Spring rolls, known as 'Chun Juan', in Chinese, are eaten during the Lunar New Year as a symbol of wealth and prosperity because they resemble gold bars. The lucky saying for eating spring rolls is Hwung-Jin Wan-Lyang, which translates to 'a ton of gold.'
These are certainly not totally traditional. Other recipes include mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. We went with a more basic filling that included ground pork, carrots, celery, green beans, and onions.
Ingredients
makes approximately 2 dozen
1 pound ground pork
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped green beans
1 to 2 Tablespoon olive oil
wrappers (I found ours frozen at a local Asian market - they told me to get the round ones), defrosted and separated
water
oil for cooking (I used a canola oil)
Procedure
In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Add in the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are slightly softened and the carrots are fork tender. Stir in the pork and green beans; cook until no pink remains in the pork. Spoon the filling into a colander - over a bowl - and let drain until nothing drips when you press down on the filling. Now you're ready to roll. Keep the wrappers covered so they stay pliable while you roll and have a small bowl of water nearby to seal the Spring rolls.
Place a wrapper on a plate. Place about 1 to 2 Tablespoons of filling on the wrapper. Fold in the edges and roll it as tightly as you can without breaking the wrapper. But, if you happen to tear one, don't worry. Double wrap it and that one will just have extra crispy goodness around it!
Wet the edge of the wrapper and you complete the roll and place the roll, seam-side down, while you finish wrapping the rest.
To cook, heat oil in a rimmed skillet. Use tongs to gently lower the Spring roll into the hot oil. Turn them as they brown and crisp. Once they are nicely crisped, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Move to a serving platter and serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.