Easy spring rolls

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. To make the dipping sauce toss the red pepper, chilli, garlic and ginger with 1 tbsp oil and tip onto a baking tray. Roast for 30 minutes until starting to char. (Check the garlic after 15 minutes and remove if it is darkening too much.) Cool.

2. Step 2

   Tip into a food processor and whizz to a smooth purée, pour into a small pan, add the soy sauce, cider vinegar and sugar. Simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes until thickened and the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

3. Step 3

   Heat 1 tbsp groundnut oil in a wok until hot, then stir-fry the cabbage and carrot for 2 minutes. Add the bamboo shoots, and mushrooms and fry for another minute. Add the beansprouts, soy sauce, water chestnuts, ginger and garlic until the veg are coated and all the liquid has evaporated, remove from the heat.

4. Step 4

   Mix the cornflour with 4 tbsp water. Heat a deep fat fryer or a pan of oil no more than 1/3 full to 180C or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Lie a spring roll wrapper in front of you at an angle, with the rougher side up. Spoon 2 heaped tbsp of the veg mix into the middle of the wrapper.

5. Step 5

   Brush the cornflour mix around the edges of the spring roll wrapper. Tuck in the sides of the spring roll.

6. Step 6

   Roll up tightly starting with the edge closest to you.

7. Step 7

   Seal the final edge with more cornflour water if you need to. Repeat with the remaining veg and spring roll wrappers.

8. Step 8

   Double wrap the spring rolls in another spring roll wrapper, and seal again with the cornflour mix, to get a super-crispy surface later, and to prevent any bursting.

9. Step 9

   Deep-fry the spring rolls in batches for 2-3 minutes, gently turning them every 10 seconds with a metal slotted spoon, so they brown and crisp evenly. Drain on kitchen paper before serving with the chilli dipping sauce.