Thai Spring Rolls

close up shot of hand holding half a Thai spring roll showing filling

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5 from 1 vote

These crispy Thai Pork Spring Rolls are the ultimate crowd pleaser!

Prep Time25

Cook Time25

Resting Times45

Total Time1 35

Course: Appetizer, Starter

Cuisine: Thai

Servings: jumbo spring rolls

Calories: 223kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £2 / $2.50

Equipment

Wok or Large Deep Pan & Wooden Spoon (for spring roll filling)
Medium Sized Pot (for dipping sauce)
Pestle & Mortar (for crushing peanuts/garlic)
Deep Pot & Tongs (suitable for deep frying)
Wire Rack & Tray (for resting spring rolls)
Small Pot & Brush (for egg wash)
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board (for chopping veg)
Medium Sized Bowl (for soaking noodles)
Kitchen Thermometer (for frying)

Ingredients

Thai Spring Rolls

10x 8.5" x 8.5" / 21.5cm x 21.5cm Spring Roll Wrappers (see notes)
14oz / 400g Ground Pork (pork mince) preferably low fat
2 packed cups / 200g Beansprouts
1 packed cup / 120g Cabbage, finely sliced
1 cup / 100g Carrot, sliced into thin matchsticks (approx 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup / 70g Unsalted Peanuts
3 Eggs (2 whole in the filling, 1 egg white only for brushing rolls)
1.4oz / 40g dried Glass Noodles
2 large cloves Garlic, peeled
1 shallow handful (approx 0.4oz/10g) Coriander/Cilantro Stalks (see notes)
2 tsp EACH: Oyster Sauce, Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp White Pepper
Vegetable/Sunflower/Peanut Oil for frying (approx 4cups/1 litre for deep frying and 1 tbsp for frying filling)

Dipping Sauce

1 cup / 240ml Water
1/2 cup / 100g Granulated/Caster Sugar
1 tbsp Tamarind
1/4 cup / 35g Unsalted Peanuts
1/4 tsp EACH: Salt, Chilli Flakes (or to taste)

Instructions

Noodles: Soak noodles in warm water until soft, but still slightly al dente (15mins or so). Drain, then roughly cut a couple of times with scissors to shorten them.
Peanuts: Add all of the peanuts (for the sauce and filling) to a dry pan over medium heat and fry until deep golden and lightly charred, shaking regularly. Pour into a pestle and mortar and crush to a large crumb texture, with some larger pieces here and there. Remove from pestle and mortar and separate 1/3 for the dip and 2/3 for the filling.
Garlic/Coriander: Add 2 large peeled cloves of garlic and a handful of coriander stems to the pestle and mortar. Smash into a paste, then add to a large wok or pan over medium heat with 1 tbsp oil. Fry for a minute or so.
Pork: Add in pork and fry until no longer pink, breaking up with your wooden spoon as you go. Add in oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar & white pepper and continue frying until all the moisture is soaked up by the pork.
Stir Fry Filling: Stir in soaked noodles, then make space in the centre of the pan. Crack in two eggs and break them up with your wooden spoon. Stir everything for a couple of minutes until the egg scrambles. Add in cabbage & carrot and continue frying until it just begins to soften, then toss in beansprouts and fry for another couple of mins until the beansprouts soften slightly. Turn off heat and stir through peanuts.
Cool Filling: Allow the filling to COMPLETELY cool before making spring rolls. To speed up this process pour the filling into a different bowl. If there's some egg stuck to the pan just let the filling rest for a few mins to allow the steam to lift it off, then use your wooden spoon to gently scrape it.
Dipping Sauce: Rapidly simmer water and sugar over medium-high heat for around 10mins, until it reduces down and just about starts to thicken/turn glossy. Stir in tamarind, salt and chilli flakes, lower heat to a medium and continue simmering until it turns to a light syrupy texture (be aware it will thicken a lot more as it rests). Turn off heat, stir in peanuts then pour into a dish to cool. If it thickens too much before serving, just whisk in boiling or hot water a splash at a time to loosen it up.
Spring Rolls: Lay out a wrapper on a flat surface with a corner at the top and bottom (diamond shape). Place 1/2 cup filling between the centre and bottom of the square and shape into a log. Take the bottom corner and tightly fold it over the filling and roll it over once. Take the two corners either side and tightly fold them in. Roll the spring roll all the way up to the point where a triangle is left at the top. Brush the seam with egg white, then finish the roll and rest seam-side-down. Repeat. Important you roll tightly (any gaps = big air bubbles when deep frying = burst spring roll) but also carefully so you don't rip the wrapper.
Deep Fry: Heat up enough oil to comfortably cover the spring rolls in a large deep pot. You want the oil to reach 356F/180C. A chopstick should bubble when placed in. Very carefully place 3-4 spring rolls in the oil (depending on size) and deep fry for a few mins until deep golden, gently turning as you go to ensure even cooking. Try and keep the heat consistent and bring it back up temp between batches. Take out spring rolls one by one with tongs and tilt side to side to let excess oil pour out, then rest on a wire rack with a tray underneath to catch excess oil.
Serve: Slice spring rolls in half, then serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Spring Roll Wrappers - You'll find them in the freezer section in some supermarkets and all Asian stores. You don't want them to dry up at any point so rest a damp towel over them when not using. If you bought them frozen, defrost with a damp towel on top. They will vary in size (biggest usually 10"x10"/25cmx25cm), so you may get more or less than 10 spring rolls depending on wrapper size.

b) Coriander/Cilantro Stems - Traditionally you'd use coriander roots, so if you can get your hands on two of them then go for that! Stems make a great sub though. I usually buy a bag of coriander and rough dice a few big stems (pluck off the leaves). Use video/step by step photos for guidance on how much to use. A rough handful will do the trick.

c) Pork - You really want the filling to be as dry as possible, just so the spring rolls come out nice and crispy. As such I usually opt for low fat pork. If you've only got high fat pork then just drain away the fat after it's fried and before you add the soy/oyster sauce. Important to fry the pork until there's no water/moisture left, again, just to keep the filling dry and the spring rolls crisp!

d) Prep Ahead - You can make the filling, allow to cool then tightly store in the fridge until needed. Or, you can roll the spring rolls and tightly store in the fridge or freezer. If freezing thaw in the fridge before cooking.

e) Dipping Sauce - This is optional, but you'll definitely want a dip with these either way so grab some Thai Sweet Chilli sauce if you're not up for making the sauce!

f) Calories - Per spring roll (remember they're big!) assuming 1 tsp oil soaked up per spring roll. No dipping sauce.

Nutrition