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Thank you to all who responded with helpful tips. I just wanted to say
that while my son and I agree with the several people who said the
spring rolls didn't need to be fried because they are delicious raw, I
am also cooking for my dear hubby who is less than thrilled with my
imposition of healthy food on him. So, if I can make them so he will
also like them by frying them... especially since they contained no
meat. It has taken me so long to summarize because I ended up freezing
them wrapped individually in waxed paper so they wouldn't go bad. I
wasn't about to use my good oil that costs $10 per quart when I needed
the whole quart. So, I had to wait until I made another journey into
town (we live very rurally). Probably the best suggestion was about
getting a non-stick pan, but getting a good one costs a lot of money and
the cheap ones don't last.
My recipe was simple. I used what I had in the garden.
1 good size bunch of kale, chopped (in the future I'll save the stems
for something else)
1 Tbs. sesame oil (would have been really good with hot sesame oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 2 c. chopped white mushrooms
I sauteed the garlic in the oil. Added the kale and the mushrooms and
cooked until the kale was tender and the mushrooms exuded liquid. I
soaked the rice papers in cold water and wrapped up about 2 Tbs of the
filling in them. Voila! Shredded carrots would make a good addition to
the kale.
Here was my original plea for help:
>Help! I made the spring rolls and went to fry them in about 1/4 to 1/2" of
>olive oil and they stuck! Any tips? I roll the rest in wax paper and stashed
>them into the frig until I can figure out how else to cook them.
Here are the suggestions:
You need more oil. Fry only a few at a time and be sure that they are not
touching.
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I did mention that they were very sticky. When I did the, I used a
non-stick pan as well as the oil. That's the only thing I could suggest.
Oh, perhaps if we let them sit abit after rolling them. That is let some
of the water dry out? Maybe that would make them less sticky? Let me
know if you discover any innovations in this regard. good luck.
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You need to have enough oil in the pan so they float (like donuts). Cook
on one side until golden and turn them over to cook on the other side. It
doesn't take long.
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Part of your problem is probably the olive oil. Olive oil breaks down at
high temperatures. It's good for pan frying at LOW temperature, but for
deep frying spring rolls, you would need an oil that can withstand higher
temperatures. If you're cooking your spring rolls at a low temperature,
they would soak up the oil and stick.
I would use more oil. Don't add the spring rolls until the oil is hot
enough (360 deg Fahrenheit). Add a few at a time so that the oil doesn't
cool too much. Don't let the oil get too hot because it will smoke and
spatter and burn the food and may even catch fire.
I haven't investigated oils, but I think safflower, sunflower, soy,
corn, or canola oil would work.
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Maybe it's cheating, but I always use a nonstick pan or (my favorite) a
well seasoned cast iron pan. By the way, was your oil hot enough
initially? if you drop in a piece of scallion or chive and it 'fizzes'
immediately, then it is at the correct temperature. Good luck!!!
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Make sure the oil is quite hot - but not smoking!-before putting them in.
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Maybe the oil wasn't hot enough. Make sure it's real hot before you put
the spring rolls in it: the surface of the oil should look like it's
shimmering from the heat. Put a drop of water from a spoon (carefully!)
on the oil to test it, or dip one end of a spring roll in: you should
hear a sizzle if the oil's hot enough. But you don't want it smoking.
Using a non-stick pan helps, too.
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I lay mine in the oil with the seam sides down, and that crisps up first
and helps hold them together.
But you don't actually need to fry or cook them at all! They are very
tasty with the rice paper soft and tender. Just be sure your filling
doesn't need to cook at all. It should be cooked already (some leftovers
are great fillings!) or good to eat raw.
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Why fry them? They are delicious raw.
If you must fry them perhaps you should do it one at a time so they
don't stick together.
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"Hot pan cold oil wont stick "
I heard this once on a cooking show and it has always worked for us. The
pan must be really hot thought before the oil goes in.
Also I would love to have the rol recipie
Hope this helps
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have not tried making the spring rolls so this is just general cooking
knowledge, but olive oil is not considered the best oil for frying
things because it will start to burn before it gets hot enough to fry. I
suspect that is the problem. Peanut oil is the best for frying; if you
are allergic to peanuts try safflower oil.
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PREFREEZE THEM, and fry them up while they are still frozen. This help to
take away some of the gumminess of the rice wrapper, and allows them to
brown slightly so they don't stick before they cook. Be sure that you
precook any meat products when using this method though.
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