2024 Food Experiments (Part 1)

Now that we are headed into the last few weeks of 2024, I want to talk about the food experiments that I have tried over this past year. I have attempted new recipes, new flavors, new food products, and just overall expanding my food experience. One of my experiments was spring rolls. More specifically spring roll wrappers.

In the past, I have attempted to make spring roll wrappers although they weren’t satisfactory. When they were fried they typically didn’t have the crunch that you would desire in a spring roll. There was also the issue of the inside being soft as if the dough was too thick. The past spring roll wrapper was made out of thick dough that was rolled out to be made flat which is more than likely why the layer below the surface felt raw. 

When I was searching for a new recipe I was looking for something thinner and easier physically to create a flat wrapper. I found what I was looking for back in the summer.  I’ll link the recipe down below. It was simple and easy to follow, vegan-friendly, and included ingredients typical in anyone's kitchen. The ingredients include Cornstarch, flour, salt, and water. The water to dry ingredients outnumbers it, making the batter watery.

Next, I grabbed a frying pan that is much different from the shape of the pan in the video yet it still works just as fine. Following the instructions I wipe the pan with an oil-soaked napkin to apply a light layer of oil to the pan and heat up the pan on the highest temperature. I use a measuring cup and cover the pan until the edges of the batter touch the sides. The cooking part, in the past, was hard to do because I was scared to burn it and so I often took it off prematurely. Today was my second attempt and it was much easier to see when it was ready. 

I then made a simple filling made from cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, and onions. I seasoned it with ginger, salt, soy sauce, black pepper, and a little onion powder. Today’s experiment wasn’t focused as much on the feeling so it was lacking in the proper flavoring I was going for, however, it was still good. The outside of the spring rolls were gold and crunchy however much more bubbly than my last attempt. I made a sauce that was supposed to taste similar to the sweet sauce that you typically get alongside spring rolls. Due to a lack of proper ingredients it tasted more like barbecue sauce. The sauce’s flavor was so bad that it was inedible but it was not my desired flavor.

In the end, I have came to conclusion that I am nowhere near perfecting this recipe nor close to making a good complementary sauce but I’m going to continue to try!

Here is the recipe! Try it for yourself!

Recipe: https://youtu.be/AIsijNhkg9g?si=uJHpv4fTN7qFNk7e

By FoodChen by Sana

Pictures of spring rolls: