Cook’s notes
A variation of the crispy spinach and cream cheese dumplings, chopped shrimps and bird’s eye chili are added to the filling for these spring rolls. The natural sweetness of the shrimps and the heat from the chili get mixed with the salty creaminess of the cheese, and the result is simply amazing.
It is important to blanch the spinach and squeeze out excess water before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients of the filling. You have to remove excess moisture to make sure that the filling will emit the least amount of steam during frying. That’s the secret to fried spring rolls that don’t get soggy within minutes of cooking.
The weight given below is the weight of peeled and deveined shrimps. If you get your shrimps with the head, shell and tail, you’ll need about 500 grams (1.1 pounds). See how to clean, peel and devein shrimps and prawns.
Spinach
It is important to blanch the spinach and squeeze out excess water before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients of the filling. You have to remove excess moisture to make sure that the filling will emit the least amount of steam during frying. That’s the secret to fried spring rolls that don’t get soggy within minutes of cooking.
Shrimps
The weight given below is the weight of peeled and deveined shrimps. If you get your shrimps with the head, shell and tail, you’ll need about 500 grams (1.1 pounds). See how to clean, peel and devein shrimps and prawns.
Wrapping spring rolls
Wrapping the spring rolls pretty much follows the standard procedure. Place the filling at the wrapper, fold one edge to cover the filling, fold in the edges, then roll until completely sealed (see also: How to wrap, store and reheat spring rolls).Serving
The filling is so tasty that dipping sauce would really be overkill. If you want more nuance though, serve the spring rolls with lime or lemon wedges. Squeeze the juice directly into the filling before taking a bite.Shrimp, spinach and cheese spring rolls
Ingredients
- 250 grams spinach (8.8 oz) blanched, cooled, squeezed and finely chopped
- 300 grams shrimps (10.5 oz) peeled, deveined and roughly chopped
- 125 grams cream cheese (4.4 oz)
- 1 bird’s eye chili finely sliced
- salt
- pepper
- 12 six-inch square spring roll wrappers
- 1 egg beaten with two tablespoons water to make an egg wash
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- cooking oil
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the chopped spinach, shrimps, cream cheese, a quarter teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper and chili.
- Lay a spring roll wrapper flat.
- Spread a heaping tablespoonful of the filling across the middle of the spring roll. Lift a corner of the wrapper to cover the filling, roll once, then tuck in the left and right corners.
- Moisten the unwrapped portion of the wrapper with egg wash then continue rolling to seal the filling.
- Repeat until all the wrappers have been filled or until you run out of filling.
- Sprinkle the uncooked spring rolls with corn starch.
- Heat enough cooking oil in a a frying pan to reach a depth of at least two inches.
- Fry the shrimp and spinach spring rolls in batches, rolling them around in hot oil, until the wrappers are golden and crisp.
- Cut each spring roll into two and serve immediately.
White rice, Mexican-style (arroz blanco)
