Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 6 phyllo sheets (or filo sheets)
- 1.5 c cabbage (cut into 2" lengths and thinly sliced)
- 100 g carrot (cut into 2" lengths and thinly sliced)
- 25 g red onion (cut into 2" lengths and thinly sliced)
- 100 g red bell pepper (seeded, cut into 2" lengths and thinly sliced)
- 2 t sesame oil
- 2 t vegetable oil
- 270 g ground pork
- Salt (Sea) (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper\ (to taste)
- Chinese five-spice (to taste)
- 45 g sweet chili sauce
- 60 g black bean sauce
- 40 g hoisin sauce
- 1/2 T Chinese five-spice
- 3/4 t garlic powder
- 3/4 t ground ginger
- 1 egg
- 1 T water
- oil (for deep frying)
Method
Thaw phyllo in its original package overnight in the fridge.
Set phyllo out at room temperature to stand for thirty minutes before using, still in the original package. While that stands, prepare the filling:
Prepare your vegetables: cut cabbage, carrot, red onion, and red bell pepper into 2" or shorter lengths, then thinly slice. Set aside.
Heat sesame oil and vegetable oil in a skillet. Cook ground pork, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Chinese five spice powder to taste as you cook. Once cooked, add veggies; cook until veggies are tender-crisp. Remove from heat; place in a bowl.
Combine the veggie-meat mix with the sweet chili sauce, black bean sauce, hoisin sauce, Chinese five spice, garlic powder, and ginger powder. Set aside to finish cooling.
Mix the egg with the water, beat with a fork. Set aside with a brush.
Once the filling is cool and the phyllo's been standing on the counter for half an hour, cut your phyllo in half (so you end up with 12 nearly-square pieces). Keep what you're not working with covered with a damp towel while you work so it doesn't dry out. Put one-eighth of the filling on the wrapper. Roll it up, brush the wrapper with the egg wash so it stays closed. Repeat for remaining ingredients. You will have four pieces of phyllo leftover. Use these to roll a second layer around any rolls that need help staying together.
Heat a deep fryer or deep pot with oil. Fry at once, or freeze in plastic bags. Fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
Notes
SJ Note 9 Jan 2011: This is a good start, but needs more flavoring. Shall work on the spices and sauces.
SJ Note 20 Feb 2011: This is really tasty! I made 7 tonight, so I've upped the meat, and now it should make 8. It was a bit too saucy (30g/65g/25g), so I've decreased the sauces. A few more tweaks and we should have a keeper! Feel free to experiment - spring rolls / egg rolls can have whatever you want in them, so use whatever you have!