4 Levels of Spring Rolls: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious

foreign and I'm a level one Chef hi I'm Natasha and I'm a level two Chef hi I'm King I'm a chef instructor at The Institute of Culinary education I've been a professional chef for over 20 years my recipe is super simple it's all vegetarian friendly and I'm going to be frying them because I really like that nice crunch that you get only from a fried dish I personally love spring rolls I can't say no to them so this is a pretty traditional recipe and I'm switching it up a little bit to make it vegetarian with the Beyond beef and the tofu crumbles you know we're looking for this explosion in your mouth so we're going to pack it with ground pork with shrimp with crab with lobster in Tagalog in Filipino it's called lumpia and lumpia are sprinkles foreign [Music] things off I'm going to make the filling first I'm going to mix some soy sauce into the Beyond beef this is my pork substitute so for my filling I have a really nice array of veggies here some green onion and some ginger wow that's sharp you're right in the face garlic now I'm going to shred some cabbage cabbage always reminds me of the character and Avatar that I always say my cabbages the first step in our filling is to cook our Lobster and crap so I have beautiful blue crab in front of us same thing with our Lobster over here this is a beauty this is probably like a three pound lobster live lobster that's what we want now I'm going to season the tofu crumbles with some Golden Mountain sauce and I've had spring rolls before that have tofu bits and I always really like it I've got some cremini mushrooms only going to use the caps and bamboo shoots and I've got some snow peas these are glass noodles soaking and some room temp water I'm going to let these noodles soak for about 10 minutes while I prep everything else I think the sweetest meat comes right here in this knuckle and Claw area the best part of lobster for me you want the best product possible you want to work with live seafood first we need to kill them in a Humane matter and then put them in boiling water we're just going to take the knife though right through the middle of the head and go straight down it'll take out the central nervous system and crab is pretty much the same way oh look you heard me right between the eyes with a knife and going down so next we're going to pull the meat out of our Lobster and our crab I got all my veggies chopped up time to saute them they're all mixed together just going to let them cook through for about a minute so I have my shredded cabbage I'm going to measure out about a cup and a half to go into my filling I've got some grated carrots cilantro I'm going to just use the stems because the leaves don't fry well so now I'm going to chop the shiitake mushrooms and I'm going to really squeeze out the water that they've been soaking in cut them very small and then garlic this is a whole lobster that we just partially cooked I'm gonna rip it apart separated the body from the head I like this as well the claw meat hey man I'm like wasting any part of the animals we can use this head to make a lobster stock a base for a soup the noodles have been soaking for about 10 minutes so I'm going to drain them and cut them so this is our lobster tail go down the middle with our knife and we are going to split this open now you can see how easily the meat comes right out of the shell there's a lobster tail there's our shell our Lobster meat's ready now last time move on to the crab now I'm going to mix everything together I'm going to add in about a half teaspoon of salt sugar and I'm just going to cook through for about three to five minutes this is the Gill so we're not going to be using this part and oh I should have worn a mask the green we don't really want that they call it crab fat sometimes for our filling we're looking for that sweet tender crab meat so first I'm going to saute the garlic white pepper and when the garlic starts Browning that will tell me when to put in the filling these are raw shrimp but they have been cleaned and the shell has been removed I want to make sure this Cooks all the way down it's not just sauteed veggies it's filling our shellfish has been picked and we're going to cut that up we're looking for a rough chop so we can combine them together I can see do some Browning on the garlic so I'm going to go ahead and add the filling we could call it a day right here but let's keep going we have a roasted garlic basically I'm going to squeeze it like toothpaste that is garlic paste right there if the noodles start sticking just add a little bit of water to the pan scallions carrots we're going to peel and cut diced onions about halfway there starting to cook down and now we're gonna mix and add our seasonings to it start off with a little black pepper now I feel good enough to add my soy sauce and then just a drop of sesame oil fish sauce my favorite so now I'm gonna let the veggies completely drain then I'm going to transfer them to a sheet pan to let them cool completely so the filling is done the noodles are cooked through and the cabbage is wilted I'm gonna let it cool down before I assemble now that the filling is all ready and set aside I'm going to start preparing the wrappers so for my wrapper I'm going to be using these rice paper wrappers that are really really easy to work with and they're a product of Vietnam so that's great support the Vietnamese his economy for my spring roll wrapper I'll be using this pre-made dough that comes in sheets I'm going to be making my lumpia wrappers from scratch really simple recipes flour cornstarch salt a little bit of water just make a batter just to be sure there's no lumps in our batter I'm just going to strain our batter out look how beautiful that is you could like see the grains of rice I'm just going to let that soak in here a couple of seconds I'm not trying to impress anyone here not trying to make my own wrappers I don't do that we want to use a neutral oil when we're making our wrapper this is canola oil because the wrappers come Frozen they're a little stuck together so I'm going to separate them it kind of feels like waxy foam paper and there you go a lovely soaked rice paper wrapper you can see the spatula coming through here we want them nice and thin I don't even have to flip this because like I said we are cooking this again once this wrapper comes out we'll let them rest over here our wrappers are done our next step is assembly so now for the fun part it's time to assemble the spring rolls so I'm going to make an egg wash basically it's my edible glue which is very easy it is just whisking one egg you can do this like an assembly line with my wrappers my chilled filling and my glue soak the wrapper let it drip dry I place it down as a diamond I fold the bottom corner up to double layer it here to prevent it from ripping add the filling and I tend to over stuff these lumpia they blow up when you're frying them I don't want to blow them up I'm making sure the filling is packed kind of tuck it closer to me so it's really tight fold it up like an envelope once I get to this point I add the glue a little egg wash I'm just doing a little line with my finger along the edge and then I finish the roll all the way was the other guy able to roll them okay roll roll roll spring roll and if you like folding with origami and paper and making crafts it's just like that I used to Bright people with my origami I would give people my little origami creations and then in return I got gel pens in middle school I used to do my art projects too fast the teacher would have to create new ones that weren't on the syllabus this is very fun I could do this all day this is my favorite I do not love them equally these are ready to go time to fry I have my oil at about 350 degrees just the right temperature I want it at I do a few sprinkles at a time so the temperature doesn't drop too fast remember everything we put in this soil will bring that temperature down we don't want to overcrowd our pan when the oil temperature drops your product winds up soaking up that oil and you're left with something fried and greasy no no I'm gonna fry the spring rolls for one to two minutes it batches a four gorgeous so here is spring roll number one we are going in the pan probably about five to seven minutes for it to cook just be careful here oil splatter one of the worst Burns make sure you drop it away from you so I just just cook them until they're golden I'm just making sure that they don't touch so they don't stick the wrappers are sticking together a little bit so I'm just gonna let them cook and then I'll do them one at a time right now we're cooking in canola oil canola oil has a very high smoke point meaning we could Crank that oil up without worrying about burning the oil they're starting to get a little bit of color my favorite one is still my favorite there we go as long as they stay on their sides they won't touch the lesson learned maybe these wrappers wanted the best to use I mean they still look good they're pretty light golden brown so I'm gonna take them out it's still sizzling inside too that's how hot that is inside so it looks like this particular rice paper wrapper does bubble up quite a bit which we don't love for frying because we don't want any bubble oils in the face these are my little spring roll babies our Olympia is fried and we're ready for our next step that's sauce all right now that the spring rolls are fried the last thing is making a dipping sauce I'm going to finely chop the garlic and the Red Thai chilies and the spur chili add everything in the mortar and pestle and make a paste so we are making our sweet chili mango sauce I have chilies I have mango let's begin we're going to take this flesh out of our mango we have our skin here just going to hold it just wrap right around it come around we have our mango flesh inside now we're going to go with our rice wine vinegar and add some water in there my dipping sauce is pretty simple it has some soy sauce sesame oil rice vinegar honey and then some fresh grated Ginger and then a quick whisk together I do use mortar and pestles a lot it's used pretty often in Indian cooking like revving up your car next I'm going to simmer the chili garlic paste with the sugar and vinegar I'm going to mix this fast just so it dissolves and the sugar doesn't burn so I made mango juice restrainted it's in the saucepan right now we're going to add a little fish sauce or a little saltiness also garlic all right the sugar is dissolved so I'm going to take it off beautiful consistency our mango sauce is set we're ready to place I'm obviously going to go with my favorite child first and then we'll see oh that isn't my favorite on our plate I have a Banana Leaf not only does it look nice it's going to prevent our summer rolls from sliding around on the plate and we're talking about edible garnish this is our Boston lettuce and here are my spring rolls and these are my spring rolls and here are my lumpia [Music] your favorite one tastes as good as much as I love it [Music] oh my God it's perfect wow holy house it's so crunchy it's really really good they're light they're flaky they have a really good crunch all the vegetables are perfectly cooked nothing's too hard or too soft I'm gonna pick up a pat on the shoulder well I'll eat another one I might have surprised myself with this one I like that I can taste beyond meat it's like a subtle flavor but it's not overpowering and it goes really well with like the cabbage and the noodles it all just Blends in together very nicely no words I don't even know what to say I mean you just saw me Chow Down on this this is it close it up it's over it's a wrap [Music] spring rolls are an Asian inspired crispy package of delicious ingredients let's see how each of our Three Chefs made theirs foreign John made plant forward vegetarian spring rolls that included mushrooms cabbage and bamboo mushrooms are a concentrated source of free amino acids like glutamic acid which is part of monosodium glutamate or MSG as well as guanosine monophosphate or GMP MSG and GMP are white powders by themselves and don't taste like much but when added to food they activate taste receptors on our tongues that send signals to our brain which are interpreted as Umami John also included crunchy green cabbage and bamboo the cabbage and bamboo are persistently crunchy because they contain ferulic acid ferulic acid forms bonds with the carbohydrates in the cell walls this prevents the carbohydrates from being dissolved during cooking which would result in the softening of the cell walls and less crunch Natasha also made vegetarian spring rolls but included a plant-based meat alternative this product relies on a combination of plant-based ingredients blended with fats that have been extruded or pressed through very small openings so that they mimic the mouth feel color taste and texture of beef she added glass noodles also known as cellophane noodles to her filling these translucent very thin noodles are typically made from Pure starch isolated from beans or sweet potato Natasha included mushrooms too but she used dry shiitakes which she soaked in water to rehydrate prior to using rehydrated mushrooms have an intense concentrated flavor they're very dark brown because they're rich in Browning enzymes called polyphenol oxidase this is especially true in the gills the feathery looking underside of the mushroom's cap is why that part of the mushroom is usually very dark King's spring roll featured Lobster shrimp and crab meat these delicate flavors paired well with a mild lighter pork meat which he also included you really just have to go with it with your finger you would have to feel this notice that the lobster turned bright red when it was cooked that's because lobsters have a colorful carotenoid pigment called astaxanthin that's naturally attached to a nearby protein once heated the astaxanthin breaks away from its protein partner and expresses its characteristic red color both John and Natasha used pre-made spring roll wrappers John's wrappers were dry and shelf stable made from translucent rice paper that cooks very quickly Natasha's wrappers were frozen but pliable when defrosted they were made with oil and wheat flour and similar to Pasta sheets King made his own wrappers with three simple common ingredients all-purpose flour water and salt King was careful to add enough water to moisten the flour so that it formed a cohesive pliable Mass but not so much that his dough is wet a wet dough would have developed gluten and become too stretchy and chewy after filling their spring rolls our chefs sealed their wrappers with egg eggs contain proteins and emulsifying phospholipids that are sticky and adhere well to the wrapper because steam builds up inside of spring roll when it's heated the egg seal is essential for ensuring the spring rolls don't burst open when fried foreign all three of our chefs fried their spring rolls in hot oil this ensured crispiness as the water in the wrapper evaporated when it touched the hot oil starches and rice are also very sticky and slightly mucilaginous so it was important that John Fry each spring roll with plenty of room to spare if Too Close they would stick to one another feels like a standardized test oh flashbacks Natasha and King used wheat based wrappers King was careful to fry all of his spring rolls at the same temperature each time he added a spring roll it cooled the oil a bit by not overcrowding them in the hot oil and by allowing the oil to come back up to temperature each time a roll was removed King ended up with perfect level three spring rolls John sauce mixed sesame oil with soy sauce and rice vinegar Natasha's sauce was more complex she muddled garlic and hot chilies to make a paste then cooked it with sugar and vinegar heating sugar in water-soluble vinegar increases viscosity because sugar molecules which are made of carbon hydrogen and oxygen don't break apart instead they share bonds with water thereby increasing viscosity I like that the sauce is spicy and sweet it complements the spring rolls really well King sauce was based on a diced sweet mango blended with water to make a thick juice mangoes have a complex flavor profile they contain flavor compounds called lactones which are also found in peaches and coconuts and terpenes which are pine flavored next time you're in the mood for a crispy spring roll we hope you'll take some of these tips from our three excellent chefs foreign

Channel: Epicurious

Views: 792,731

Keywords: 4 levels, epicurious 4 levels, spring rolls, spring roll, spring roll recipe, spring rolls recipe, homemade spring rolls, lobster spring rolls, vegetable spring rolls, real spring rolls, authentic spring rolls, best spring rolls, best spring rolls recipe, expert spring rolls, easy spring rolls, tofu spring rolls, vegetarian spring rolls, fried spring rolls, 4 levels spring rolls, lumpia, lumpia recipe, how to make lumpia, filipino lumpia, homemade lumpia, epi, epicurious

Id: Qhz85sN4oEc

Length: 15min 44sec (944 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 30 2020