Yesterday was the first day of the sixth moon on the Chinese calendar, a vegetarian day for me. So I made vegetarian spring rolls which, by the way, would be a tasty appetizer for your 4th of July party too.

To me, there’s always something mysterious about a springroll because you never quite know what’s inside until you take the first bite. I like mine vegetarian because, for one thing, it’s healthier and for another, it only needs three main ingredients.

Depending on the crowd you’re preparing for, you’ll need:

• 1 packet spring roll wrap
• 1 medium-sized Chinese turnip or jicama (see picture), shredded
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 clove garlic, diced

It’s very simple. First, I heat up some oil in my wok and lightly saute the garlic. Next, I add the carrots and turnip and saute for about 5 minutes, finishing off with a dash of salt, pepper and soy sauce to taste.

I usually let the filling cool off on a plate for a bit. It’s easier to wrap when you don’t keep burning your fingers .

Wrapping a spring roll isn’t hard at all. Just lay out the wrap on a flat surface and place 2-3 teaspoons of filling about 1 inch from the edge nearest you and to the left and right of the wrap.

The edge nearest me is where I start working from. Lift that edge and fold over the top of the filling. Then fold the left, then right side and roll forwards until you get a sorta cigar-like roll.

Seal the loose edge with a dab of water or egg white all along the edge. If I have to, I just press it a little to make it stick, otherwise the spring roll might burst open half-way through deep-frying.

Heat up a cup of oil in the wok. Deep-frying requires that the oil be very hot. If the oil is not hot enough, the spring rolls will absorb more oil and become greasy and heavy which also makes it very fattening.

Deep-fry till light brown and drain off excess oil on a sieve or a piece of kitchen roll. That’s it. All ready to be gobbled up . Even more yummy served with my homemade chilly dip recipe (it’s at the bottom of that post).

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