Before immigrating to the US when I was sixteen, this was the only spring roll recipe I knew. It’s not to say that other versions didn’t exist, it’s just that I didn’t come face to face with them.
Traveling wasn’t exactly in vogue then. Worrying about putting enough food on the table and buying some new clothes for the family at Chinese New Year was what everyone strived for at the time, so there was no extra cash to do anything else!
Spring Rolls: A Special Occasion Food
I grew up in Shanghai and remember clearly that these little babies only appeared during Chinese New Year celebrations.
And they’re really good. You get a lot of flavor from a small bit of meat and shiitake mushrooms, so this recipe produces healthier, lighter spring rolls than some of the Shanghai Style spring rolls recipes out there.
One year, my brother ate over twenty spring rolls in one sitting. He just couldn’t help himself––even after my aunt repeatedly told him to stop eating.
Let me tell you, he paid for it later that night. I guess his ten-year-old body just couldn’t hold them down. I don’t want to be too descriptive here, but let’s just say that I was the one who had to clean it all up. Some memories just stick to you for some reason. But I wouldn’t mind letting that one go…
If I haven’t grossed you out yet, trust me when I say that this is a great recipe. These spring rolls bring me back to Shanghai and some of the better memories of my childhood.
Can You Make Spring Rolls Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can make spring rolls ahead of time for any party, celebration, or just a quick snack for yourself!
After assembling the spring rolls, lay them out on a parchment lined baking sheet so they are not touching each other. Cover the baking sheet and transfer to the freezer. Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight, until they are frozen solid.
Transfer to freezer bags and store for up to 3 months. Do not thaw them before frying. Just heat up your oil, take out a few frozen spring rolls, and throw them right in.
Shanghai Style Spring Rolls: Recipe Instructions
Mix the pork with the marinade ingredients and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Shred the cabbage and slice your mushrooms.
Over medium heat, add 4 tablespoons of oil to your wok. Brown the pork.
Then add the mushrooms and cook for another couple of minutes until fragrant.
Add the napa cabbage and stir well.
Season with salt, white pepper, shaoxing wine, and soy sauce. Stir everything together, cover the lid and let it cook over high heat for 2 – 3 minutes, or until the cabbage is wilted.
Uncover the lid and add the cornstarch slurry. Stir. The mixture will start to thicken. You don’t want there to be extra liquid in the mixture, so add more of the cornstarch/water mixture if need be. Lastly, add sesame oil and stir everything thoroughly. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool completely.
The key to wrapping spring rolls is making sure that they’re really tight and not overstuffed. Take out your spring roll wrappers…
And place the wrapper in front of you so that a corner is facing toward you. Use about one and a half tablespoons of the mixture per spring roll, spoon it about an inch and a half from the corner closest to you.
Roll it over once tightly, tucking the corner under the filling…
…and like you’re making a burrito, fold over both sides.
Continue rolling it into a cigar shape. With your fingers, brush a bit of water to the closing corner of the wrap to seal it.
For more details on how to wrap different types of spring rolls, check out our How to Wrap Spring Rolls post!
Place each roll seam-side down on a tray. This recipe makes about 25 spring rolls (you can also prepare them ahead of time and freeze them).
To fry the spring rolls, use a small pot or shallow pan (which requires less oil) and fill it with oil until it’s about 1-inch deep, just enough to submerge the spring rolls when frying. Heat oil slowly over medium heat. To tell if the oil is ready, I just dip a bamboo chopstick into the hot oil, and if some bubbles form around the chopstick, then the oil is ready.
Slowly add the spring rolls and fry them in small batches.
Cook each side until golden brown and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel.
We like to serve our Shanghai Style Spring rolls with some Chinese black vinegar or a lighter Shanghai red vinegar for dipping!
If you prefer the spring rolls you usually see at the dim sum restaurant, then check out our homemade Cantonese spring roll recipe.
Note: fry the spring rolls immediately after assembling. You don’t want them to sit out for a long time, because the wrappers can become soggy from the moist filling. If you want to make them ahead of time, freeze them on a tray and then transfer to a freezer bag once they’ve hardened. You can fry them right after taking them out of the freezer…no need to thaw them.
Shanghai-Style Spring Rolls
Ingredients
FOR THE PORK AND MARINADE:
- 2/3 cup finely shredded lean pork
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon shaoxing wine
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
TO ASSEMBLE THE FILLING:
- 1 small napa cabbage (finely shredded, about 9 cups)
- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms (Soak them for a couple hours in water until they’re soft and thinly slice. Fresh mushrooms don’t have as much flavor as dried.)
- 4 tablespoons oil
- Salt (to taste)
- White pepper (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with one tablespoon of water)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 package spring roll wrappers (this recipe will make about 24 spring rolls)
- Oil (for frying)
Instructions
- Mix the pork with the marinade ingredients and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Shred the cabbage and slice your mushrooms.
- Over medium heat, add 4 tablespoons of oil to your wok. Brown the pork. Then add the mushrooms and cook for another couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the napa cabbage and stir well. Season with salt, white pepper, shaoxing wine, and soy sauce. Stir everything together, cover the lid and let it cook over high heat for 2 - 3 minutes, or until the cabbage is wilted.
- Uncover the lid and add the cornstarch slurry. Stir. The mixture will start to thicken. You don’t want there to be extra liquid in the mixture, so add more of the cornstarch/water mixture if need be. Lastly, add sesame oil and stir everything thoroughly. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool completely.
- The key to wrapping spring rolls is making sure that they’re really tight and not overstuffed. Place the wrapper in front of you so that a corner is facing toward you. Use about one and a half tablespoons of the mixture per spring roll, spoon it about an inch and a half from the corner closest to you. Roll it over once, and like you’re making a burrito, fold over both sides. Continue rolling it into a cigar shape. With your fingers, brush a bit of water to the closing corner of the wrap to seal it. Place each roll on a tray seam-side down. This recipe makes about 25 spring rolls (you can also prepare them ahead of time and freeze them).
- To fry the spring rolls, use a small pot or shallow pan (which requires less oil) and fill it with oil until it’s about 1-inch deep, just enough to submerge the spring rolls when frying. Heat oil slowly over medium heat. To tell if the oil is ready, I just dip a bamboo chopstick into the hot oil, and if some bubbles form around the chopstick, then the oil is ready. Slowly add the spring rolls one at a time, and fry them in small batches. Cook each side until golden brown and drain on a paper towel. We like to serve them with some Chinese black vinegar for dipping!
Hi Judy, Can you or anyone clarify the type of oil you use to cook the mushrooms and napa cabbage in . Canola, corn or vegetable. A bit of sesame??/ Thank you !! Trying tonight!!
Hi Michael, you can use peanut oil, or any of the oil you mentioned.
can they be air fried?
You should be able to, Wayne. Brush the spring rolls with oil, then air fry.
Hi Sarah! One quick question, do you flip the spring rolls when you are cooking them in the oil?
Sorry, meant Judy!
Yes, you do. The bottom fries quicker than the top, especially when they float to the top.
Hi Judy and family I must say you’re recipes are lovely I like how you have done your new sight it’s amazing. Could I please ask which I’ve noticed on some of your recipes you can convert to metric at the bottom of some of the recipes which is so helpful is there anyway you could do it to all of them if poss as I live in the UK would be so much appreciated. Kind regards Diane
Well received, Diane, we will do our best :-)
Please give the recipe for the dipping sauce pictured. It’s certainly not black vinegar. Many Thanks
Love your recipes and your commentary
Hi Brenda, Shanghainese like to eat their spring rolls with Shanghainese rice vinegar––it’s much lighter. Try looking for it in your Asian market.
Thank you for this post and the recipe. Your story about having this long ago in your family helped me find the origin of one of our popular lumpia in our country named “lumpiang Shanghai” that according to some of our local food writers told it did not exist in Shanghai so there must be no such lumpia (spring roll) in Shanghai and since it didnt exist in Shanghai the lumpiang Shanghai is but a Filipino invention. Now I know the true story. It really exist there long time ago.
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Shanghai%20style%20edgie%20polistico&epa=FILTERS&filters=eyJycF9jcmVhdGlvbl90aW1lIjoie1wibmFtZVwiOlwiY3JlYXRpb25fdGltZVwiLFwiYXJnc1wiOlwie1xcXCJzdGFydF95ZWFyXFxcIjpcXFwiMjAxOFxcXCIsXFxcInN0YXJ0X21vbnRoXFxcIjpcXFwiMjAxOC0xXFxcIixcXFwiZW5kX3llYXJcXFwiOlxcXCIyMDE4XFxcIixcXFwiZW5kX21vbnRoXFxcIjpcXFwiMjAxOC0xMlxcXCIsXFxcInN0YXJ0X2RheVxcXCI6XFxcIjIwMTgtMS0xXFxcIixcXFwiZW5kX2RheVxcXCI6XFxcIjIwMTgtMTItMzFcXFwifVwifSJ9
These are exactly the way my grandma used to make for me when I visited her in Shanghai! I really want to try make these using my air fryer, do you have any idea how long it would need in there? Thank you :)
Hi Wendy, we have not tried using the air fryer for these spring rolls, and I’m sure the time varies depending upon the quantity. Try a batch, but make sure you brush the rolls in some vegetable oil and leave room between them to crisp up.
Hi! We are an enthusiastic couple from Italy that started cooking chinese food thanks to your amazing blog! Thank you so much for all the recipes you share, they are really easy to follow and the result is always beyond the expectations!
We would like to try the spring rolls and I wanted to ask you if you have any recipe to make also the wrapper, from the beginning :)
cheers
Hi Francesca, we actually don’t have a recipe to make these spring roll wrappers since they are usually readily available in Chinese grocery stores and wrappers are not that easy to make at home. That said, we’ll definitely put it on our list and look into it ;-)
My mom is Shanghainese and she used to make these for us growing up. This recipe is kinda perfect. I think my mom would be proud. I wouldnt do a dang thing to alter it (changing quantities of any said ingredients by accident aint going to kill it lol) unless you want to morph it into something else entirely.
The skins need to be super crunchy and thin. I use an oven thermometer straight into the oil and wait to about 350. Not hot enough and itll get greasy.
After all these years ((*COUGHCOUGH DECADES COUGHCOUGH **)) i just realized i had everything in my kitchen to make these but the wraps.
We use Worsteshire sauce straight instead of black vinegar.
Thank you for your affirmation––it’s especially great to hear from a Shanghainese :-)