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Spring Rolls: I thought of sharing it as a perfect snack for harmonious vibrant spring days. I recorded it a month ago but finally got a chance to edit it.
I have been making spring rolls at home for as long as I can remember. And I remember making my very first spring rolls when I was just an early teen kid. And no one liked it at home that much except for my dad. He enjoyed eating a few and took the rest out to his friends and came back with an empty platter.

My dad said to me that I proudly told my friends that my little girl made these with her own hands and they all enjoyed it very much. I still remember that day like it was yesterday and miss my dad very much.❤️
Even though it’s been 24 years since he passed away, all his precious memories including his appreciation and encouragement for my love for cooking are deeply engraved on my heart.

It’s just a simple recipe and I know spring rolls from stores are very affordable but homemade has its place when it comes to flavor, freshness, taste, and sanity.
Sometimes I just want to grab a frozen packet of these from the market but I end up throwing it away as my kids and family refuse to consume those because they know how good the homemade ones are.

Spring Rolls
I kg of boneless chicken tenders
1 chopped onion
2 tbsp veg oil
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 whole head of cabbage
3 long carrots shredded
2 cups of sweet peas
1 bunch of green scallions
Some boiled rice noodles
2 tbsp sesame oil- mild (reduce the amount to 1 tbsp if using roasted sesame oil that is more strong)
¼ cup light sodium soy sauce
1 tsp of MSG which is Chinese salt
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 pks of spring roll wraps ( don't use egg rolls wraps) Total of 50 sheets
Flour and water paste to use as glue to seal the rolls


For the Thai chili dipping sauce:

Note: In my opinion, the chilis choice for this sauce depends on your spice tolerance and what you have on hand
I can’t tolerate Thai chilis but I love this sauce so I used a combination of dried guajillo and cayenne peppers. That gave me a vibrant bright red color sauce without the need for food coloring and just the right amount of heat.
Feel free to throw in a few Thai chilis if you can bear the heat level.

½ cup sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup rice wine vinegar (all kinds of vinegar are halal as the microbes convert wine into vinegar through acetification) so no alcohol is left behind
3 guajillo chilies- cut into pieces
½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less, adjust to your liking)
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp sesame seeds
4 tsp cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup water

Let's make the filling first. Heat oil in a pot and add garlic and onions to it. Sprinkle some salt on it and saute it around. Add red chili flakes and chicken to it. Fry the chicken around and cook it down for 20 minutes till thoroughly cooked. Now remove from heat and crush it in the same pan with a mallet. Using a mallet makes the process easy and in one pan and also gives you the desired shreds.

After shredding the meat, add shredded carrots and cabbage to it. Also add sesame oil, soy sauce, MSG, some black pepper, and salt to it. Saute it for 8 minutes till the cabbage breaks down and the mixture loses most of its moisture.
Remove from heat and add scallions, peas, and cooked rice noodles to it. Mix everything and let it cool completely before filling the wraps.

To make Thai chili sauce: Combine everything in a saucepan except for the cornstarch slurry and sesame seeds. Cook it on a low heat till the chilies soften. Transfer to a blender and puree everything. Pour it back into the same pot and add the dissolved cornstarch slurry to it. Cook for a minute till the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add sesame seeds to it. Transfer to a serving dish and let it cool. I will stay fresh for 3-4 months in the fridge.

Place one sheet on your work area and spread 2-3 tbsp filling on one edge corner. Fold it and roll it like I did in the video using flour paste as glue to seal the edges.

Once all rolls are filled, transfer some to a freezer bag and fry some for the family to enjoy with a delicious sweet and spicy dipping sauce.