These Thai spring rolls are a crazy delicious warm finger food party appetizer. Crispy pastry gives way to an aromatic filling of ground pork, rice, lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic and chili.
All sounds good on paper but just wait until you taste them - it's crazy how good they - like each bite comes as an unexpected surprise.
I've been making these crispy Thai spring rolls for parties and big get togethers for years and they are always a hit.
They aren't traditional Thai spring rolls but they have all the delicious flavors of Thai cuisine - lemongrass, limes leaves (i.e. Kaffir lime), chili, pork, rice and more. They have a perfect balance of spicy, fresh acidic, sweet, and umami - all wrapped up in a crispy shell.
These spring rolls are always a crowd pleaser and get a lot of compliments for how unexpectedly good they are.
Besides being so flavorful and crispy, they're also easy to cook and make ahead.
They're made in the oven on one sheet tray so you don't need to sit there frying each one. In this case baking isn't a compromise - they turn out perfectly crispy without the extra hands-on time and oil required to fry them.
You can also prepare in advance, freeze and bake straight from frozen - ready just in time for the party.
While they're great hot they also taste great cold or can be reheated in the oven to crispy up again. Overall an amazing party snack that your guests will definitely love.
Quick Summary
- Thai-style spring rolls made with pork and rice
- Baked but so crispy
- Big bright flavors from lemongrass, lime leaves, chili, and basil
- Perfect warm finger food for parties
- Make ahead friendly
Jump to:
Ingredients
Spring roll wrappers: premade spring roll pastry wrappers.
Ground pork: the base of the filling - can be substituted for other ground meat.
Jasmine rice: adds moisture to the spring roll and gives the center a creamy finish.
Lemongrass: bright fresh citrus aroma typical of Thai cooking.
Lime leaves: earthy citrus.
Garlic: adds umami to the aromatic base.
Bird's eye chilies: add spice - can be substituted for other chilies.
Fish sauce: adds umami depth and saltiness.
Brown sugar: balances the salt and acid with sweet.
Lime juice: acid to balance salt and sweet.
Fresh basil: contributes herbal, slightly sweet notes to round out the flavors.
Neutral oil: for making the filling.
Equipment
- A food processor or mortar and pestle for making the aromatic paste.
- A large non stick skillet or sauté pan for making the filling.
- A large baking sheet.
- Parchment paper for lining the baking sheet (prevents sticking).
Instructions for making crispy Thai spring rolls
Step 1: Cook the Rice
Bring ¾ cup jasmine rice, 2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the rice is just done.
If there's a bit of water left at the end, that's okay - it helps add moisture to the spring roll filling.
Set the rice aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the filling.
Step 2: Prepare the aromatic paste
Make an aromatic paste with the lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, garlic, and chilies.
Using a food processor is a fast and simple method but if you don't have one you can also use a mortar and pestle to pound the paste.
Pulse until you form a paste. If the mixture isn't blending down well, add a small splash of oil to help it along.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spoon and keep pulsing until relatively smooth - small enough that you wouldn't mind finding yourself chewing on one of the pieces.
I strongly recommend finely dicing the lemongrass and roughly chopping the lime leaves first before adding to the food processor or pounding out. Especially if your food processor isn't very good like mine.
They are quite fibrous and in my experience they don't get fine enough in the food processor, so you can end up with stringy or fibrous bits.
Step 3: Prepare the filling
Cook the pork & aromatics
Flavor Boosting Step (optional but recommended):
- Heat a bit of oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Add about ½ cup of the ground pork and break it apart as it browns.
- This step adds extra flavor through caramelization. If you add all the pork at once, it won't brown as well - so starting with a small portion helps build deeper flavor in the filling.
Once the first portion of pork is browned, add a few tablespoons of the aromatic paste.
Cook until the mixture becomes fragrant (about 1-2 minutes).
Then, add the rest of the paste to the pan and stir through.
Add the rice
Once all the pork is cooked and combined with the aromatic paste, add the cooked rice.
Gently fold everything together until the mixture is well combined and evenly mixed.
Season & Finish
- Add fish sauce, brown sugar, and the juice of 1 lime to start.
- Gently mix everything together, then taste the filling.
- Adjust seasoning to your preference - add more lime juice for brightness, brown sugar for balance, or fish sauce for depth and umami.
- Once seasoned to your liking, stir in the finely chopped basil as the final touch.
Step 4: Rolling the Spring Rolls
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
- Once the filling has cooled slightly and you're ready to roll, take one spring roll wrapper out of the package and lay it out flat (for example on a table or cutting board).
- Add about 4 tablespoons of filling to each wrapper and roll them up tightly.
How to Fill and Roll Spring Rolls
- Lay a spring roll wrapper in front of you like a diamond, with a point facing you.
- Add a rectangular dollop of filling about 2 cm x 8-10 cm (roughly ¾ inch x 3-4 inches).
The top of the filling should sit just below the center point of the wrapper. - Fold the bottom point up snugly over the filling.
- Then fold in the left and right sides toward the center.
- Finally, roll it all up tightly toward the top point.
Place the finished roll seam-side down on a baking sheet.
Step 5: Bake the Spring Rolls
Preheat your oven to 200°C / 400°F.
Arrange the spring rolls seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure they're spaced out slightly so they crisp up nicely.
Bake for 25 minutes, flipping each roll at the 15-minute mark to ensure even browning on both sides.
They're done when golden and crisp all over.
Variations and Substitutions
- One-pot filling shortcut: After browning the pork, add raw rice directly to the pan. Pour in the water and salt, then simmer until the rice is fully cooked and absorbed into the filling - fewer dishes, same great flavor.
- Use vermicelli noodles: For a more traditional Thai-style filling, swap the rice for soaked and chopped vermicelli rice noodles.
- Try chicken: Substitute the ground pork with ground chicken if you prefer a lighter protein.
- Make it plant-based: This filling is just as delicious with no meat. Use a mix of finely diced mushrooms, cabbage, and carrot. Brown the mushrooms first, then add the cabbage and carrot and cook until soft. Combine everything with the aromatic paste for a fully vegan version.
Serving Suggestion
These Thai spring rolls are great served warm and fresh, on their own or as part of a party spread. Serve with sweet chili sauce or you could also try an alternative like Thai peanut sauce.
Recipe
Thai Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 package spring roll wrappers 40 sheets (e.g. Spring Home TYJ)
- 650 grams ground pork approx. 1.4 lbs - or substitute ground chicken
- ¾ cup jasmine rice or other short grain rice, uncooked
- 2 cups water
- 10 Thai lime leaves
- 5 lemongrass stalks
- 5 bird chillies or more to taste
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons galangal grated. or substitute fresh ginger
- ½ cup fresh basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2.5 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 2.5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Set the rice to cook with 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt until just done. Turn off heat and set aside to cool once done.
- Very finely dice the lemongrass and lime leaves. Then add the lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic, galangal and chillies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until paste forms. Add a tablespoon of oil if needed to loosen and blend. Alternatively you can use a mortar and pestle.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. For extra flavor development start by browning ½ cup of the ground pork in oil. Then add a few tablespoon paste, cook until fragrant and lightly browned.
- Add remaining pork, a teaspoon of salt and the remaining paste and cook fully.
- Once pork is cooked, turn off heat. Add the remaining salt, as well as the cooked rice, brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and chopped basil. Gently stir until mixed evenly.
- Taste and adjust the salt, brown sugar, fish sauce and lime juice until the flavor balance is right. Optionally, add some chili flakes if you want it spicier.
- Once filling tastes perfect, preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F and roll spring rolls with about 4 tablespoon filling each. Place seam-side down on a parchment lined baking tray.
- Bake at 200°C / 400°F for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Nutrition
Yes you can make the filling and roll the spring rolls ahead of time. Simply roll them and then you can stack them in a tupperware container or gently layer them into a ziplock bag.
If you intend to cook them same day you can keep them in the fridge for a couple hours.
If you want to make them a few days or a week ahead, you can freeze them and bake directly from frozen - you may need to add an extra 5-10 minutes baking time.
In general they don't stick to each other, but it can happen if your filling happens to be particularly wet. If your filling is particularly wet them layer them between sheets of parchment paper and freeze.
You can reheat in the microwave in a pinch but oven is better as they stay crisper. Lay them out on a parchment lined sheet tray and reheat at 180 C / 360 F for 5-8 minutes.
Chicken is a great substitute for this recipe. Just use the same amount of ground chicken.
I've never tried it but I have tried a beef pork mix which works perfectly. No reason why just ground beef wouldn't work.
Yes absolutely - replace the ground meat with finely diced mushrooms, carrots and cabbage.
Related
Looking for more recipe inspiration? Maybe you'll like one of these:
Comments
No Comments