Spring rolls: easy to make and addictive

These spring rolls are a good way to include a wide array of vegetables in your diet. I regularly go through my fridge and use the random scraps in the vegetable drawer to make this filling mixture. It also works well as a dumpling filling. The combination of ginger, garlic and soy sauce with the fresh coriander gives most vegetables a boost of flavour.

These are crunchy, crisp and addictive once dunked in the dipping sauce. You can use a ready-made sweet chilli or satay sauce, your own home-made dipping sauce or simply a little bowl of soy sauce. These are a real family favourite in my house.

Using rice paper wrappers is a handy, quick and easy way to make Chinese spring rolls. These can be pan fried or deep fried, or you can use an air fryer. I also always have these in the back of the cupboard for making Vietnamese summer rolls, packed with raw vegetables and fresh herbs such as coriander and mint. Soak the rice paper in water, then layer on the raw vegetables and wrap tightly like a burrito, and they can then be eaten as they are.

There are also many choices of protein to make this a filling, balanced meal. Ideally, these spring rolls would have a sweet, plump prawn tucked inside. For a more economical and sustainable option, I use leftover chicken, turkey or ham. A little goes a long way. You can also of course make these vegetarian. Peas or edamame can supply the protein, or you can use tofu.

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Tofu is fantastic with these flavours. I like the West Cork brand Otofu. This organic tofu is handmade and comes in flavours including miso sesame and Korean chilli. They are great quality and handy for a plant based meal.

Recipe: Rice paper spring rolls

Lilly’s Kitchen Tips

1. While you have the food processor out, finely chop large batches of garlic and ginger together. Pack the aromatic mince into ice cube trays, or into a ziploc bag, and divide into blocks. Cook straight from frozen.
2. Rice paper wrappers are readily available from supermarkets. Most speciality ingredients are also available online too.
3. You can prepare in advance of time by making the filling, cooling it and storing in the fridge.