Chun juan (spring rolls)
These nutritious snacks, as their name suggests, symbolise and commemorate the coming of the spring season. They are among the traditional foods eaten in China on New Year’s Eve, which, by the Chinese lunar calendar, marks the end of the winter season; such foods as spring rolls and dumplings are always at hand then for family and for visitors.
The spring roll wrappers are thin and almost transparent, but they are firm enough to hold a substantial amount of finely chopped meat, meat and vegetables, or just vegetables. In keeping with the Chinese tradition that maintains that for the first two days of the new year no work, including housework, should be done, they are especially useful because they can be made ahead but retain their flavour when frozen. In northern China, where the below-freezing days of February allow it, the prepared rolls are easily kept on trays outdoors until ready for cooking.
Spring rolls are also enjoyed all year round. I helped with this particular recipe in the early summer months at the Qu home in Beijing. The wrappers are rarely homemade but purchased at a local store. In them, my hostess told me she used almost the same filling as for her dumplings. Although you’d think they would taste similar, the different cooking techniques make spring rolls quite different from dumplings in taste as well as texture. I ate and enjoyed far too many of Mrs Qu’s, dipping them into a zesty black vinegar sauce.
225 g/8 oz cabbage, finely chopped and blanched
125 g/4 oz minced pork
125 g/4 oz medium-sized uncooked prawns, peeled and finely chopped
25 g/ 1 oz dried black mushrooms, soaked, stems removed, and finely chopped
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten and mixed with 1 tbsp water
1 packet spring roll skins, thawed if frozen
850 ml/ 1 1/2 pt peanutoil
Method
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cabbage, pork, prawns, mushrooms, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, sesame oil, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly.
Combine the egg and water in a small bowl. Place about 4 tablespoons of cabbage filling on each spring roll skin, fold in each side and roll up tightly. Use the egg mixture to seal the edge.
Heat a wok or large frying pan until hot and add the oil. When the oil is quite hot, gently drop in as many spring rolls as will fit easily in one layer. Carefully fry them in batches until the spring rolls are golden brown on the outside and cooked inside, about 4 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary. Remove the spring rolls with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve them at once, while still hot and crispy.
© Ken Hom and reproduced with his kind permission.
