Chinese Spring Rolls 
Filling Ingredients 
  • 1/4 lb ground lean pork or chicken  
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt 
  • 1 cup cabbage, shredded (about 4 ounces or one cup)
  • 3 ounces carrots, shredded
  • 2 oz bamboo shoots, squeezed of excess moisture and shredded (optional)
  • 2 shiitake or regular mushrooms
  • 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 green onion, thinly sliced
Mix together for binding filling and set aside
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch 
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon white (or black) pepper 
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 
  • 1 ½ teaspoon dry sherry  (optional)
12 spring roll wrappers 
Sealer for rolls 
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons water 
Directions 
  1. Mix cornstarch, vinegar and salt with pork. Mix well and marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes. 
  2. Saute cabbage and carrots in 1 - 2 tablespoons vegetable oil with garlic and ginger in wok until crisp-tender. Separately saute mushrooms in additional oil until most of moisture is gone. Spread out on a cookie sheet until cool. 
  3. Saute meat in wok in additional vegetable oil if needed. Continue to saute until all moisture/juices have evaporated. Spread out to cool. 
  4. Stir together cooled meat with mixed binding: 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/8 teaspoon white pepper, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 ½ teaspoon dry sherry  (optional), and cooled cabbage and carrots, bamboo shoots, and green onions. Mix well. 
  5. Combine sealer ingredients and mix until smooth. 
  6. Place one wrapper on the counter with a point facing toward you, so the wrapper looks diamond-shaped, not square. Place a small amount of filling, about two tablespoons, across the middle of the wrapper. Roll the wrapper tightly, tucking in the sides, to form a narrow roll about 1/2 to 2/3 inch in diameter. Seal the roll by brushing the triangle end flap with sealer for about the last 1-1/2 to 2 inches. Can be refrigerated or frozen at the point. 
  7. Add rolls to ½ inch vegetable oil in wok and heat to about 350 degrees. Do not crowd. Cook in batches  until deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels. It’s better to fry them at slightly lower heat for longer than to brown them too quickly. The idea is for them to be crunchy rather than just crisp. 
  8. Cut in half diagonally and serve warm with dipping sauce. 
Dipping sauce (combine all ingredients and stir)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons hot sauce  (Sriracha is fine)
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar 
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry sherry (optional) 
Sweet and Sour Sauce
  • 6 T sugar
  • 3 T ketchup
  • 3 oz water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 oz vinegar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 1/2 T water
Mix sugar, ketchup, 3 oz water, soy sauce and the salt in a small sauce pan. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar.
In small bowl, mix cornstarch and 2 1/2 T water. Add to sauce; cook until thickened.
Vegetarian Spring Rolls
  • 4 fresh shiitake mushroom caps or dried mushrooms, julienned
  • 1/4 small napa cabbage (about 1-2 cups), shredded 
  • 2 medium carrots, julienned
  • 8-ounce can bamboo shoots, drained and julienned
  • cooking oil
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 1 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • 2 stalks green onion, finely chopped
  • ½ cup of fresh bean sprouts
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon dark sesame oil
  • 20 spring roll wrappers
  • cooking oil, for frying
DIRECTIONS:
  1. *If using dried mushrooms, soak them in very hot water for 20 minutes to rehydrate. Cut off and discard the stem. Make sure to rinse away any grit.
  2. In a large saute pan or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil. Immediately add garlic, ginger and green onion, stirring frequently. Then add the mushrooms, cabbage, carrots and bamboo shoots. With heat on high, stir-fry the vegetables for about 2 minutes. and then toss in the bean sprouts. Add in the soy sauce and sesame oil. Cook for another minute. Then spread the filling out onto a sheet pan. 
  3. Proceed as above to fill, roll, and fry spring rolls.