Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are vegetables rolled tight in a thin wheat wrapper and deep-fried until the shell turns brittle and golden. They are the starter that opens a hundred Chinese menus, named for their original role as a Lunar New Year and springtime dish.

What it really is

Shredded cabbage, carrot and bean sprout are stir-fried briefly to soften and lightly season them before they cool, since rolling hot, wet filling into a wrapper would tear it or steam it soggy from the inside. Rolled tight into a thin wheat wrapper and sealed at the edge, the rolls fry until the shell turns crisp and brittle rather than merely golden, holding its crunch even once the roll cools slightly on the plate.

The filling is cooked and cooled before it's rolled, not after. A wrapper holding raw or hot filling either tears under the moisture or steams from the inside during frying; pre-cooking and cooling the filling is what keeps the shell dry enough to fry crisp.

How it is served

• Whole or cut on the diagonal, several per portion.
• With a dipping sauce, often sweet chilli or plum sauce.
• As a starter, rarely as a main course on its own.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the wheat in the wrapper and the soy if it's used in the filling seasoning.
• It is naturally vegan and vegetarian in its vegetable form; say if a meat or shrimp version is also offered.
• Say if they're fried to order, since a batch fried ahead and reheated loses much of its crispness.