Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls
What are these vegetable spring rolls?
I grew up watching my mom deep-fry spring rolls filled with ground pork and minced vegetables, so they always bring me comfort. This vegetable spring roll recipe is inspired by those memories but uses a different method and filling. To make these spring rolls healthier, I air-fried them and used an all-vegetable filling with minced black fungus for added texture. It as an amazing taste. If you're looking for the traditional spring roll recipe, you can find it here.
Ingredients For Crispy Veggie Spring Rolls
Spring roll wrapper: There are many types available, but I prefer the Spring Home brand for its consistency and durability—it doesn’t tear easily.
Garlic cloves
Ginger: Adds brightness to the flavor; use sparingly.
Green onions
Yellow onions
Green cabbage: Be sure to mince it very finely. Other cabbage varieties are good too: napa cabbage, red cabbage
Black fungus: This mushroom is great in spring rolls. Available whole or pre-minced and dried. Rehydrate them, then blanch for a few seconds in boiling water. Another possible mushroom option is minced shiitake mushroom.
Carrots
Taro: This recipe uses purple taro, which adds color and absorbs excess liquid to keep the rolls from breaking. Potatoes are a good alternative.
Bean thread noodles: Adds extra texture to the spring roll.
Eggs
Oyster sauce
Black pepper
MSG
Step by Step Instructions
Preparing The Ingredients
The biggest task in making egg rolls is the prep, so let's start with the cabbage. Cut it in half, then into quarters. Using a mandoline, slice one of the quarters thinly—I only used half a cabbage for this recipe. Grate large carrots into thin slices, and do the same with the taro for consistency. Mince the green onions. Soak mung bean noodles in room-temperature water for a few minutes, then roughly chop them into inch-sized pieces. For the yellow onion, use half and slice it thinly with the mandoline. I also like adding minced ginger to balance the richness of the fried rolls. Lastly, dice the black fungus after soaking it in water and blanching it for a few seconds.
Cook the Filling
Cooking the filling first makes rolling easier. In a large pot, sauté garlic and ginger for a few seconds, then add the green and yellow onions. Once translucent, toss in the cabbage, black fungus, carrot, taro, and bean thread noodles. Season the mix with oyster sauce, MSG, and fresh black pepper, and cook until the veggies reduce by half.
Set the filling aside. Crack an egg and whisk it to use as a seal for the wrappers. I like using these egg roll wrappers because they’re reliable, with 25 per pack.
Roll the Spring Rolls
To roll, place a spoonful of the filling on the corner of a wrapper, avoiding any liquid to prevent tearing. Roll the wrapper away from you into a cylinder. Once halfway, fold the sides in toward the center, then continue rolling. Dab the last corner with egg to seal. Repeat for the remaining 24 rolls.
Cook the Spring Rolls
Place the egg rolls in the air fryer basket and spray with cooking oil to crisp them up. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, flipping halfway. For extra crispiness, you can add 3-5 more minutes in the pan.
The egg rolls are done—listen to that crunch! I like serving them with a premade sweet chili dipping sauce.
Serving The Spring Rolls
These veg spring rolls are cooked in the air fryer and come out crispy. When I have extra rolls, I put it in the fridge and re-air fry it and it still gets crispy.