Pork Spring Roll (with Peanut Sauce) Recipe
This crispy and flavorful appetizer pork spring roll (with peanut dipping sauce) recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser! Hot out of wok, oven, or air fryer, these golden brown rolls filled with juicy pork, vegetables, and spices practically melt in your mouth. You can also freeze them as part of your meal prep!
What is the difference between spring roll and egg roll?
The main differences between these two appetizers has to do with the wrappers and fillings. The spring roll wrappers are more delicate than the egg roll wrappers. The egg roll wrappers are big wonton wrappers and have bubbles on the skin when fried. You are more likely to see and eat seasoned cabbage, woodear mushrooms, and bean thread in spring rolls and more meat with cabbage in the egg rolls. Thanks to Food Network for confirming my research as I frankly never had egg rolls until I moved to the States. My spring rolls are the mixed of the two as it is stuffed with seasoned pork, cabbage, bean thread and wrapped in the spring roll wrappers.
Are spring rolls and Lumpia the same?
Lumpia is a name of spring roll from Indonesia and the Philippines. Therefore, spring rolls and Lumpia are the same. There are also varieties of Lumpia from savory to sweet that you may want to try such as cheese lumpia and banana lumpia.
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How to wrap and seal spring rolls?
My favorite adhesive that helps to seal these pork spring rolls is the water and flour paste. I mix 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour with one and a half tablespoon of room temperature water to make the spring roll glue. To me, this makes more sense and better than using a beaten egg or water because this paste/glue is made from wheat flour just like the spring rolls wrapper. This helps prevent the rolls from splitting or losing the seal when deep frying very well. Sometimes, the frozen store bought spring rolls wrappers got more harden and hard to rolls or split. I found that this paste is perfect for this type of situation. However, you can definitely use water or beaten egg as your adhesive too. It is up to you.
To wrap the pork spring rolls, face a corner of the wrapper toward you. Add one to one and a half tablespoon of the filling about an inch or two from the corner. Roll it toward the center then fold in the side corners toward the middle, enclosing the filling into a tight packet. Use your fingers to gently press the side folds closed. As you near the top, continue rolling to fully close the wrap, sealing it with the flour paste as seen in the picture below. Don’t worry too much about making it perfect every time. These pork spring rolls will be delicious no matter what.
How to bake or air fry spring roll.
Besides deep frying these pork spring rolls, I personally love the air fry version too. Simply brush or spray the air fry basket with oil and the pork spring rolls. Then air fry them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 – 12 minutes (5 – 6 minutes on each side). They will be light and crispy and very delightful to eat. To bake the pork spring rolls, preheat your oven at 425 degrees. Place a rack in a baking sheet and brush both the rack and the spring rolls with vegetable oil. Bake until golden on top, about 15 minutes. Turn the spring rolls and bake the other side for another 10 minutes.
How to store and reheat spring rolls.
My favorite way to reheat the leftover pork spring roll is to air fry them. Simply spray the air frying basket and the spring rolls and air fry (reheat) them at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes. You can also reheat them in the oven by placing them on the rack and brush with the oil like when you bake to cook them. Bake (reheat) the pork spring roll at 350 degrees for 10 -15 minutes. Microwaving the spring rolls, will definitely get them warm but not the crispy skin.
To store the uncooked spring rolls for meal prep, put them on a big plate or a baking sheet then freeze them in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Once these pork spring rolls are individually frozen, transfer them to a ziplock and keep them in the freezer. They stay fresh in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can pan fry and air fry frozen spring rolls without thawing them first. The air frying time still takes the same as you air fry the fresh spring rolls, but you will need an extra minute or two when deep or pan frying these pork spring rolls.
Dipping sauce that goes well with spring rolls.
I am giving you the recipe of the dipping sauce that I grew up eating with spring rolls. It is made from equal parts of water, sugar, and white vinegar as a base. Then flavor with minced garlic, sea salt, and a Thai chili pepper. Finally, topped with shredded carrot or daikon and crushed peanuts. This peanut dipping sauce also goes well with other dishes include lemongrass chicken lettuce wrap, lemongrass chicken bowl, pork and shrimp spring rolls, firecracker shrimp (recipes coming soon). If you do not wish to make this peanut sauce, you can definitely pair these pork spring rolls with the store bought Thai sweet chili sauce. I hope I have written enough tips in this post. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask in the post comments. I’d love to hear from you 🙂
Pork Spring Roll (with Peanut Sauce) Recipe
Equipment
- 1 wok or frying pan
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
For the peanut sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar or granulate monk fruit
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 Thai chili pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp peanut roasted and crushed
- 1 tbsp carrot or daikon shredded
For the pork spring roll filling
- 1 pack spring rolls wrappers 25 wrappers
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 cup cabbage chopped or use a cup of store bought packaged slaw
- 1/2 cup carrots chopped or shredded
- 1 bundle bean thread
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon
- 1 tbsp garlic powder or 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp onion powder or half small onion (finely chopped)
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce or Hoisin sauce
- Ground black or white pepper to taste optional
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour to mix with water to make glue
- 1½ tbsp water room temperature
Instructions
Prepare the pork spring roll filling
- Soak the bean thread in room temperature for about 5-8 minutes.
- Mean while chop carrots and cabbage and put them in a mixing bowl.
- Once the bean thread begin to soften. Cut it into small pieces about half an inch long with the kitchen scissors.
- Add the bean thread and ground pork to the same bowl that already has carrot and cabbage. Season with chicken or pork bouillon, oyster sauce or Hoisin sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and optionally a pinch of ground pepper. Remember that you can also use chopped fresh garlic and onion instead of the powder version. Also, optionally you can add an egg to this mixture as another binding agent if you feel that it's needed. However, in my personal experience, I found that the filling stick together just fine without it.
- Scoop a teaspoon of the filling and put it on a plate and microwave it for about 45 seconds to cook it. Taste to see if you'd like to adjust the taste of the filling.
Wrapping the pork spring roll
- In a small bowl, make an adhesive by combining 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour with one an a half tablespoon of room temperature water. Stir to combine. Set it a side.
- Get a cutting board or a silicone mat to set up the rolling station.
- To wrap the pork spring rolls, face a corner of the wrapper toward you. Add one to one and a half tablespoon of the filling about an inch or two from the corner. Roll it toward the center then fold in the side corners toward the middle, enclosing the filling into a tight packet. Use your fingers to gently press the side folds closed. As you near the top, continue rolling to fully close the wrap, sealing it with the flour paste as seen in the picture above. Or see the video for the clarification.
Frying the Pork Spring Rolls
- Use medium heat. In a frying pan or your choice of frying vessel (pot or wok), add the vegetable oil at least 2 inches from the bottom. Check to see if the oil is hot enough by feeling the air temperature above the wok and sticking a chop stick into the oil. If the oil is hot enough, you will see some bubbles around the chop stick. Or throw a small bit of the spring roll wrapper in a pan. If it starts frying and surrounded by bubbles, it's hot enough. Or measure with thermometer at 350 -375 degrees.
- Depends on the size of your frying vessel, drop spring rolls into hot oil to fry. Please, make sure not to over crowd the pan. Fry the spring rolls about 5 – 6 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Using medium or medium low heat will help to ensure that the pork filling is cooked through without burning the wrapper.
- Meanwhile, line paper towels over a baking sheet or big plates to put your spring rolls once cooked. This recipe makes 25 pork spring rolls. For me that takes 3 batches of frying or about 30 minutes.
Make the peanut dipping sauce
- Use medium heat. In a sauce pan, combine water, white vinegar, sugar, and salt together. Stir until all the sugar and salt dissolved.
- Add minced garlic and Thai chili. Let the mixture boiled for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add shredded daikon or carrot and crushed roasted peanut. Put the sauce in a small bowl to let it cool. You can make the dipping sauce while frying the spring rolls to save time as well.
Serve and eat
- You can have the pork spring rolls as is or use it as part of the lettuce wrap. In Asia, the spring rolls are often cut into thirds or fourths. Then on a lettuce leaf, add some cilantro and more shredded carrots. Followed by a piece of spring roll and drizzle with peanut sauce or the Thai sweet chili sauce. Enjoy!
Video
@stickyricethaikitchen Pork Spring Roll with Peanut Sauce For the peanut sauce ¼ cup water ¼ cup white vinegar ¼ cup sugar or granulate monk fruit 1 tsp sea salt 1 Thai chili pepper 1 tbsp garlic minced 2 tbsp peanut roasted and crushed 1 tbsp carrot or daikon shredded For the pork spring roll filling 1 pack spring rolls wrappers 25 wrappers 1 lb ground pork 1 cup cabbage chopped or use a cup of store bought packaged slaw 1/2 cup carrots chopped or shredded 1 bundle bean thread 2 tsp chicken bouillon 1 tbsp garlic powder or 2 tbsp minced garlic 1 tbsp onion powder or half small onion (finely chopped) 3 tbsp oyster sauce or Hoisin sauce Ground black or white pepper to taste optional Vegetable oil for frying 1 tbsp all purpose flour to mix with water to make glue 1½ tbsp water room temperature Get the printable recipe and tips from www.stickyricethaikitchen.com #springrolls#eggrolls#easyrecipe#asianrecipe#thairecipe#tiktokfood#simplerecipe#cocinando
♬ 맛있다 달고나커피 – BGM President
I will definitely make this recipe again. The peanut dipping sauce is so delicious and adds nice contrast and texture to the spring rolls! Can’t stop eating it.
Thank you so much Tyson! This is so great to hear 😀
👌 This tastes great! It brings a spring into my step!