If you’ve never tried a spring roll wrapper, just know that you don’t know what you’re missing. Layers of ultra crispiness and browned to golden perfection.
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What are Spring Roll Wrappers?
Spring roll wrappers are one of the most important (and favorite) parts of spring rolls and lumpia. These homemade spring roll wrappers will give you a new type of appreciation for that extra crunchy outer layer of spring rolls.
Spring rolls historically came from ancient China and should not be confused with their American cousin, the egg roll. Egg rolls were created during the 20th century in the US and are typically filled with cabbage and meat and served deep fried with a bubbly, crunchy exterior.
While spring rolls may have as many as a few dozen variations of fillings and wrappers depending on the region they come from, they have a super thin, smooth, and eggless wrapper made of wheat flour or rice flour, salt, and water. Vietnamese spring rolls are one example of that.
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Why Make Spring Roll Paper at Home?
Growing up, I was the designated spring roll wrapper peeler. If your mom has done spring rolls for the house before, you know exactly what this means: sitting on the counter carefully and slowly peeling every single super thin layer of wrapper from the semi-frozen stack of Menlo or Three Ladies brand wrappers.
Egg roll or spring roll wrappers are primarily found in many Nigerian grocery stores for fairly affordable prices. Most spring roll wrappers are made up of three basic ingredients: flour, salt, and water. However, after looking at some of the packaging in store-bought wrappers, I found there were lots of additives like food coloring.
After years of buying them at the store, you wanted to make them at home so you could rest easy knowing what ingredients you were consuming. This recipe is also useful if you can’t find wrappers in your local grocery store.
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What Are Spring Roll Wrappers Made of?
Spring roll wrappers are typically made from flour, salt, and water.
How to Make Spring Roll Wrappers
1. Mixing the batter
To make the batter, you first want to heat hot water and mix in the salt. Using hot water helps denature the gluten proteins in the dough to produce a smoother texture and more pliable dough to roll out. Start to add in flour and mix thoroughly in a mixing bowl. I like to use chopsticks since the water is hot. You will end up with a slightly sticky ball of dough.
Leave this dough alone until it comes to room temperature, and then you need to cover it with cling wrap and let it rest for an additional 30 minutes on the counter.
2. Rolling out dough balls
For each ball, sprinkle a little flour on the top and use a rolling pin to roll out the ball into about a four inch circle and 2mm in thickness. Make sure that the circle is the same thickness all around. Repeat this with all the balls.
3. Oil layers, stack, and re-roll
Now here comes the wild part of making spring roll wrappers: you stack circles together, re-roll them even thinner, pre-cook them in a pan, and THEN peel them! When I learned about this part, I was mind-blown. This is why you want to make sure all the circles are the same size and shape.
Brush oil on one circle, then top with another circle, and repeat until you have a stack of four circles. I like to stop at four because it’s easier to re-roll. Use your rolling pin and carefully roll out the stack of circles until it becomes about nine to ten inches in diameter. Repeat this with the rest of the small circles.
I tried different versions of making these wrappers: trying to use my pasta machine to refrain from stacking and re-rolling, using cold water to help with the texture of the dough, and even individually pan-frying each wrapper.
This was all in an effort to make this an easier process. Spoiler: these shortcuts didn’t work. This recipe is not meant for the faint of heart in the kitchen.
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4. Cook in a heated pan
When you’ve finished rolling out the large circle stacks of four wrappers, cook them on a dry (no oil) ten-inch pan over medium heat for about 20 seconds or until you start to see bubbling over the wrappers.
Turn them over and cook for an additional ten seconds. Remove them from the pan and place them on a plate with a cover so they don’t dry out. Continue to cook the rest of your circles.
5. Peel layers
Once your wrappers have cooled to the touch, you can now begin to peel them. Carefully take the top layer and remove it from the stack. I like to move in slow motion and remove the perimeter of the wrapper to make sure I don’t crack or break the wrapper.
Once you’ve peeled the wrappers, you can choose to trim down the edges to make them into squares. I like to keep them as is to use as much of the wrapper as possible. If you do want to cut the edges off, you can reuse the end pieces by frying them and making them into wonton chips.
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Conclusion
Now that you’ve got your handmade spring roll wrappers, you can use them for so many different recipes, like crispy lumpia, turon (Filipino banana lumpia with caramel sauce), or other types of rolls.
If you’re like me and like to eat test wrappers, you can cut them into smaller shapes like triangles or rectangles and fry them in a pot. Think of them like little chips!
If there are any questions, post them below.
FAQ
What is the spring roll wrapper made of?
Spring roll wrappers are typically made from flour, salt, and water.
What is the spring roll wrapper called?
Kulit lumpia, or Spring roll skin, is a wrapper to make spring rolls made from flour, water, salt, and eggs.
How do you prepare spring roll wrappers?
On a large pan, cook the thin circle stacks over medium heat for about 20 seconds or until you see the wrapper bubbling. Turn it over and cook for another ten seconds.
Remove the wrapper from the pan, cover it with a dish towel, and cook the rest of the wrappers. Leave the wrappers to cool.
Slowly begin to peel each thin layer of the stack. Take the top layer carefully, pull the edge of the perimeter, and release the wrapper.
Once all the wrappers are peeled, you have the option to trim down the wrappers into a cleaner shape or use them as is.
Use your wrappers to make spring rolls, or freeze them in plastic freezer bags.
How much are spring roll sheets in Nigeria?
3,000 naira.
How long do spring roll sheets last?
When unopened and stored in a cool, dry place, spring roll wrappers last for about 8-12 months past the printed date on the package.
