This is a step-by-step guide to making Asian spring rolls.

Because of the generic Asian ingredients in these spring rolls, you could serve them with a dipping sauce from any of the cultures – either soy and mirin (Japanese), sweet chilli sauce (Thai), chilli jam (Thai) or hoisin sauce (Chinese). Alternatively, you could have bowls of all four of these dipping sauces and give your diners a choice.

1 tablespoon peanut oil

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 green shallots, finely chopped

500gms green prawns, peeled and chopped

6 or so dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water until soft, drained and then chopped

1 teaspoon Squid fish sauce

A good pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon ABC Kecap Manis

1 tablespoon lime juice

3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

Spring roll wrappers

Oil, for deep frying

1

The ingredients for the prawn filling.

2

Heat the cooking oil in a frypan. Then fry garlic, ginger, green shallots and chopped green prawns until the prawns change colour.

3

Add the mushrooms, fish sauce, Kecap Manis, lime juice, sugar and chopped coriander to the prawn mixture and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the filling to cool.

4

All ready to roll. A spring roll wrapper, the cooled filling and some water for sealing the edges of the spring rolls.

5

A spoonful of the prawn filling is placed towards the centre-bottom of the wrapper.

6

Roll the bottom edge of the wrapper up and over the filling (wet each of the edges with a little water each time that you roll or fold the spring rolls – this ensures that the edges seal)

7

Completely cover the filling with the wrapper.

8

Fold over the left-hand side of the wrapper.

9

Folding the right hand side of the wrapper over the left hand side. Make sure that you seal each edge as you roll and fold (use water in which to dip your fingers, then let the water drip from your fingers and onto the spring roll paper at the seal’s edge). Doing this step ensures that the spring roll doesn’t unwrap when being deep-fried.

10

The completed spring roll. Rolled and ready for deep frying.

11

I find that the easiest (and gentlest) way of carefully lowering the spring roll into the hot oil is to use a slotted ladle.

12

Cook the spring rolls until golden brown and then drain them on paper towel. Spring rolls and dipping sauce presented ready for eating.