Lumpia Ayam Sayur (Chicken and Garlic Spring Rolls)

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave to soak for 10 minutes (or follow the packet instructions). Once softened, drain and return to the bowl, tossing in a little oil to prevent them from sticking. Set aside.

   Step 2

   Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over a high heat and add the mince. Stirring continuously, fry the ground chicken until cooked through and well browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

   Step 3

   Heat another 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan over a medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and sauté for 2–3 minutes or until cooked through. Add the carrots and bean sprouts and stir for 1 minute, then add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute. Return the cooked chicken to the pan along with the noodles and spring onions, stirring for a further 1 minute. Finally, add the kecap manis, oyster sauce, fish sauce and lime juice, then continue to cook for a further 2 minutes or until the sauce is clinging to the meat. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. (It is better for the filling to taste fairly strong at this stage because the spring roll wrapper absorbs a lot of the flavor during cooking.) Set aside to cool.

   Step 4

   Lay a clean tea towel over the spring roll wrappers to prevent them from drying out. Line a tray with baking parchment. Cut a chunk of banana with the skin on to use as glue for the spring roll. (Alternatively, you can use beaten egg.) Peel one wrapper off the top of the pile and lay it on a chopping board, facing you like a diamond. Place 1–2 tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of the wrapper. Roll the bottom corner of the wrapper up over the filling and then continue rolling until you reach the middle. Fold in the left and right corners, then rub the flesh of the banana along the edges of the exposed top corner of the wrapper. (If using beaten egg, brush this on instead.) Finish rolling up the rest of the wrapper and seal the final corner. Place the spring roll on the tray. Repeat with more wrappers until all the filling is used up.

   Step 5

   Fill a deep saucepan one-third full with oil. Heat the oil to 320°F/160°C. (If you do not have a kitchen thermometer, check the oil is at temperature by adding a cube of bread; it should turn golden in 25–30 seconds.)

   Step 6

   Carefully lower 4–6 spring rolls into the hot oil, without overcrowding the pan. Deep-fry for 4–6 minutes or until golden all over. Transfer to a tray lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Repeat with the remaining spring rolls. Serve immediately, with sambal or dipping sauce, if you like.

   Do Ahead: The spring rolls can be frozen in a single layer on a tray, then piled into a bag or container and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. If cooking from frozen, cook for 6–7 minutes, or until golden. Once cooked they last for up to 2 days in the fridge and can be reheated in the oven for 10 minutes at 325°F/170°C/150°C fan/gas 3.

2. Variations

   Step 7

   Vegetable spring rolls: Omit the ground meat from the recipe and instead triple the quantity of carrots, shiitake and bean sprouts. The remaining ingredients should stay the same. If you want to make the recipe vegetarian, replace the oyster sauce and fish sauce with light soy sauce, adding a little at a time until you are happy with the flavor. Once added to the pan, simmer to reduce this extra soy sauce for a couple of minutes.

   Pan-fried spring rolls: Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Gently place the prepared spring rolls in the hot oil, cooking in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Continue turning the spring rolls in the hot oil until they are golden all over, about 5 minutes, adding more oil if necessary. Transfer to a tray lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil, then to a baking tray lined with baking parchment, and finish cooking in the oven for 7–10 minutes.