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Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Chinese Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce

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Vegetarian Spring Rolls are delicious and super easy to make.  Using store-bought coleslaw mix speeds up the prep time and gets these appetizers to the table in 25 minutes!  And, don’t forget that sweet and sour dipping sauce with a mild kick from the chilies!

Do you ever have those moments where you are pushing a cart through your local grocery store and you see an item that you’ve not purchased for such a long time, and you just have to have it?  That happened to me last week.  When I shop for groceries, I really like to take my time.  First, I walk around the perimeter and pick up fruit and veggies, bread of some kind, possibly a steak or a chicken breast to cook for myself when John.e is not going to be home for dinner, and then on to the frozen section for whatever might strike my fancy.

Last week, while looking at the chilled dips and sauces, I saw a huge pile of packaged eggroll wrappers.  I immediately thought of deep fried crab rolls.  I used to make those at least once a month.  Next, I picked up some crab meat and continued on to do the rest of my shopping.  It wasn’t until I returned home and started to put my purchases where they belonged, that it dawned on me – crab rolls are a lot of effort for one person; John.e can’t eat fish, so I’m not sure I wanted to put in the effort for just myself.

In an instant, my deep fried crab roll dreams were gone, and the eggroll wrappers became a vessel for these vegetarian spring rolls.  The spring rolls were fantastic, and the dipping sauce that I prepared worked really well with them, but alas, the packaged crab is still sitting in my refrigerator hoping that its expiry date does not come before I get the urge to do something with it.

These vegetarian spring rolls were certainly worth the time and effort though; and that’s because there is very little time and effort needed.  This is such a simple recipe, but the pay off is so great.  I was able to make 12 spring rolls with dipping sauce in under 30 minutes.  I didn’t serve anything else with them.  John.e and I sat on the balcony in the middle of a Sunday afternoon and at all twelve!

The recipe below is for both the spring rolls and the sauce.  Of course, you can certainly do without the Chinese Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce, but why would you?  😉

Okay, Dear Reader, here’s an update for you.  This recipe was originally posted in 2015.  In August of 2017, I made the exact same recipe once more and updated my photos.  I followed the recipe exactly like before, but this time, I added the sesame seeds and green onions.  They didn’t change the flavour much, but the onion-y taste became more dominant, which I really liked.

Since posting the original recipe, my daughter, McKenna has moved in with us.  She was at home the day I made these, so instead of John.e and I splitting the 12 spring rolls between us both, we shared with her and only got 4 each.  That might seem like a lot, but that’s all we ate for lunch that particular Sunday.

Lastly, you might not believe this, but I had a package of imitation crab in the fridge again!  I was so excited!  My plan was to use up the leftover egg roll wrappers once the spring roll filling was used up to make myself some of those delicious crab rolls.  The package of egg roll wrappers that I often buy have 16 wrappers and this recipe only uses 12 of those, so I was excited to be able to use up the remaining 4 wrappers with the crab filling.

So, I made the filling and once it was all said and done, I tasted it to make sure it was seasoned properly.  Well, it was too salty to eat.  I had added salt, in addition to the soy sauce and hoisin sauce in my crab filling recipe.  I had to throw it out, I couldn’t rescue it.  So, needless to say, I’m probably never buying crab again!  Only these Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Chinese Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce for me from now on!

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Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Chinese Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce

Vegetarian Spring Rolls are delicious and super easy to make. Using store-bought coleslaw mix speeds up the prep time and gets these appetizers to the table in 25 minutes! And, don’t forget that sweet and sour dipping sauce with a mild kick from the chilies!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 70kcal
Author Lord Byron's Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon dehydrated minced onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, white or black or a combination of both
  • ¼ cup green onions, finely sliced (plus more for garnish)
  • 14 ounces packaged shredded coleslaw mix
  • 12 egg roll wrappers
  • ½ cup frozen green peas
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying
  • ¼ cup water

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, over medium heat, add all of the ingredients except the peas, vegetable oil, and water. Sauté for 5 minutes until the coleslaw mix begins to wilt.
  • Add the peas and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool completely.
  • In the meantime, set up a clean working area to roll the filling into the wrappers. A large cutting board works well. Also, have close by, the ¼ cup of water.
  • I recommend rolling the spring rolls first and then deep frying so that you can give your full attention to the hot oil.
  • Retrieve one wrapper and position it on the cutting board so that one corner points directly toward you (like a diamond shape) and place 1/4 cup of the filling in the center
  • Lift the corner closest to you over the top of the filling, fold in the left and right sides, and roll the eggroll wrapper up to almost the end; dip your index finger in the water and moisten the tip of the only remaining exposed corner; continue to roll to the end. The water will act as a glue and keep the roll tight.
  • Once all of your spring rolls are assembled, bring cooking oil to optimum frying temperature of 350 degrees and gently insert the rolls into the hot oil. Fry for 2 minutes per side; remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
  • Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately. The Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce is optional, but easy to make. See notes.

Notes

Chinese Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce
In a small sauce pan, combine 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon ketchup, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of corn starch mixed with 4 tablespoons of water. Whisk together and bring to a slight boil. Add ¼ teaspoon dried red chili flakes. Stir. Sauce will thicken. Remove from heat and let cool.

Nutrition

Calories: 70kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 381mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 15.3mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • byronethomas@gmail.com says

      Hahaha – the next time I make them, I’ll call you. 🙂 I only ate 6; my partner at the other 6. I could have eaten all 12 of them though. 🙂

      Reply

  2. Noel says

    lol @ shopping and impulse buying ingredients … then deciding at home it’s not worth the effort for one person. I do that all the time … my husband doesn’t care for beans and I’m always thinking I’ll make this great Mexican dish … oh yeah … lol

    I’m kind of nervous about egg roll wrappers … but this recipe looks like something I could manage!

    Reply

    • byronethomas@gmail.com says

      I’m glad I’m not alone here, Noel. 🙂 The egg roll wrapper is nothing to shy away from. Super, super easy! In fact, it’s easier than rolling a burrito. 🙂

      Reply

    • byronethomas@gmail.com says

      That’s two who’ve offered to help eat the crab rolls. Next time, okay? 🙂 Thank you, Ange; the dipping sauce was amazing.

      Reply

    • byronethomas@gmail.com says

      Trust me, you can’t go wrong. Wrapping using egg roll wrappers is so easy. Just don’t overfill. 🙂

      Reply

    • byronethomas@gmail.com says

      Thanks, Katalina! You and me both; if I ever go to a Chinese buffet, you can bet you’ll find me piling my plate high with spring rolls!

      Reply

  11. sprinklesandsprouts says

    Byron, these look and sound delicious.
    I love how delicious and crispy they look with only 1 tbsp of oil!!!! So good! I can’t wait to try them. YUM!!!!!

    Reply

  14. goodiegodmother says

    This is exactly the kind of dish I’d order out at a restaurant! It takes me a bit to trust mystery meat filling haha. Do you think it could be made with finely diced fresh onion instead of the dehydrated? I’m adding it to my “snow day treats” list.

    Reply

    • byronethomas@gmail.com says

      I’m sure you can use fresh onion; just sauté it with the coleslaw mix for a few minutes and it will be fine. I prefer dehydrated onion for two reasons; it’s faster and has a stronger, more concentrated onion flavour.

      Reply

  15. Whitney says

    I love any kind of deep fried won-ton anything! These spring rolls look so tasty (especially with the sauce), and your crab rolls sound like they were gonna be super awesome, but I want to know what you ended up doing with the crab! 🙂 yum!

    Reply

    • byronethomas@gmail.com says

      I did end up making crab rolls too the next day. I had way too many egg roll wrappers left over to neglect the crab. And, besides, why should I suffer? He’s the vegetarian, not me! 😉

      Reply

  16. Brian Jones says

    Wow they look like you have nailed the perfect crispy outer coating and the filling sounds awesome… I’ve been meaning to make spring rolls after I picked up some wrappers on my last trip to the big city, thanks for the reminder 😀

    Reply

    • byronethomas@gmail.com says

      I love them too much, Paige. Even when I go to a Chinese buffet, I eat more spring rolls than anything else on the menu. 🙂

      Reply

  18. meaghanlamm says

    Don’t mind me while I add some crab or pork or chicken to these. And then make that sweet and sour sauce to dip EVERYthing into.

    Reply

  21. Leo says

    I need to use recipes that use specific quantities (other than “salt to taste”. You say “package of cole slaw”. Around here coleslaw comes in different size bags.

    Would you let us know (edit the recipe) what size bag you’re using?

    Thank you so very much!

    Reply

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