Recipe: Breaded Chinese Rolls

Another recipe from my childhood! These are the slightly more filling counterpart to the fish cutlets.

Breaded Chinese Rolls
Makes 20–25 rolls

Ingredients
2–3 (400–600 g) large potatoes
400 g can tuna or mackerel in water
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1–2 tsp salt, to taste
1 tsp ground black pepper
1–3 tsp red chilli powder, to taste
1–2 tbsp canola oil
2 green chillies, chopped
8–10 cloves garlic, finely minced
1" ginger, finely minced
2 Bombay (red) onions, finely chopped
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup or paste (optional)
50× 7.5" package frozen spring roll wrappers, thawed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
200 g panko breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes
4–8 tbsp (30–60 ml) soybean, peanut, or canola oil

Pierce potatoes all over with a fork, and boil them in their skins until fork-tender, about 30 min. Allow to cool slightly. Peel, mash, and set aside.

Drain tuna, and flake with a fork. Season with vinegar, salt, pepper, and chilli powder. Mix in chilli, garlic, and ginger.

Heat pan over medium heat, and add 1 tbsp canola oil. Once oil is shimmering, add tuna mixture. Fry, stirring often, until most of the water has dried up, and the tuna is fluffy (30–60 min). Add onions, and stir-fry until soft. Season with soya sauce, and tomato ketchup or paste.

Mix in mashed potatoes in batches. Continue frying the mixture until dense and very difficult to stir. Allow to cool.

Lay out two spring roll wrappers, one on top of the other, onto a flat plate or cutting board. Place 1–2 tbsp tuna filling close to one end of the stacked wrappers, centred. Shape the filling into a small log, about 2" long. Fold the ends of the wrappers together over the filling, followed by the two sides. Roll up tightly, and press down the seam. Repeat for the remaining filling and wrappers.

Dip the rolls in beaten egg, followed by the breadcrumbs. If desired, dip the breaded rolls in a second layer of egg, and bread a second time. Breaded rolls can be fried immediately, or stored in the freezer. For frozen rolls, thaw 30 min in the refrigerator before frying.

Deep-frying: Deep-fry rolls in preheated oil for 2–3 min each.

Oven-frying: Line a large dark pan with aluminium foil. Pour soybean, peanut, or canola oil inside; swirl to coat the bottom and sides. Place pan in the top rack of the oven, and preheat to either 200°C (canola oil), or 220 °C (soybean or peanut oil). Once oil has heated up, remove pan from the oven. Carefully place rolls into the pan, roll once in the heated oil, and space out evenly. Bake 15 minutes. Retrieve pan, overturn each roll, and bake another 12–15 min until golden-brown.