Pepper’s

SPRING ROLLS
Asian cuisines have given us an efficient way to get all the food
groups into one cute little package: the spring roll! Actually, I
don’t even know what the food groups are anymore. Are they a
pyramid? Did Michelle Obama change it and then did Melania
plagiarize it as her own? I don’t know. Anyway, my mom’s
spring rolls are sure to bring together both sides of the aisle.
They’re crispy on the outside, juicy and savory on the inside.
They’re fried. And they have vegetables, too!

MAKES 20 TO 25 SPRING ROLLS

ACTIVE TIME / 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME / 1 HR

1 pound ground pork

½ pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely minced
7 ounces soft tofu (about ½ package), drained of most of its
liquid
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites
8 cups canola or vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 (10- to 12-ounce) package large (8-inch) spring roll
wrappers*
Thai sweet chili sauce or hoisin sauce, for serving
In a bowl, use your hands to mash up the pork, shrimp, tofu, bean
sprouts, celery, onion, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and pepper until well
incorporated. Place the egg whites in a bowl.

Pour the oil into a 4- to 5-quart saucepan over medium heat and
heat to 370°F. (Use a deep-fry thermometer or test the oil by
throwing in a little piece of bread or some bread crumbs; if they
sizzle immediately but aren’t burning, you’re ready. If the oil comes
to temperature before you’re ready to start frying, turn the heat
down to low to maintain the temperature and then turn it back up to
medium when you’re about ready to cook.)

Meanwhile, lay out a spring roll wrapper on a work surface and

moisten the edges with egg white. Spread a little less than ¼ cup of
the filling mixture in a stripe one-third of the way up from the
bottom of the wrapper, leaving a 1-inch border on each side. Lift
the wrapper up from the bottom over the filling, roll a bit, then fold
in the sides and continue to wrap until tightly sealed into a log,
brushing the final seam with egg white to seal. Continue making
spring rolls until all of the filling and/or wrappers are used up.

When the oil is at the right temperature, working in batches of 4 or

5 at a time (and letting the oil come back to temperature between
batches), fry the spring rolls until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Drain the spring rolls on paper towels. Serve with sweet chili sauce
or hoisin sauce.

Usually you’ll see two sizes of wrappers in the refrigerated

case, weirdly often in the produce section; get the larger
ones. The number of wrappers in a package can vary from
anywhere between 20 and 25. If you come up short on filling,
you can use the leftover wrappers for the Lazy Shrimp and
Pork “Wonton” Soup (this page). If you end up with a little
extra filling, you can always stir-fry it, season it to taste, and
serve it over rice.