Chicken Spring Rolls (Super Flavorful + Crispy!)

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Filled with juicy, flavorful chicken and crunchy veggies, these Chicken Spring Rolls are everything you want from a spring roll – extra crispy yet somehow light, non-greasy and fresh. Flavor-wise, these lean on Indo-Chinese, so they’re more umami and spicy than your average Spring Rolls. Even if you’ve never made a Spring Roll, this easy-to-follow recipe + video tutorial will have you confidently rolling pastry.

Chicken Spring Rolls

Spring rolls – the desi kind, which are always fried and not at all springy – are one of my all-time favorite chai snacks/appetizers. (These are also called egg rolls – but in my mind, egg rolls are the Asian-restaurant ones with the chewier, bubbly surface.)

I was supposed to share this recipe last Ramadan, but I hadn’t yet reached my ideal spring roll – one with moist and juicy chicken, crunchy veggies, nostalgic, Indo-Chinese-leaning flavor, and an audible crunch.

But here we are, a year older and wiser (at least when it comes to spring rolls), with a recipe that not only checks these boxes but is also quite easy to execute.

While the assembly makes this recipe somewhat of a “project” (around the likes of keema samosa, keema naan, or dahi bhalla), it’s not at all complicated or tricky. The filling is juicy, savory, well balanced, providing that perfect hit of umami. Paired with the crispiness of the pastry wrappers (use 2 for extra crunch!), the result is a punchy, satisfying bite (which you’ll be tempted to take immediately but *please* wait for them to cool slightly so you don’t burn your mouth – don’t ask me how I know 🫠).

Ingredient Notes

For Boiling The Chicken

• To make the chicken flavorful in and of itself, I like to boil with salt, garlic, ginger, and chicken bouillon cube. You can also skip the bouillon cube and instead use vegetable/chicken broth in place of water.

For The Egg Rolls

• Pastry Wrappers:  I recommend using Spring Home TYJ Spring Roll Pastry. These are available at most Indo-Pak and Asian grocery stores as well as many American supermarkets, but if you can’t find them, look for other 8”x8” spring roll wrappers. Contrary to the recipe name, you don’t want to use egg roll pastry sheets, or any wrappers containing egg. Those are chewier, less crisp, and develop bubbles on their surface when fried. Though these rolls have a typical egg roll filling, we want a super crispy exterior, for which you want these thinner spring roll style wrappers.
• Vegetables: I thinly slice my cabbage by hand, and use my food processor‘s shredding blade for the carrots. It’s best to use fresh sliced cabbage (it’s just crunchier), but I’ve tested with store-bought pre-shredded cabbage, and even coleslaw mix.
• South-Asian-Style Chilli Garlic Sauce: Sweeter and more rounded out in flavor than Asian-style Chili Garlic. Available at Indo-Pak grocery stores, but feel free to sub with half the amount of Asian chili garlic + a bit of ketchup for the sweetness.
• Chicken Bouillon Cube: I use chicken bouillon cube, crumbled to a powder. I’ve also tested with MSG to amp up the Indo-Chinese flavors. If skipping chicken powder/msg, will need to increase salt and/or soy sauce to make up for the umami.

For The Sealing/Binder

• Flour + Water: The “glue” for sealing the rolls.
• Egg: I’ve tested without the egg, and though you don’t need it to bind, it adds flavor and body to the rolls. If you skip the egg, you won’t have excess binder.

How to make Chicken Spring Rolls

Prepare the chicken:

1. Boil & Shred Chicken: There are two methods you can use here, either pressure cooker/Instant Pot or stovetop. Both methods will yield similar results, but the key is to keep some liquid, which helps keep the chicken moist.
   • If you use the stovetop method, you may have to top up with water to make sure the chicken stays moist. You also you want to keep some liquid for the chicken, to help it stay moist and to prevent it from sticking to the pan.
   • If you use IP method, you’ll have extra broth.

Make the filling:

2. Sauté veggies: Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Sauté the veggies just until they slightly wilt – you want the cabbage to stay crunchy!
3. Add chicken and seasoning: Add the chicken and sauces and toss to combine. The filling should be dried up without extra moisture. Taste & adjust seasoning. The filling will mellow out in the rolls, so you want this to be quite punchy. Allow to cool. Rolling the filling in wrapper while hot risks trapping steam.

Prepare the Binder:

4. Whisk together the ingredients for the egg binder in a small bowl. Place it near your work surface. Note that you will have leftover binder, which you can freeze in a small container for future use.

Assemble:

5. Shape + Roll: For best results, try to roll as tightly as possible. The tighter and more evenly you roll these, the neater and more evenly browned your final spring roll will be.
6. Heat the oil up while you’re in the rolling process. in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot, add enough oil to come 1½ inches up the sides and heat over medium until the temperature reaches 370 degrees.

Fry the Spring Rolls:

7. Fry in a wide pot so they’re easier to move. The trick with frying spring rolls is to always keep them moving!

How to serve, store and reheat

Spring rolls are best served fresh, but can also be made ahead, frozen, and fried, or even reheated after frying for a time saver. 

• To freeze: Assemble spring rolls, freeze them raw on a tray until just set, so they don’t stick to each other or lose shape. Once frozen, store in airtight freezer bags. When you’re ready to use, thaw and fry as per recipe.
• To fry from frozen: Heat oil to low-medium heat (240-260°F/115–125°C). Place the frozen spring rolls directly into the oil, then increase the heat so that the oil is medium-hot.
• To reheat pre-fried, frozen spring rolls: Thaw until close to room temperature. You can either air-fry or bake at 350°F until heated through and crispy. (Refrigerated and leftover spring rolls can also be reheated this way!)

Make it vegetarian:

Yes, you can make these egg rolls for the vegetarians in your life! My recipe tester tried an all-vegetable version with double the cabbage, carrot, and green onions, adding 1 teaspoon each of ginger, garlic, and vegetable bouillon, as well as ½ teaspoon extra salt to make up for the lack of seasoning from the chicken. (Note that she started with the same amount of chili flakes, black and white pepper, and chilli garlic sauce as listed under the filling ingredients, and adjusted to taste). She also tested a version using a vegetarian chicken substitute with great results. When using vegetarian chicken, cook according to package directions along with the ginger, garlic, and bouillon and shred/chop if possible. She even tested with crumbled baked tofu in the filling. Just be sure to use the pre-baked and seasoned version for best results.

Tried this recipe? If you have a minute, please consider leaving a comment telling me how it was! You can also take a quick picture and upload it directly into the comments. If you’re on Instagram, please tag me so I can see your creations. I truly love hearing from you. Thank you!

Chicken Spring Rolls (Super Flavorful + Crispy!)

Yield: 20 spring rolls

Prep Time: 1 hour hr

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Filled with juicy, flavorful chicken and crunchy veggies, these Chicken Spring Rolls are everything you want from a spring roll – extra crispy yet somehow light, non-greasy and fresh. Flavor-wise, these lean on Indo-Chinese, so they’re more umami and spicy than your average Spring Rolls. Even if you’ve never made a Spring Roll, this easy-to-follow recipe + video tutorial will have you confidently rolling pastry.

For Boiling the Chicken

• 1 lb (454 g) chicken breast, cut into 3” chunks
• 1 3/4 cups water, 3/4 cup for Instant Pot
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp crushed/finely chopped garlic
• 1 tsp crushed/finely chopped ginger
• 1 tsp (3 g) crumbled chicken bouillon stock cube, such as maggi or knorr

For the Egg Rolls

• 1 12-oz package spring roll pastry sheets, 25 ~8”x 8” sheets – (I use Spring Home TYJ), thawed overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for 30-40 minutes – Note 1
• 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as avocado oil, plus more for frying
• 3-4 cups (300 g) green cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded into 1-2” long strips
• 2 large (170 g) carrots, peeled and shredded into 1” pieces (I use my food processor’s shredder attachment)
• 2 (40 g) green onions (scallions), finely chopped
• 1 ½-2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp (15 g) Desi-style chili garlic sauce, sub ½ tbsp Asian-style chili garlic, ½ tbsp ketchup
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp (3 g) chicken powder, bouillon cube, crumbled to a powder OR 1 tsp (4g) MSG (Ajinomoto) – Note 4

For the Sealing/Binder: (You will have leftover binder, discard or freeze for future use)

• 1 small egg, not essential for binding but adds flavor/crunch – Note 5
• 1/4 cup (33 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (51 g) water

1. Take the spring roll pastry out of the freezer and allow it to come to room temperature.

Boil the Chicken

1. Method 1 – Pressure cook/Instant Pot Method: Combine the chicken, measured water, salt, garlic, ginger, and bouillon powder in an Instant Pot. Cover and select Pressure – High. Set time for 15 minutes. Allow to NPR for at least 5 minutes, then manually release. Take out ¼ cup of the stock, reserving the remaining for other use.

2. Method 2 – Stovetop Boiling Method: Combine the chicken, measured water, salt, garlic, ginger, and bouillon powder in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, removing any scum that rises to the surface. Cover with the lid ajar, and allow to boil until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Turn off the heat when there’s about ¼ cup of liquid left (this will help keep the chicken moist). If the water evaporates too quickly, top with water until it cooks through.

Shred the chicken:

1. Transfer the boiled chicken with about ¼ cup of its juices to a bowl in a food processor fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on to low-medium speed and process the chicken for 1 ½ minutes, until shredded and stringy and no large chunks remain. (You don’t want super finely shredded, crumbly chicken.) (Yields 3 cups/~300g chicken.) Alternatively, finely shred the chicken with 2 forks.

Prepare the filling:

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat. Add cabbage, carrots, and green onions and sauté until slightly softened but still crunchy, 2-3 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, followed by the seasoning (red chili flakes, ground black pepper, white pepper, salt, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, and chicken powder/msg, if using) and mix for 1-2 minutes. Taste and adjust, adding salt to taste, chili flakes or black pepper for heat, soy sauce for more umami flavor, and chili garlic sauce for tangy sweetness. (Keep in mind the flavors will mellow out in the rolls.) Turn off the heat and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. You can also pop in the fridge to cool quicker.

Assemble the egg rolls:

1. Whisk together the ingredients for the egg binder in a small bowl. Place it near your work surface.

2. Lay one square pastry sheet on your work surface in a diamond shape (May use 2 sheets for extra crisp – Note 3). Keep the remaining pastry sheets covered to prevent them from drying out. Place about 3 tbsp (25-30g) of the chicken about 2″ above the bottom corner of the pastry. Shape this into a log/rectangle, similar to the shape of the final egg roll. Lift the bottom corner over the filling, tucking it snugly to create a tight roll. Continue rolling upward until you get halfway across the pastry sheet (see photo).

3. Fold the left and right corners inward toward the center, so the filling is encased in a compact 4-5″ horizontal log. It’ll look like an open envelope. Brush the top all over lightly with the egg wash to help it stick, then finish rolling upward, pressing gently to seal the edge securely. (Try to ensure tight and even rolling, which will help make neater egg rolls.) Tip: Start heating up your oil while you finish rolling.

4. Cover loosely with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying while you finish assembling the rest. If you find you’re running out of filling while you have leftover pastry sheets, stack two pastry sheets together for extra crispy rolls. (If using 2 pastry sheets, brush egg wash on the loose bottom sheet as well.)

Fry the egg rolls:

1. Pour oil into a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan so that it’s about 1.5-2”/4-5 cm deep. It should be deep enough so that the rolls don’t stick to the bottom. Heat the oil to med-high heat (360-380°F/180°-190°C), and adjust heat level as needed to maintain this heat. (If the temperature is too high (>390°F) = exterior cooks unevenly and/or burns; If the temperature is too low (<300°F), the egg rolls become brittle and oily.) Fry the egg rolls in batches (I fry 5 at a time) for 5-6 minutes, turning often, until they are crisp and golden. Keep rotating to prevent one side from cooking too much.

2. Using tongs or a spider strainer, remove the egg rolls from the oil and let them drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve hot with chutney of choice.

Note 1: Available at most Asian and South Asian grocery stores, as well as many general supermarkets. I usually find these in 20 to 25 count packages. Exactly how much filling you need will depend on the wrapper size. (For 8”x8” wrapper size, you’ll need ~3 tablespoons of filling.)
Note 2: To save chopping time, you may also use store-bought pre-shredded cabbage, coleslaw mix, and/or carrots. I notice these wilt easier, so reduce cook time as needed.
Note 3: For extra crispy egg rolls, use 2 pastry sheets instead of 1. In this case, you’ll need 2 packs of the pastry sheets, and you’ll also need to fry for 1-2 minutes extra.
Note 4: Adds Indo-Chinese flavor. If skipping chicken powder/msg, will need to increase salt and/or soy sauce to make up for the umami.
Note 5: I’ve tested without the egg, and though you don’t need it to bind, it adds flavor, and a more tender bite. Note: If you skip the egg, you won’t have excess binder to deal with.
 

Calories: 67kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.004g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 337mg, Potassium: 137mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 1274IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 0.3mg