Home-rolled spring rolls

Ingredientsserves 4

Method

1. Stir-fry the pork until it just loses its pink, add the prawn and mushroom, then the carrot, and the seasoning.
2. Add the yellow chives last, toss twenty seconds, thicken with the cornflour slurry so the filling holds together, and spread it on a tray to cool completely; a warm filling makes a soggy roll.
3. Peel one sheet off the stack (keep the rest under a cloth), lay it as a diamond, and put two tablespoons of filling in a log across the near corner.
4. Roll: fold the near corner over the filling, fold both sides in to the middle, roll up tightly to the far corner, and seal the tip with flour paste. Lay seam down.
5. Heat the oil to 170 to 180 °C in a wok or deep pan, about 3 cm deep. Fry the rolls seam side down first, five or six at a time, turning often, for three to four minutes until golden and blistered.
6. Drain upright, rest two minutes (they crisp as they cool), and serve with Worcestershire sauce.
7. To freeze: freeze the rolled, uncooked rolls on a tray, then bag; fry from frozen at 160 °C for six to seven minutes, never thawed.

Take care

• Contains wheat (pastry, flour), prawn (crustacean) and soy; peanut if fried in peanut oil. Deep-frying at home: oil no deeper than a third of the pan, never leave the stove, and never put a wet roll into hot oil.

The story

A spring roll is shaped like a gold bar, which is why it belongs to the Lunar New Year: a tray rolled by the family on the eve, fried for guests on the first day. In Hong Kong homes it is a freezer dish like the wonton, rolled once and eaten for a season. The Cantonese yellow-chive roll and the Shanghai wombok roll live side by side in Hong Kong, and which one is the nostalgic one depends on the family.

Same technique

Home-wrapped wontons

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.