These crunchy golden prawn spring rolls (aka shrimp spring rolls) taste fabulous and they’re so easy to make! With just a few simple ingredients, they’re packed with flavour and will rival your favourite Chinese takeaway version.
These crispy spring rolls taste sensational, and the flavour of those succulent prawns really shines through. The filling is kept simple with just prawns, garlic, ginger, spring onions, soy sauce, and sesame. While you can add vegetables, and I’ve tested them very successfully with carrots, I just love the unadulterated flavour and texture of the prawns.
If you love these, I know you’ll love traditional sesame prawn toast too. Try these classic pork and vegetable spring rolls too.
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I don’t know anyone who can pass up a spring roll and these are no different. They’re fantastic for parties and gatherings where you want a crunchy, tasty appetiser and they’ll disappear in no time. Add a tasty dipping sauce and you’re set to go.
Ingredients
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Prawns/shrimp: I always prefer to buy raw prawns with the shells on and peel them myself. While it may seem like more work, you’ll benefit when it comes to texture. Prawns without the shell that have been frozen always tend to have a crunchy or squeaky texture when cooked but prawn flesh is protected in the shell. Whether fresh or frozen, the texture is always soft but meaty when you choose to shell them yourself. Any size, any type of prawns / shrimp will work here but the larger they are, the less time they’ll take to shell. Choose your favourite. I’ve used tiger prawns here and raw prawns are better than cooked for texture.
- Spring roll wrappers: Regular size spring roll pastry sheets (8.5in) are perfect for making 12 spring rolls about 4 inches in length. You can certainly use smaller wrappers and make mini prawn spring rolls too. I use TYJ spring roll pastry.
- Garlic and ginger: Such a classic flavour combo in many Asian cuisines, they work perfectly here too.
- Spring onions: Also known as green onions or scallions, spring onions give a subtle onion flavour.
- Soy sauce: This acts as the seasoning here plus adds some flavour. You can swap the soy sauce for 2 teaspoons of fish sauce if you love that punchier flavour.
- Sesame oil: I can’t get enough of this umami rich oil. So good wrapped up with prawns and soy.
- White pepper: This adds the tiniest bit of heat, but just enough plus flavour too. Don’t skip it.
- Cornflour: Known as cornstarch in some parts of the world, this is the fine white flour often used for thickening sauces. This is used here to absorb any excess moisture from the prawns or onions and also to help the soy sauce stick to the filling, so none gets left behind in the mixing bowl.
If you feel like adding some vegetables to your spring rolls (great if you want to get more from one batch), finely shredded carrot, cabbage and bean sprouts are classic. Keep in mind, they will dilute the prawn flavour. Some spring rolls contain rehydrated vermicelli noodles too, so they’re another option to add.
How to make prawn spring rolls
These seafood spring rolls take less than an hour from start to finish, including peeling your prawns. The longest part is carefully peeling apart the spring roll wrappers, so if you can have someone on hand to do that as you roll them, you’ll save a little time there.
There’s also no need to pre-cook your filling. It will cook while frying in the same time it takes for the spring roll wrappers to turn light golden-brown.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Prepare the prawn filling
Start by peeling and deveining your prawns then finely chop the flesh. It’s even easier if you add them to a food processor and blend just until chopped into small chunks, no bigger than your pinky finger nail. You can take them to a puree but I think it’s nicer to bite into and to be able to see chunks of prawn when you bite into them.
Next, combine the prawn meat in a bowl with all the seasonings. Mix it well so everything is evenly distributed.
2. Roll the spring rolls
Place a spring roll wrapper onto your work surface with a corner pointing towards you. Add a heaped tablespoon of the prawn mixture about ⅓ of the way up the wrapper, from that point.
Fold the corner over the top and gently press the filling out to roughly an 8cm/3 ¼ inch log.
One at a time, fold each side over the top,
Now, just roll it up. Slightly wet the corner and roll the spring roll over it so the corner seal stays underneath. If you find, the water isn’t enough for your pastry to stick, just make a slurry from some water and flour and use that as glue.
3. Fry the spring rolls
Heat a couple of inches of oil in a medium or large, heavy-based saucepan to 180C/350F then fry the prawn spring rolls in batches for 3-4 minutes.
If you’d rather shallow fry your spring rolls, heat 1cm/ ¼in oil in a skillet, frying pan or wok, for just a few minutes over medium-high heat, then cook the spring rolls for 3-4 minutes on each side. Turn them at least once, so they don’t burn underneath.
Tips and tricks
- Chop the prawn meat quite small, but not so small that it’s a puree. If it’s too large, you’ll end up with air pockets in your spring rolls, and if it’s too small, it will lose some of that amazing prawn texture.
- Use a deep fry thermometer when heating your oil. Without one, your oil can become way too overheated, causing the outside of your spring rolls to be burnt and bitter before the inside is cooked.
- Use a vegetable oil with a high smoke point – I like sunflower oil. Don’t use olive oil. Your oil should not be smoking when you use it or the heat is too high.
- Use tongs or a slotted spoon to place your spring rolls into the oil and to scoop them out again.
What to serve with them
These prawn spring rolls are lovely served as a finger food starter or appetiser with just a dipping sauce. A sweet chilli sauce or sweet and sour sauce are perhaps the most common sauces you’d get with your Chinese takeaway spring rolls, however, I love a Vietnamese Nước chấm or my Thai nam jim sauce. They’re also great with this ajaad.
They can be served alongside steamed rice with some stir-fried veggies, or fried rice for more of a main meal.
Another delicious way I love to serve these is with lettuce leaves, to wrap them in, and a peanut sauce, like my peanut dipping sauce that I serve with chicken satay. So, so good.
Storage & making ahead
If your prawns have never been frozen, you can make your prawn spring rolls and freeze them for up to 2 months before using them. However, most prawns have been frozen before you buy them so if you really want to make them ahead, you’d need to cook the prawn meat first, then roll and freeze them.
They can be made a day or so ahead though, depending on the freshness of your prawns, and fried when you serve them. They’re best served fresh from the fryer.
Leftover spring rolls should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container and reheated in an airfryer or oven until hot through and crispy. I personally find the air fryer does a better job of crisping them up again.
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Ingredients
- 400 g raw prawn meat (14oz) (notes 2)
- 3 medium spring onions finely chopped
- 1 teaspoons ginger paste or finely grated fresh ginger
- 2 small cloves garlic minced
- 4 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornflour (US cornstarch)
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 12 spring roll wrappers
- vegetable oil for frying
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- food processor helpful but not essential
- Large deep heavy-based saucepan
Instructions
- Dice the prawn meat into very small pieces (about the size of your little finger nail) or use a food processor to pulse just until chopped finely (not pureed).
- In a bowl, mix together the chopped prawns, spring onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, cornflour and white pepper until well combined.
- With a point facing towards you, place a slightly heaped tablespoon of prawn mixture (or 40g/1 ½ oz) onto the spring roll wrapper about ⅓ of the way in from the point. Fold the point over the top and gently spread the mixture out to about 8cm/3 ¼in log.
- Fold in the sides. Wet the corner on the opposite side with just a dab of water, then roll the spring roll up then leave it sitting on top of the corner seal to hold it. If you find your points are staying stuck, add a little flour to water to form a slurry and use that as a glue.
- Heat 5cm/2in of oil in a deep large saucepan to 180C/350F and fry in 2 batches for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.Keep the temperature of the oil between 170-180C/340-350F the whole time and bring it back up to 180C/350F before placing the next batch in. Don’t overcrowd the pan – if you’re using a smaller pan, fry less spring rolls in a batch).
- Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain for a couple of minutes before serving.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Prawns with their shell on, that you shell and devein yourself, will always give you the best texture and flavour – by a long, very noticeable, shot. You’ll need roughly 800g/28oz of prawns in their shells to get 400g/14oz of prawn meat. Larger prawns will be quicker to prepare.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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