spring rolls are quite labour intensive. The good thing is that these tofu and veggie spring rolls can be made ahead and kept frozen for months. An excellent emergency food, or when you’re just craving for crispy, savoury foods. The skin can be purchased from the refrigerated or frozen section of supermarkets.
Makes about 15. You’ll need:
1 lotus root
5 pcs dried and soaked shiitake mushroom
1 slab firm tofu, chopped into small cubes
4 leaves of cabbage
10 stalks of chives (omit for allium-free)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sea salt
White pepper, sesame oil, to taste
Square spring roll pastry skins
Blend the mushroom, cabbage and chives in a food processor. Grate the lotus root finely. Transfer into a large bowl, add 1 tsp sea salt and let it sit while you prep the tofu.
Get a white cloth bag and place the chopped tofu in. Squeeze the excess water out gently but firmly, you won’t want to mash it too much. Put them in a pan, add oil and 1 tbsp soy sauce. Stir fry till it turns a light brown.
Squeeze the water out of the veggie mixture with the cloth bag too. Then mix them well with the tofu in a large bowl. Taste it at this point and season with pepper or more soy sauce.
Next, place about 2 tbsp of the filling into every square pastry skin. Of course this amount will vary depending on the size and shape of your skin. Fold the sides and roll it up. Or have fun making any shape you like. Triangles, round parcels, etc.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry them. Be careful to avoid heating the parts where the skin is thin or it’ll tear. You can also deep fry them in a pot of oil or bake in the oven for a lower fat version. Let excess oil drain on kitchen paper before serving.
Store any leftover tofu and veggie spring rolls in the fridge or freezer and reheat whenever you’re hungry 🙂
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