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hoisin duck spring rolls
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Hoisin Duck Spring Rolls

The crispiest Chinese style spring rolls filled with tender shredded duck, rich hoisin sauce, fresh veg, herbs & sesame seeds! Serve these with extra hoisin sauce & you're onto a winner.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Lunch, Starter
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 12 Spring Rolls
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Deep Fat Fryer
  • Digital Food Probe
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Baking Tray

Ingredients

Duck Filling

  • 2 Large Carrots
  • 6 Spring Onions
  • 2 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander
  • 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 2 tsp Sesame Seeds
  • 400 g Shredded Duck Meat (4 Legs - See Notes)
  • 100 g Hoisin Sauce

To Assemble

  • 2 tsp Cornflour
  • Cold Water
  • 12 Spring Roll Wrappers (See Notes)

Instructions

Duck Filling

  • First, peel the carrots then cut into thin matchsticks that are 5 cm long. Set these aside for now.
    These are julienned carrots, for the technical term!
  • Peel & lightly trim the spring onions then thinly slice them, at a slight angle. Finely chop the coriander now as well. Set both to one side (separate to the carrots).
  • Next, set a large frying pan over a medium heat, add in the vegetable oil then leave to heat up for a minute.
  • Once the oil's hot, carefully add in the carrots then fry for 1 minute until they're just starting to soften. Then add in the sesame seeds & continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the seeds are toasted & the carrots are just tender.
    Make sure to stir the carrots frequently! We don't want them to take on any colour at this stage.
  • Once the carrots are cooked, transfer them to a large mixing bowl then leave to cool.
  • Next, add the shredded duck, spring onions, coriander & hoisin sauce into the mixing bowl then stir to combine. Season the mix to taste with salt & pepper.
    The mix can now be used straight away or stored in the fridge for a day or two.

Assembly

  • First, make the spring roll glue. To do this, add the cornflour into a small mixing bowl then stir in enough cold water to make a paste that's thin enough to spread. You'll need 1-2 tsp of water.
  • Next, gently peel off a spring roll wrapper then place it onto a work surface so that it's facing in a diamond shape in front of you. Keep the other spring roll wrappers cover with a damp tea towel, to keep them from drying out.
  • To assemble a spring roll, place a heaped tablespoon of the filling about 5cm (2 inches) above the bottom corner. Use your spoon to shape the filing into a rough rectangle shape.
    There's a visual guide to assembling spring rolls in the post above!
  • Next, fold the bottom corner up over the filling then roll halfway up the wrapper. Fold the left & right sides over into the middle then continue rolling the spring roll up until you're just below the top corner. Brush the small triangle of pastry with the cornflour paste then roll the spring roll over to seal.
  • Place the spring roll onto a baking tray then repeat the assembly process with the remaining wrappers & filling. Once assembled, the spring rolls can be cooked straight away or stored in the fridge for up to a day. Make sure to cover them with clingfilm so that they don't dry out!

Cooking

  • Preheat a deep fat fryer to 180°c/356°f. I'd recommend using a digital food probe to double check the temperature of the oil!
  • When the oil is up to temperature, fry the spring rolls for 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally until the pastry is crisp & a deep, golden brown all over.
    You'll need to fry the spring rolls in batches, to avoid over crowding the fryer! I could fit 4 spring rolls in my fryer at a time.
  • Once cooked, let the spring rolls drain in the fryer basket for 30 seconds then transfer to a baking tray lined with kitchen paper. Leave to drain for a minute then serve.
    The spring rolls are best served straight away whilst they're still hot & crispy!

Baking (Instead Of Frying)

  • Preheat an oven to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f).
  • To bake, place the spring rolls onto a rack set on a baking tray. Brush both sides of the spring rolls with a good amount of vegetable oil then cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes until crisp & golden brown.

Notes

1. Shredded Duck - For this recipe you'll need 400 grams of duck meat, which is 4 duck legs worth. I used my hoisin braised duck legs but feel free to cook your duck however you like!
2. Spring Roll Wrappers - We're using Chinese style spring roll wrappers. These often come frozen, so make sure to defrost them fully before using. The wrappers that I used roughly measured 25cm x 25cm & they're from the brand "Spring Home".
3. Filling - Feel free to customise the filling to suit your tastes. You can use different veg, like bean sprouts or cabbage, plum sauce instead of hoisin and parsley or chives instead of coriander.
4. Storage - Once mixed, the filling will keep in the fridge for a couple of days (depending on when you cooked the duck). Once assembled, you'll need to cook the spring rolls within a day, before the pastry goes soggy!
5. Reheating - Leftover spring rolls will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. To reheat them, bake at 200°c/392°f for around 10 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and the filling is piping hot.