Our evening meals became more exciting when we discovered that you can cook spring rolls in the air fryer. Air fryer spring rolls have a crispy crunch that can compete with deep frying. They require no oil and only 10 minutes, making them healthier and faster to cook.
Our air fryer spring roll recipe give us a lovely flaky wrapper with a golden brown exterior. Our recipe is vegetarian, but we’ve also included a version using ground chicken and making it entirely vegan under our cooking tips.
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Vegetarian Chinese Spring Roll Ingredients
You can use any ingredients for the filling inside the wrappers, but here's a list of our go-to ingredients.
- Spring roll wrappers
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Mushrooms
To season the filling:
- Lemon juice or lime juice
- fish sauce
- soy sauce
- corn starch
- mushroom stock or water
Egg wash:
- corn starch
- egg
Like the Chinese version, Japanese spring rolls are also fried and have a similar filling. Therefore, you can also adapt our recipe by changing the seasoning to make harumaki.
Air Fryer Spring Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 sheet spring roll wrappers 7.5 inch or 19cm by 19cm
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 250 g cabbage shredded
- 130 g carrots julienned
- 100 g mushrooms sliced
Filling seasoning mix
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice lime juice
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water or mushroom stock
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat the sesame oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the garlic for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Then, add all the vegetables and cook until they are tender (about 5 minutes). If you want to speed up the cooking process, you can pour a ¼ cup of water into the hot pan and close the lid. The water will steam and help cook the vegetables quicker.
- Mix the lemon juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch and mushroom stock in a separate bowl. Once the vegetables are cooked, pour the seasoning mix over and stir well. Once the sauce has been reduced, turn off the stove and allow the filling to cool down completely.
- Meanwhile, prepare the egg wash. Whisk the egg and add cornstarch to create a slightly thick paste. Use this paste to seal all your wrappers.
- Once the fillings are cooled down, you can wrap them into spring rolls. Fill each wrapper with the mix, filling just below the centre of the wrapper. Fold over the filling and tuck in all sides tightly. Repeat until you've folded all the filling into the wrappers.
- When you're ready to cook, place your spring rolls into a preheated air fryer at 200°C (400°F). Cook for about 10 minutes, making sure to flip them around at the half way mark.
Notes
- Add shredded chicken to the mix for more variety in your air fryer spring roll.
- You can make the mushroom stock easily using your mushrooms. If you're using dried mushrooms, rinse them with water and rub them gently to remove any dirt or dust on the surfaces. Discard the water, and then soak it in water to rehydrate for at least 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the rehydrated mushrooms from the soaking water. The soaking water can be used as a simple mushroom stock. If you're using fresh mushrooms, after washing the mushrooms, pour hot water over them and let them soak for 30 minutes. Use the soaking water as the mushroom stock.
- If you want, spray the wrappers with cooking oil before you air fry. It will make the spring rolls turn out even crispier. But this is not necessary.
- We add cornstarch to the seasoning mix to help thicken the sauce. This acts as a 'glue' to better hold the filling ingredients together. It will also make it easier for you to roll the spring rolls into shape later.
- When air-frying, don't overcrowd the air fryer basket. Make sure there's some space between each spring roll.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimate.
Cooking Tips
To make your air fryer spring rolls successful, we recommend that you cook in batches. If you crowd them together, they will turn soggy. Instead, position them side by side in one layer.
The next tip is to adjust the cooking time. Try five minutes first, and check if they are thoroughly warm.
Ideally, it should be about 300-400 Fahrenheit or around 200 degrees Celsius for best results.
Adding chicken
To make air fryer chicken spring rolls, you will need to add 200g ground chicken. Secondly, mix that with garlic, carrots, mushrooms and cabbage. Next, add fish sauce, soy sauce, lemon or lime juice, and mushroom stock for seasoning. Finally, get siracha sauce or chilli sauce for a spicy dip.
Make it vegan
To make it vegan, skip the egg wash and use a cornstarch slurry instead. You can vary the filling by using other vegetables, such as green bell pepper and onions, for the stuffing. We also like to add tofu for more volume. Remember to pat dry it before frying the tofu to remove any excess moisture.
For seasoning, try rice wine or lime juice. The wrappers are made of flour, water and salt, so they are usually vegan.
How To Store
We recommend eating this popular Chinese takeaway fresh, but you can wrap it tightly with foil and pack it into an airtight box for maximum freshness. Pat your dish dry first so that moisture does not make the food soggy. Then, reheat it in the fryer when you are ready to consume it.
You can keep them raw (wrapper skin is uncooked, but fillings are cooked) or half-fried.
If you want to half-fry, then air fry them at 180°C (355°F) for 8 minutes. Then, allow them to cool completely before storing them in the fridge or freezer. When ready to serve, pop them in a preheated air fryer at 200°C (400°F) for about 5 minutes.
Keep in the freezer for a longer shelf life. If kept in the fridge, we recommend eating it within 2-3 days.
How to Air Fry Frozen Spring Rolls
Here's how to cook frozen raw snacks. You don't have to defrost them if you froze them.
- Preheated the air fryer at 200°C (400°F) for about 5 minutes.
- Then, air fry for about 8 minutes. Flip them over at the halfway mark.
Check out our handy guide if you want more tips on using an air fryer.
Calories
Each typical serving of our popular Chinese takeaway has about 100 calories.
However, it mainly depends on the type and amount of ingredients added to fill the rolls. Homemade versions tend to have a higher calorie count, as home cooks are usually generous with their fillings.
We hope you liked our simple, fuss-free Chinese spring roll recipe for the air fryer. Check out our site for more air fryer recipes, such as making menbosha, Korean corn cheese, and crispy seaweed.
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