#58 Fried Turkey Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are filled rolled appetizers, and has many variations. The name is a literal translation of the Chinese chūn juǎn (春卷 'spring roll') found in East Asian and Asian cuisine. In the Philippines, we call it "lumpia". This was my very first time to make spring rolls, although I am terrified of hot oil splatters, I was very excited to make it. After battling heavy traffic that evening just to get the egg roll wrappers, I was  happy to be home and ready to cook. My little helper was equally excited. I had ground turkey meat in the fridge so I decided to invent my own turkey fried spring roll recipe based on what ingredients I had available. So here it is.

Turkey Spring Rolls 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey meat

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus 2 cups for deep frying

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 head of cabbage, shredded

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup diced carrots

1 tablespoon chicken base

salt and pepper to taste

egg roll wrappers (you can find these at frozen sections of grocery stores)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup hot water

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, then add the garlic, onions, ground turkey meat and chicken base. Stir well.
2. Add the frozen peas and carrots and cook until the meat is done. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Combine cornstarch and hot water, mix well to form a paste. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 cups of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or skillet in medium high heat. You can add more oil if your pan needs more depth.
5. Combine cooked turkey meat filling and raw cabbage.
6. Lay an egg roll wrapper with a corner pointed towards you. Add 1/4 cup of filling. Fold the bottom corner first, then the left and right corners toward the center. Roll and seal with the cornstarch mixture.
7. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Remove from oil.
8. Drain on a rack or using paper towels.

This was one crunchy spring roll! We dipped it in sweet chili sauce. I was proud of myself. A friend who was an avid Panda Express' egg roll fan was over for dinner and told me that this was way better than his favorite. He is a very honest person and he tells me truth. Haha. (I hope). Why of course! It's from my global kitchen. ;) It took some time to finish the rolling part, but it was well worth the effort! The turkey meat, was just perfect. I had to stop myself from eating more than enough! We learned many variations, and will definitely make them soon. We had a very good conversation  over dinner about China being the place of origin of this satisfying dish. Good times. I hope for many more.