Air Fryer Spring Rolls

April 21, 2020

Air Fryer Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are the Chinese original behind the wider spring-roll family — a thin wheat wrapper rolled tight around a stir-fried vegetable filling, traditionally deep-fried and eaten around Lunar New Year, and now an everyday dim sum and takeaway staple. This version swaps the deep-fry bath for an air fryer: a light coat of oil on the wrapper does the work a pot of hot oil would otherwise do, for a lot less mess and fat.

The wrapper matters more than it looks. Spring roll pastry is thin wheat dough sold in 8-inch squares, and it is not the same product as an egg roll wrapper, which is thicker, includes egg, and stays chewy rather than shattering. Rice paper is a different pastry class again. Using the wrong wrapper is the most common way this dish goes wrong before it even reaches the fryer.

The filling is cabbage and carrot stir-fried hard and fast over high heat, so the vegetables sear rather than stew and release their water into the pan. Bean sprouts and soaked dried shiitake round it out, and a cornstarch slurry stirred in at the end binds everything and mops up any liquid left behind — a wet filling is the single biggest reason spring rolls turn soggy instead of crisp. The filling has to cool completely before it goes anywhere near a wrapper.

Rolled tight with no air pockets and sealed with a dab of cornstarch paste, the rolls go into the air fryer with a thin, even coat of oil on every side. They come out golden and audibly crisp, if a shade less shatteringly crisp than a true deep fry — a trade most people are happy to make. Serve them hot with sweet chili sauce for dipping.

Ingredients

Makes 12 spring rolls

The filling

250 g napa cabbage, finely shredded
150 g carrot, julienned
100 g bean sprouts
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and thinly sliced (optional, for depth)
2–3 green onions (~30 g), thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves (~10 g), minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp neutral oil, for the stir-fry
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
¼ tsp sugar
¼ tsp ground white pepper
salt, to taste
2 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp cold water, whisked into a slurry, to bind and dry the filling

Assembly

12 thin spring roll wrappers (not egg roll wrappers), 20 cm square, thawed
1 tbsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water, whisked into a sealing slurry
neutral oil (avocado or vegetable), for spraying or brushing

To serve

sweet chili sauce or other chili dipping sauce

Directions

The filling

If you’re using dried shiitake, soak them in warm water for about 15 minutes until pliable, then slice thinly.

Heat the neutral oil in a wok or large pan over high heat until it’s nearly smoking. Add the cabbage and carrot and stir-fry hard for about 2 minutes, keeping the heat high enough that the vegetables sear rather than stew — this is what keeps them from watering out.

Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the bean sprouts, shiitake, and green onions, then the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, and salt, and toss for another minute.

Stir the cornstarch slurry in and cook briefly until it thickens and binds the filling, with no standing liquid left in the pan. Spread the filling out on a sheet pan to cool completely, blotting up any pooled liquid with paper towels.

Assembly

Keep the wrappers covered with a damp towel while you work. Lay one wrapper down as a diamond, with a corner pointing toward you, and spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling in a horizontal line across the lower third, leaving an inch of bare wrapper on each side.

Fold the bottom corner up and over the filling and tuck it under, then fold in the two side corners. Roll the whole thing away from you into a tight cylinder, and seal the last corner with a dab of the cornstarch sealing slurry, pressing to close.

Spray or brush every surface of the rolls with a thin, even coat of neutral oil, including the seam, then arrange them in the air fryer basket in a single layer without touching.

Air fry at 390°F (200°C) for 8–10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the rolls are golden and crisp. For a gentler brown, drop the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and cook for about 10 minutes.

To serve

Let the rolls cool for a few minutes, then serve warm with sweet chili sauce for dipping.

Notes

To make ahead, freeze the assembled, uncooked rolls in a single layer on a tray, then transfer to a bag once solid. Cook straight from frozen — don’t thaw, or condensation will soften the wrapper — at 390°F (200°C) for 10–12 minutes, flipping partway through. Mini rolls take 6–8 minutes.

To reheat cooked rolls, air fry at 390°F (200°C) for about 4 minutes with no flip.

The recipe as written is vegetarian, and vegan as long as the soy sauce is used on its own — some versions add a teaspoon of oyster sauce, which isn’t vegan.

A dry filling and a tightly rolled wrapper are what keep these crisp. A wet filling or a loose roll steams from the inside and turns soggy, no matter how well it’s fried.