Spring rolls and Dooney’s Rodo Jam

Now, I know of a particular reader who must be mightily pleased right now. She had written to me and left comments multiple times asking me to make spring rolls. I heard you, I really did but couldn’t make it because I would need at least one more person to make this. Spring rolls are quite fiddly, and having to wrap and take pictures at the same time would be quite the task, so I waited until I could find someone to help me, and my friend Ms Joxy (as she is fondly called) did just that. She came two Sundays ago with her family, and it was one of the treats I served, with Banga Rice, Roast Chicken and Chips, Eba and Otong soups with Samosa’s Spring rolls, Walkers Crisps and Ice cream. I love entertaining and make sure I have options to feed my guests.

Prior to that Sunday, I had only attempted spring rolls once and it was at a friend’s house in Lagos in preparation for their party. Dexterity is not one of my strongest points, ask my father. He tried to teach me tennis and for once, he gave in. I just couldn’t hit the ball. He tried squash, no chance. It is laughable really, watching me trying to hit the ball and failing each time. Also the reason I can’t play any musical instrument. My hand eye co-ordination is like that of a 2-year-old. While the rest of the ladies had wrapped like 5, I was still battling with 1. Even that one looked pretty wonky to be honest. Thank goodness for Ms Joxy, she managed to make a couple of tidy and pretty looking ones, which I saved to fry for pictures. Of the 10+ ones I made, only 2 looked really nice. So sad. Loooool. You can imagine how my art projects in primary school turned out, but as parents go, all I was told was, oh beautiful darling, well done. I am sure they were thinking, goodness me, my child made that! My siblings on the other hand have an artistic flair, me, I must have missed that gene.

I don’t know how an Oriental dish found its way to Nigerian shores and we have so adapted it, it has become a National Treasure. Thanks to Joke, I finally have a Spring Roll post. Let’s Cook.

You will need

Spring Roll wrappers – to learn how to make your own, click HERE

Egg wash  – or use flour and water paste

Your choice of filling – meat, fish, chicken, veg

Oil to deep fry

Ensure that you have all you need ready and set on the kitchen worktop before you start. I tried out 2 methods of wrapping spring rolls, choose whichever is most comfortable. If you are using store-bought spring roll wrappers, get them out of the freezer, cover with a damp cloth and let it defrost till it gets to room temperature. Keep the damp cloth over it to prevent it from drying out. if you let it dry out, the wrappers will harden and crack.

For your filling, this is up to you really. You can use meat, chicken, fish, or make it vegetarian. Me, I used a combination of stir fry’s made with meat and chicken.

How To

Spring Roll Wrapping Method 1 – this works for square wrappers. if you have a round wrapper click HERE

1. Lay out one spring roll wrapper on your work table.

2. Place the filling in the middle near the edge closest to you. make sure you taste your filling. It must be well seasoned or the spring roll will taste bland. Also, don’t over fill or it would be too difficult to wrap neatly.

3. Fold the edges over the filling. You can choose to cover halfway (this was me)

This was Ms Joxy’s. She completely folded over. Obvious now why hers was prettier. Lol.

4. Proceed to rolling away from you. Do it gently, and if you did not over fill, you will be fine.

5. Roll until you have just a little bit left, which would form the last roll to close the spring roll.

6. Using a pastry brush, apply the egg wash on the rolled part and the flat part. This egg wash is to seal it.

7. One final roll and you seal it.

See, not so difficult now is it, well unless you are like me who is Dexterity Challenged. That should be a thing, seriously. Some of us truly have it bad. Lol

See how nicely wrapped and tucked in it is. This was obviously Ms Joxy’s. Lol

8. Repeat the process and make as many as your wrappers and filling allow

9. Heat up oil and fry a test batch. Fry one or two at first, just to test the temperature of the oil, the same way you would do with puff puff

10. Then fry a big batch

11. You should flip over, when one side has obviously browned.

12. Don’t over fry, because Spring rolls have a light brown golden colour that is pleasing to the eye, with a crunch that you can’t miss. You over fry, it would be dark brown and the pastry would taste burnt.

Isn’t that just a beauty folks.

Serve with my Rodo Jam (recipe click HERE), and I promise you that, no small chops at parties will top that. Feel proud and accomplished, think back to all the waiters who snubbed you, and fist pump in the air. You can make spring rolls anytime you want now and with any filling you wish. Thank you Ms Joxy

This is just one method of wrapping spring rolls. In the next post, I will be sharing the other method that I tried. I felt it best to split them. Click HERE