Chicken and prawn spring rolls

Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 25 minutes

Makes about 16

You can find spring-roll wrappers – frozen – in Asian supermarkets and online. Some packets are labelled ‘spring-roll wrappers’ but they’re made from rice paper; you need wrappers made with wheat for Chinese spring rolls. Spring rolls are generally stuffed with vegetables, but minced pork, chicken and prawns are used too.

INGREDIENTS

– 200g chicken thigh meat, boneless and skin removed

– 175g king prawns

– 3 tbsp light soy sauce – ½ tbsp caster sugar – 3 tbsp groundnut oil, plus more for deep-frying

– 2cm square cube of ginger, peeled and grated

– 4 garlic cloves, finely

chopped

– 8 thin spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

– 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

or dry sherry

– 1 tsp sesame oil

– 125g shiitake mushrooms, finely sliced

– 150g carrots, cut into

matchsticks

– 125g water chestnuts,

cut into matchsticks – 150g Chinese leaf or white cabbage, finely shredded

– 100g beansprouts

– 1 tbsp cornflour

– 18 spring-roll wraps/ spring-roll pastry (this allows for a few disasters), 215mm square – 1 tbsp Chinese black

vinegar

– 2 tbsp chilli oil

METHOD

Cut the chicken into thin strips about 4cm long. Put into a bowl. Chop the prawns and put them in a bowl. Mix the soy sauce, sugar and a little salt and pepper in another bowl. Add two-thirds of this to the chicken and the rest to the prawns. Marinate for 20 minutes.

Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a wok or a frying pan. Add half of the ginger, garlic and spring onions, and stir-fry for about 10 seconds. Add the chicken with its marinade and stir-fry until cooked through. Add the wine or sherry and reduce until almost nothing. Scrape into a clean bowl and add the sesame oil.

Heat another tablespoon of oil and add the rest of the ginger, garlic and spring onions. Cook for 10 seconds and add the prawns. Stir-fry until the prawns turn from grey to pink. Add to the chicken.

Heat half of the remaining tablespoon of oil and fry the mushrooms briskly. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the chicken and prawns. Heat the rest of the oil and throw in the carrot. Fry for about 20 seconds, then add the water chestnuts, Chinese leaf and beansprouts, and stir-fry for another couple of minutes. The filling shouldn’t be overcooked or too wet. Add to the rest of the filling and leave to cool. Taste for seasoning and add a little soy sauce if you need to. You can make this in advance and chill.

Mix the cornflour with a couple of teaspoons of water, adding more water if necessary, to give you a sticky paste.

Take a wrapper and put it on a work surface with one point facing you, like a diamond. Keep the other wrappers covered with a damp tea towel. Keep a bowl of cold water near you.

Spread a line of filling just below the middle of the diamond, leaving enough room to fold the ends over. Roll the filling up tightly, like a cigar, then fold the sides in when you get to the middle of the diamond, wetting the wrap to help it stick together. Continue to roll tightly.

Use a bit of the cornflour paste to stick the top point down. Repeat. You can keep these, loosely covered with cling film, in the fridge overnight.

To deep-fry the rolls, fill a pan about a quarter full of groundnut oil. Slowly heat this to 170C. Lower four spring rolls into the oil and fry them, turning them from time to time, for about five minutes. Keep the oil at a steady temperature. Lift them out on to kitchen paper and do the next batch.

Serve the spring rolls with different sauces if you like, but I like a mixture of black vinegar and chilli oil, with salt to taste. You can also add finely chopped fresh garlic. Alternatively, try plum or chilli sauce.