At the same time as making vegetable spring rolls, I made these chicken spring rolls. It made the best use of the oil while it was in the wok. And as we were eating dinner with the kids, we needed a decent batch of spring rolls for the 5 of us.
Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Chicken Spring Rolls ♥
To give my non South African readers a little bit of context. Many of us refer to our President as Uncle Cyril. Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation on a semi-regular basis, and we call these family meetings. When we had our first family meeting in March 2020 I decided to go off social media. I knew that my sanity would not prevail with all the doom and gloom. And nor would I be able to keep my mouth shut regarding conspiracy theories. I took myself off Facebook groups and stayed off my Twitter timeline. Eventually I left a WhatsApp group I had been a member of for years. This was because people I have known since I was 6 years old were calling Covid a plandemic. They were sharing guaranteed methods (of madness imo) to keep the virus at bay. And sprouting vaccine nonsense. But all of this changed in one minute.
Today’s inspirational recipe from Lavender and Lime ♥ Chicken Spring Rolls ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Our beloved country was hit by a day of extreme violence, riots and looting. My parents closed their offices and went home to stay safe. They spent the day listening to helicopters fly above their home, while shops were destroyed just blocks away. And so I turned to Twitter. First to see how many people I knew were being affected. And then with joy as those same people came together. Offering help, food, transport and just words of encouragement. South Africans proved again just how resilient we are. And my friends from that WhatsApp group who really mattered, reached out to make sure I as OK! I have been scrolling my timeline now every day, reading messages that are so positive. Mostly about the vaccine and how many people are rejoicing to have their first jab. It has made me feel so very hopeful about life!
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Chicken Spring Rolls
Ingredients
for the marinade
- 15 mls soy sauce
- 5 mls Shaoxing rice wine
- 5 mls cornflour
- Freshly ground black pepper to season
- 410 g ground chicken
for the spring rolls
- 30 mls canola oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 1 cm fresh root ginger, grated
- 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
- ½ small red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 15 mls oyster sauce
- 15 mls soy sauce
- 20 mls water
- 5 mls cornflour
- 12 190 x 190mm spring roll wrappers
for deep frying
- canola oil
For the air fryer
- olive oil for brushing
Method
for the marinade
- Place the soy sauce, rice wine, cornflour and pepper into a glass bowl
- Whisk to combine, then add the chicken
- Mix in to coat the chicken, then cover and leave to marinade in the fridge for at least 10 minutes or overnight
for the spring rolls
- Place 15mls oil into a wok and heat over a medium to high temperature
- Tip the chicken into the wok and stir fry until browned
- Place into a clean bowl and set aside
- Heat the rest of the oil and lower the temperature slightly
- Add the garlic, spring onions and ginger and sauté until you can smell the ginger
- Then add the carrots and the cabbage and increase the temperature
- When the carrots are soft add the chicken and mix to combine
- Pour in the oyster sauce and soy sauce and toss to combine
- Tip into a sieve, place the sieve over a bowl and set aside to cool
- Once cool, place the water into a small bowl and add the cornflour
- Whisk to combine (you might have to repeat this as you go along)
- Place a spring roll wrapper in front of you with one corner facing down
- If your spring roll wrappers are very dry, lightly brush them with water
- Brush the edges with the cornflour slurry
- Place 2 tablespoons of the mixture onto the wrapper, one third of the way up
- Wrap the bottom corner over the filling and roll once to tuck in the edge
- Now fold the wrapper like an envelope, the right side towards the middle, and the left side towards the middle
- Now roll firmly until completely rolled up
For deep frying
- When all of the spring roll wrappers are done fill a wok with oil to 4cm depth
- Bring up to 180° Celsius over a medium to high temperature
- Fry the spring rolls 3 at a time, for 4 minutes, flipping half way through the frying
- Drain on paper towel and serve when hot
For the air fryer
- Brush the spring rolls with olive oil
- Place the spring rolls into the air fryer at 180° Celsius for 10 minutes
- Turn them over and cook for another 5 minutes at 180° Celsius
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime August 23:
-
- 2019: Egg Free Brownies
- 2017: Bordeaux Blending Masterclass
- 2015: Pretty Girls
- 2013: Sweet Cicely
- 2012: Prawn Broth
- 2011: Red Pepper, Sausage And Rocket Pizza
- 2010: Granola
How have you treated social media during the pandemic?
I don’t read things on FB or Twitter about anything outside of poetry, books and art so I never see anything like you describe. I love this recipe. I bookmarked your original spring roll recipe to try too.
I like your discipline!
these sound so good! I’m always lazy to get out the deep fryer. I should be like you and keep frying things in the same oil, then put it away for 5 years or so…
We don’t have one for that very reason! And the oil always need changing which I think is a waste.
such an uplifting story; thanks for sharing. I hope your parents offices survived, as well as your business, and that all of you are safe. Sometimes, crises bring out the best in people…
Thankfully they were safe and not directly affected 🙂
I’ve never tried homemade spring rolls – they sound awesome! Also, loving the idea of using an air-fryer.
Me too, as long as I don’t have to buy one 😉