FYFrom Yiayia's FridgePrivate cookbook
Cookbook image from PDF page 53

Mains

Chicken Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls κοτόπουλου

Serves 20 springs rolls, feeds 5 peoplePrep 40 minutesCook 45 minutesPDF p. 53

I know what you’re thinking: Why is Yiayia making spring rolls? The idea came from Sharon, who found the recipe on the packaging of frozen pastry sheets in the 90s. Bringing the recipe to Yiayia, she made her usual adjustments but this time she didn’t stray too far from the original. To this day, we’ve never found that original recipe again, relying instead on a handwritten note and Yiayia’s memory to recreate this well loved dish.

Main

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 large brown onion, finely diced
  • 500g chicken mince
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce,
  • plus for taste and for serving
  • 1 pack of 20 spring roll pastry or filo
  • pastry (250g)

Method

  1. In a bowl, combine water and cornflour and stir, ensuring the cornflour dissolves fully. Set aside
  2. Heat canola oil in a large pan on medium high heat, and brown onion in the pan until softened. Lower the heat to low
  3. Add chicken mince to the pan, breaking it up into small chunks. Continue to stir the mince to ensure it's evenly cooked
  4. Once the chicken is cooked, add oyster sauce, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce and 2 tablespoons of water to the pan to cool it slightly, then add the cornflour mix
  5. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Mash the mixture gently with a potato masher to help all of the ingredients combine
  6. Taste the mixture and add more sweet chili sauce for taste and texture. Take the pan off the heat when you’re happy
  7. Count the number of spring roll sheets you want to make and separate them from each other. The sheets are thin so make sure you pull them apart gently
  8. To wrap spring rolls: Place a spring roll sheet with a corner of the widest section pointing to you. Place one heaped tablespoon of chicken filling onto the sheet just below the center of the sheet. Spread the filling out horizontally into a log shape, leaving about 3cm of space on either side. Pull the near corner of the wrapper over the filling then pull back on the filling slightly to tighten. Roll over once, then fold the left side corner in towards the middle and roll again. Repeat for the right corner, folding the corner into the middle and rolling. Roll forward once more – you should have some room at the top of the sheet like an open envelope
  9. Use a brush to paint some water along the top edges of the wrapper to help seal the sheets together. Roll as many times as it takes for your spring roll to be completely sealed
  10. In a shallow pot, pour in enough oil to cover the height of a spring roll and put on high heat
  11. Once the oil is hot, gently place one springroll into the oil at time. You should hear a sizzle as it enters the oil. If you don’t, let the oil heat up for a few more minutes. Regularly rotate each spring roll to ensure they cook evenly
  12. After a few minutes, and once the outside looks crispy and golden brown, they are ready. Remove from the pot, and pat the excess oil on the spring rolls with a paper towel before serving