In spite of it being a Vegan Thai Spring Roll, this trumps all of the spring roll recipes. This is how I prefer to make them, with vegetables only! The flavour and texture are exactly how you want to be wrapped in that crispy pastry.
My Vegan Thai Spring Roll Recipe Inspiration
I’ll be completely honest and tell you I was never too fussed about spring rolls. However, when I had the one that my mother-in-law made, it was converted. She made the Chinese version of these little flavourful, deep-fried goodness – with dried ham and Chinese sausage alongside the vegetable which was absolutely delicious!
Her spring rolls really inspired my adaptation, made with just plant-based ingredients. With the new creation of plant-based alternatives for Asian sauces, this recipe really shines and highlights how we can adapt the traditional Asian dishes can be recreated with all plant-based ingredients.
Vegan Thai Spring Roll Important Steps
Step 1: Sourcing Ingredients
There are only a few ingredients in the recipe, but you should be able to find them in most Asian or Oriental supermarkets around the UK.
Mooli or Asian Radish – is a white radish with a subtle sweet flavour. It’s typically used in Asian and Southeast Asian recipes. It’s so common that you can now find this in major supermarket. I’ve definitely seen this around across London in Sainsburys and Tesco.
Dried Shiitake Mushrooms – if you’ve not tried these before, I highly recommend them. Mushrooms are notorious for their deep umami flavour but Shiitake is just off the roof! Soak them well ahead of time in warm water. To check if it’s ready to be used, give it a little squeeze, when they’re soft as a sponge they’re ready.
Wood Ear Mushrooms – it grows on wood and shapes like ears. This mushroom is critical for this recipe as it gives such a nice contrasting crunchy texture to the softer tender carrot and mooli in the filling.
Mung bean vermicelli – my favourite noodles. Low in calories and high in protein. It’s also got a bouncy texture when you cook them. These are the same as my Yum Vermicelli Salad recipe.
Step 2: Making the Vegan Thai Spring Roll fillings
The way I prefer making the spring rolls, and the best way I find is to cook off the fillings before rolling them. This makes it so much easier to fry and keep. However, my auntie will disagree as her recipe, which I call an advanced version, will roll the fillings (including raw pork mince) and fry them with raw ingredients.
So to make the vegan Thai spring roll, first cook the fillings. Add the julienned carrots, mooli, shiitake mushroom and wood ear mushrooms to the hot pan with a drizzle of oil. Then season, and leave to cool before rolling them. Never roll them hot, as the steam that comes off the filling will make the pastry go soggy and breaks apart.
Step 3: Get rollin’
Rolling will get easy as you get used to it but the crucial thing is to know the right techniques. First, place your pastry with the corner facing towards yourself, in a diamond-like shape. Then place the fillings about halfway up the pastry. Next, roll the bottom end up carefully and pull the roll back towards yourself until it is taut. Fold the left and right ends to the centre and roll the filling upwards. Brush the remaining tip with the flour-water slurry and seal.
Vegan Thai Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 20 g dried shiitake mushroom
- 20 g dried wood ear mushroom
- 200 g carrots, julienned
- 200 g mooli, julienned
- ½ tbsp salt
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp mushroom sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp white pepper powder
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 50 g mung bean vermicelli
- 20 sheets spring roll wrappers
- 500 ml frying oil
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 ½ tbsp water
Instructions
- Soak the shiitake and wood ear mushroom in water for about 3 hours prior to cooking until soft.20 g dried shiitake mushroom, 20 g dried wood ear mushroom
- Peel and roughly julienne the carrots and mooli, add salt and sugar then mix well then set aside for at least 1 hour. We're doing this to draw out the water from the vegetables so the filling doesn't get soggy. Squeeze our the water before use.200 g carrots, julienned, 200 g mooli, julienned, ½ tbsp salt, ½ tbsp sugar
- When the mushrooms are ready, squeeze out the water then roughly chop both mushrooms.20 g dried shiitake mushroom, 20 g dried wood ear mushroom
- In a hot pan, add vegetable oil then the carrots, mooli, and the mushrooms. Then season with soy sauce, mushroom sauce, white pepper and sugar. Fry for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat until the water have evaporated from the filling and the filling is booked and fairly dry. Set aside to cool down.2 tbsp mushroom sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp white pepper powder, 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Soak the mung bean vermicelli in water for at least 15 minutes. Drain well and roughly cut them up into about 1-inch length. Add the vermicelli into the cooled mixture we made earlier.50 g mung bean vermicelli
- Fill and roll up the fillings in the sheet. Then to seal, use the paste made from flour and water to brush the tips. See video attached.20 sheets spring roll wrappers, 1 tbsp flour, 1 ½ tbsp water
- Fry in hot oil at 190°C for 3 minutes or until beautiful golden brown.500 ml frying oil
Let me know how it went!
This is one of the recipes I rely on when hosting a big party. They’re crowd favourites and pair perfectly with a homemade sweet chilli sauce.
Leave a Reply