Name: Easy spring rolls
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: Serves 6 as a starter
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: groundnut oil; 200g Chinese cabbage, finely shredded; 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks; 100g bamboo shoots, finely sliced; 50g mushrooms, sliced; a handful beansprouts; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 50g water chestnuts, chopped; chopped to make 2 tbsp ginger; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 2 tbsp cornflour; veg or groundnut oil, for deep frying; 24 spring roll wrappers; 2 red peppers, seeded and cut into strips; 10 red chillies, stalks removed; 5 whole cloves garlic, peeled; 50g ginger, peeled and sliced; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp cider vinegar; 1 tbsp golden caster sugar

Five spring rolls with a red pepper dipping sauce on the side

groundnut oil
200g Chinese cabbage
finely shredded
2 large carrots
peeled and cut into matchsticks
100g bamboo shoots
finely sliced
50g mushrooms
sliced
a handful beansprouts
3 tbsp soy sauce
50g water chestnuts
chopped
chopped to make 2 tbsp ginger
2 cloves garlic
crushed
2 tbsp cornflour
veg or groundnut oil
for deep frying
24 spring roll wrappers

CHILLI DIPPING SAUCE

2 red peppers
seeded and cut into strips
10 red chillies
stalks removed
5 whole cloves garlic
peeled
50g ginger
peeled and sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp golden caster sugar

Method

step 1
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. To make the dipping sauce toss the red pepper, chilli, garlic and ginger with 1 tbsp oil and tip onto a baking tray. Roast for 30 minutes until starting to char. (Check the garlic after 15 minutes and remove if it is darkening too much.) Cool.
step 2
Tip into a food processor and whizz to a smooth purée, pour into a small pan, add the soy sauce, cider vinegar and sugar. Simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes until thickened and the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.
step 3
Heat 1 tbsp groundnut oil in a wok until hot, then stir-fry the cabbage and carrot for 2 minutes. Add the bamboo shoots, and mushrooms and fry for another minute. Add the beansprouts, soy sauce, water chestnuts, ginger and garlic until the veg are coated and all the liquid has evaporated, remove from the heat.
step 4
Mix the cornflour with 4 tbsp water. Heat a deep fat fryer or a pan of oil no more than 1/3 full to 180C or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Lie a spring roll wrapper in front of you at an angle, with the rougher side up. Spoon 2 heaped tbsp of the veg mix into the middle of the wrapper.
step 5
Brush the cornflour mix around the edges of the spring roll wrapper. Tuck in the sides of the spring roll.
step 6
Roll up tightly starting with the edge closest to you.
step 7
Seal the final edge with more cornflour water if you need to. Repeat with the remaining veg and spring roll wrappers.
step 8
Double wrap the spring rolls in another spring roll wrapper, and seal again with the cornflour mix, to get a super-crispy surface later, and to prevent any bursting.
step 9
Deep-fry the spring rolls in batches for 2-3 minutes, gently turning them every 10 seconds with a metal slotted spoon,
so they brown and crisp evenly. Drain on kitchen paper before serving with the chilli dipping sauce.