Fresh Spring Rolls with Rutabaga, Turnip, Zucchini filling

Thanks to a wide array of ready-made wrappers, making spring rolls seems like something my 4 year-old sous chef can handle easily these days. Wonderful as an afternoon snack washed down with green tea, or as an appetizer, spring rolls have become a staple at home, nothing to be excited about.

Some weekends, I just make a big batch in the morning, along with dipping sauces, and arrange it on the table like hors d'oeuvres to be munched on and off as we go about our business. On such days, typically, we end up not having any major meals as the spring rolls turn out very satisfying.

As I was sorting through my posts, I realized I haven't shared a recipe for fresh spring rolls, just a version of deep fried and pan-fried spring rolls.

As always, the filling changes each time depending on vegetables of the season, my mood, availability etc. This particular version is D's favorite, thanks to the rather unconventional filling.

Ingredients
For the filling:
1 rutabaga, grated
1 turnip, grated
2 medium carrots, grated
1 zucchini, grated
2 cups finely chopped cabbage
½ medium onion, sliced thin
3-4 cloves of garlic sliced thin
2 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp kecap manis
1 Tbsp sambal oelek
1 Tbsp coconut vinegar (or seasoned rice vinegar)
1 Tbsp sesame oil or canola oil
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Dry rice paper (Vietnamese), reconstituted/moistened with damp cloth, for wrappers

Preparation

1. Filling: heat the oil in a pan, add the grated ginger and sliced garlic, sauté a bit and then add the onion, sauté some more; then add the rest of the veggies, seasonings, cover and cook till slightly soft but not mushy; finish off cooking without the lid; allow to cool
2. Add the filling into each soft fresh spring roll wrapper, roll per package directions or like a burrito
3. Serve with home-made peanut sauce and (canned) plum sauce

Pan Fried Spring Roll Wraps

This came about as a quick evening tea-time snack when my parents were here. Around 3:30pm or 4pm most afternoons we liked to assemble in the patio for some tea. Usually some mixed nuts or Chex mix or Indian mixture is what my parents enjoy with tea. But, once a week or so I would make some impromptu snack and that's how this pan fried spring roll wraps came about.

Nothing special about this dish. I had a batch of spring roll wrappers in the freezer that needed to be used up. Filling can be anything of your choice - curried potatoes, carrots and peas like for samosa, or cabbage/carrots/bean sprouts like for spring rolls. But, I just had ricotta cheese and frozen spinach handy, so, that's the filling I used here.

Rather than deep frying like for spring rolls or samosa, I simply pan fried in a shallow pan with just a tiny bit of oil to brown the sides.

Ingredients
10-12 Spring roll wrappers, thawed and ready to use

filling: ricotta cheese, frozen cut spinach thawed and squeezed dry, curry powder, salt, chopped onions

3-4 Tbsp oil

Preparation

1. combine the filling ingredients, adjust to taste and set aside
2. fill each spring roll wrapper with a tablespoon of the filling, wrap it tightly, seal with a little bit of water around the edges
3. heat a tablespoon of oil in a shallow pan, place the spring roll wraps in batches and allow to brown; turn over and allow to brown on all sides
4. add a little more oil for each batch and pan fry them in batches till all are done
5. serve warm with mango chutney or any favorite cutney

Mango Chutney

Ingredients: dry mango, spiced dry mango with chilli powder, distilled white vinegar, brown sugar salt, oil, water as needed

Mango chutney is usually slightly sweet-sour, so the flavors can be adjusted to taste - vinegar gives the sourness and the mangoes are sweet as-is, but brown sugar can be added for extra sweetness. I get these wonderful dried mango slices at New Season's Market - unsweetened organic mangoes, as well as dry mango slices spiced with salt and chilli powder - which makes it very easy to make this chutney any time.

soak the dry mango pieces in some hot water to reconstitute a bit; combine the rest of the ingredients except oil and blend to a fine paste; adjust flavors to taste and sauté the paste in a bit of oil over medium heat till it comes together and is thickened a bit.

If the chutney is too thick for a dip, dilute with some water.

spring roll with two dipping sauces

Spring rolls are sort of easy to make and are a favorite appetizer in our family. I just don't make it often as it involves frying, so, every time I make it I try to come up with some nice dipping sauce that makes it interesting :-)

As the dipping sauces kind of take center-stage, I leave the spring rolls plain and simple.

Ginger Garlic Chili Soy Sesame sauce
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp kecap manis
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Preparation: just combine all the above ingredients and stir well. Adjust to taste, if necessary.

Tangy Lemongrass Peanut sauce
1 Tbsp finely minced lemon grass
1 Tbsp finely grated ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp peanut butter (I prefer chunky)
1 tsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce

Preparation:

1. heat lemon juice, ginger, garlic, brown sugar and lemongrass in a pan till it reduces a bit; off heat, combine the rest of the ingredients, stir well and serve

Spring rolls
Ingredients:

Spring Roll wrappers (I prefer the frozen kind)
Filling - veggies of your choice - julienned or sliced fine - onions, carrots, spring onions, cabbage; pickled ginger, bean sprouts
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
oil for frying

Preparation:

1. combine the veggies, season with salt and pepper, set aside
2. keep a small bowl of water handy for wetting the wrappers
3. the package usually comes with instructions - just spoon some filling, roll up, wet with water to seal
4. deep fry in oil, serve warm with the dipping sauces