The key to good fried spring rolls is stir-fried turnip that's crunchy and well seasoned. This recipe uses lots of dried prawns, sugar and ground white pepper to give the filling extra oomph.
Wash dried prawns. Soak in 2 tbsp hot water till soft, about 15 minutes. Squeeze dry, reserving the water. chop roughly.
40 g dried prawns
Peel turnip to yield about 900 g. Wash thoroughly. Cut matchstick size.
1 kg turnip
Wash carrots and peel to yield about 100 g. Cut matchstick size.
120 g carrots
Peel garlic. Mince roughly.
4 cloves garlic
Make filling
In a very hot wok, heat 2 tbsp oil till just smoking. Add dried prawns and fry over maximum heat till lightly golden. Add garlic and fry till golden brown. Add turnip and carrots. Stir-fry till heated through. Add light soya sauce and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Drizzle with water used to soak dried prawns. Stir-fry till almost dry. Turnip should now be cooked but still crunchy.
Taste and if necessary adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with ground white pepper. Mix through and turn off heat. Push everything to one side of wok to drain off sauce. When cool, transfer to a bowl, minus sauce.
¾ tsp ground white pepper
Assemble
Thaw frozen spring roll wrappers to room temperature. Separate 20 pieces and cover till ready to wrap. Refreeze unused wrappers.
20 pieces frozen spring roll wraps, 19 x 19 cm
Spread out spring roll wrap in a diamond shape. With a Chinese soup spoon, place 1 heaped tablespoonful filling (40-50 g) near bottom corner. Fold bottom corner upward, then fold left and right corners inward. Roll upward tightly. Set aside, seam side down. Repeat with remaining wraps.
Deep-fry
Deep-fry spring rolls in very hot oil over medium heat till golden brown. Drain. Serve immediately.
corn oil for deep-frying
Notes
Turnip is aka 沙葛, jicama, bangkuang, and yam bean.