Crispy Chinese Spring Rolls

How to make the best crispy Chinese spring rolls at home, just like in Chinese restaurants. They're way easier to make than you think and are cheaper than the take-outs. These delicious spring rolls are freezer-friendly and we're showing you how to cook them 3 ways, deep-fried, baked, and air-fried!

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works
• Spring Rolls Vs. Egg Rolls
• Ingredients For This Recipe
• Step-By-Step Instructions
• Recipe Expert Tips
• How To Store, Freeze And Reheat
• Recipe FAQs
• More Asian Recipes
• Watch How To Make It
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why This Recipe Works

Being an Asian in a small town in Spain forces me to cook all of my Asian food at home like wonton noodle soup (not that I'm complaining!) since our town doesn't have worth-the-money Asian restaurants. It also makes me more creative and resourceful to simplify Asian recipes like my quick curry laksa, and Chinese noodles in a stand mixer, so they're more doable. I've been making these Chinese spring rolls in so many ways with various fillings! Everybody loves them, including my Argentine husband. Here's why.

Easy and cheap - Amazing Asian food is not as cheap if you're living in non-Asian countries; you'd have to pay for the quality, and that's the truth. You'll realize that making these Chinese spring rolls at home is ridiculously easy and way cheaper, just like making your own dumpling dough wrappers and potsticker or gyoza wrappers!

Crispy, not soggy - Our Chinese spring rolls recipe will give you spring rolls that are crispy, not soggy! The secret is choosing the right type of veggies for the filling. High-water-content veggies like zucchini should always be avoided!

Freezer-friendly - Make a huge batch of this recipe, like our turkey and cheese puff pastry pinwheels, and freeze these delicious beef spring rolls to enjoy later. So convenient!

They can be deep-fried, air-fried, or baked - Yes! They're so versatile! We've written detailed instructions for each method you can choose from.

Spring Rolls Vs. Egg Rolls

The terms are used interchangeably depending on where you are. Although these Chinese rolls look very similar, there are minor differences between them.

Wrapper Ingredients - Spring roll wrappers are typically made from rice flour and water only. Egg roll wrappers are egg-based wrappers that include eggs, amongst other ingredients.

Wrapper thickness - Spring roll wrappers are thinner than egg roll wrappers. Both result in crispy Chinese rolls, although egg rolls tend to have small bubbles forming when fried, while spring rolls' skins are smooth.

Ingredients For This Recipe

Spring roll wrappers - We use Chinese spring roll wrappers, of 10-inch. They are usually in the frozen section in Asian stores. Thaw in the fridge the night before using.

Veggies - Carrot, cabbage, and shiitake are perfect for these Chinese spring rolls since they don't release water when cooked. Use your favorite veggies but make sure they're not high in water content like zucchini, spinach, or white mushroom. We don't want the filling to be soggy, to avoid soggy spring rolls! There's a total of 4 cups of veggies in this recipe if you want to use store-bought shredded mix veggies.

Beef - We use minced beef for added protein! Of course, you can swap it for tofu, chicken, or even shrimp.

Soy sauce - We've been using less sodium soy sauce for years like in our amazing mee goreng, 10-minute lo mein noodles, peanut sauce stir-fry noodles, and our crispy air-fryer soy sauce chicken! It's healthier and you can use more amount for more flavor, without worrying about the salt content in your food. Genius!

Oyster sauce - Adds that umami touch to our Chinese spring rolls filling with its savory, sweet, and tangy flavor combo. Oyster sauce is a must-have sauce if you're into Asian cooking. If you don't have it, you can replace it with soy sauce.

⭐ See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Marinade the meat - Add meat, cornstarch, white pepper, soy sauce, and sugar into a bowl. Mix well using a spatula and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend in.

2. Cook the meat - Heat some oil in a pan and add the meat. Stir for a few minutes until it's fully cooked, breaking it into small pieces as you go. Pour it into a plate and set aside.

3. Cook the veggies - Heat the same pan with some oil and sautee minced garlic and ginger until they're golden brown. Now add in the veggies and cook until they're slightly soft, not soggy or mushed. Add back in the meat together with oyster sauce. Give everything one last mix. Cool the filling before using it. Our Chinese spring rolls filling is ready! If you see it's saucy then strain it in a colander to discard the sauce.

4. Make slurry glue - Add all-purpose flour and water into a bowl and mix well with a spoon. We'll use it to glue our Chinese spring rolls so they don't open when frying.

5. Assemble - We're showing you how to roll spring rolls so they're all the same size! Take a sheet of wrapper and put it on a clean working surface. Cover the rest of the wrappers with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out. Fold the wrapper ⅓ in and place some filling on top. Fold both the left and right corners to the center. Roll the filling tightly, leaving the upper corner. Spread some slurry and continue folding it until the end.

6. Deep fry - Heat a pot with abundant oil on medium heat. When it's hot, slowly add in the spring rolls. Fry them for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown, flipping them now and then for even cooking. Place them on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Serve these delicious Chinese spring rolls hot with some sweet and spicy sauce. Enjoy!

7. Air-fryer - For air-fryer spring rolls, preheat the air-fryer to 400ºF (200ºC). Place the spring rolls in the air-fryer basket and spray them with some oil (we just used 3 to demonstrate). Air-fry for around 30 minutes until they're golden brown, flipping them halfway through cooking time.

8. Oven - Preheat the oven to 430ºF (220ºC). Place the Chinese spring rolls in a tray lined with parchment paper and spray them with some oil (we just used 3 to demonstrate). Bake for around 30 minutes until they're golden brown, flipping them halfway through cooking time.

⭐ Deep-fry vs air-fry vs oven: There's not so much difference between the 3 methods. Deep-fried spring rolls are more golden brown but all 3 methods result in amazingly crispy Chinese spring rolls. Air-fried and baked ones offer healthier options!

Recipe Expert Tips

1. Cover the spring roll wrappers with a damp cloth. This will prevent them from getting dry and tearing when you use them.
2. Use low water-content veggies. This will prevent the filling from becoming soggy or saucy, which is the secret to getting crispy Chinese spring rolls!
3. Drain the filling. If for some reason your filling is saucy, no worries! Strain it with a colander and discard the excess liquid.
4. Don't overcrowd the pot. Frying too many spring rolls at a time will decrease the oil temperature, making the spring rolls greasy and not crispy.

How To Store, Freeze And Reheat

Store - These crispy Chinese spring rolls are best consumed hot when they're recently cooked, like our caramelized onion tartlets with camembert. Like any other fried food, they'll start losing their crunchiness as time passes. Keep completely cooled spring rolls in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Freeze - Assemble the spring rolls. Place them on a tray lined with parchment paper, without touching each other, and fast freeze them for 1-2 hours. Once solid frozen, put them in an air-tight container and back in the freezer for up to 6 months. No need to thaw them before cooking, add some extra minutes of cooking time.

Reheat - We love reheating these Chinese spring rolls in our air-fryer using the reheat setting. They turn crispy again and taste as if we've just cooked them! You can also reheat them in the oven at 375ºF (190ºC) for 10-15 minutes. We don't recommend heating them in the microwave as their skin will turn soft!

Recipe FAQs

More Asian Recipes

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Originally published on Jan 17, 2019. Updated with improved text and pictures on Feb 3, 2024.