These crunchy chicken spring rolls are baked instead of deep-fried making them a healthier alternative. The filling is simple to make and once you get the hang of rolling they are easy to make. This recipe makes a large batch so you can freeze them for use later. You can bake them straight from frozen making them a no-fuss starter or snack.
This recipe makes about 24 spring rolls. I would suggest serving 2 spring rolls per person as an appetizer. Serve the spring rolls hot with a dipping sauce.
Chicken Spring Rolls
Ingredients
Instructions
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Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan to a medium heat. Add the chicken and cook stirring and chopping with a wooden spoon to ensure the meat is broken up.
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When the chicken is mostly cooked through add the mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms have softened.
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Add the shitake, excess soaking water, 1 tsp five spice powder, 2 tbsp oyster sauce and 1 tbsp soy sauce. Continue cooking over a medium heat until the liquid has mostly evaporated. A wet mixture will make rolling the spring rolls difficult so try to dry out the filling as much as you can.
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Turn off the heat and taste for seasoning (due to the oyster and soy sauce this mixture does not usually require extra salt). Then add 1 tsp sesame oil and stir.
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Put the spring roll filling to one side and wait until it is cool. If you try to wrap the spring rolls while the filling is hot the skins will break. Once the mixture has cooled you can start assembling the spring rolls.
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Take a sheet of spring roll wrapper and place it on a board with one corner towards you so that it looks like a diamond. Take a heaped tablespoon of the filling and put it towards the bottom corner of the wrapper. Add a small amount of carrot and cabbage (about a tablespoon of each) trying to keep the formation neat (otherwise bits of carrot may pierce the wrapper).
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Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper over the filling and roll the whole ‘tube’ forward for one turn. Fold in the left and right corners of the wrapper ensuring that the roll stays tight.
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Brush the top corner of the wrapper with the beaten egg and finish the wrap.
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The spring rolls can be cooked straight away but I find they react better if cooked from frozen. Spring rolls can be placed on a baking tray and put in the freezer. Once frozen they can be transferred to a zip-lock bag.
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To cook in the oven, brush each frozen spring roll with a little vegetable oil (I use a little oil on my hands and just quickly rub each roll) and place in a pre-heated oven at 200°C. Cook for approximately 20 minutes turning every 10 minutes or so. If one of the rolls splits don’t worry, the oven will seal in the flavour and the crust formed is delicious. The rolls are ready when they are a deep golden brown and hard when tapped.
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Serve hot with spring roll dipping sauce.
