These gluten-free spring roll wrappers are just as delicious and versatile as traditional spring roll wrappers. They are made with easy-to-find gluten-free flour/starches and making your own is much more economical and healthier than store-bought. I'm also sharing how to make vegan Chinese spring rolls.
Prepare the filling: (can be prepared a few days before)
Cut the chicken into thin strips. Add the marinade and toss to mix and let it marinade for 30 minutes while you prepare other things
Soak the wood ear mushrooms in warm water until they are triple in size. Cut into strips
Soak the mung bean noodles in warm water until soft. Use a kitchen shear to cut into shorter pieces, about 2-inch pieces
Preheat a pan or wok. Add cooking oil and garlic. Saute for about 10 seconds. Add the chicken and saute until they turn opaque. If you are using shredded cooked chicken meat, don't add it yet
Add the mushrooms, carrots, and the rest of the ingredients. Saute to mix everything. Have a taste and adjust as needed to your taste. Remove from the heat and set aside to let it cool down completely before wrapping. Keep in the fridge if you make ahead
Prepare the dough:
Peel the potato and cut into slices. Steam over high heat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can peel the potato and cut into small cubes and put them in a small saucepan. Cover with just enough water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 8-10 minutes or until they are fork-tender. Drain off all the water
Mash the cooked potato with a fork while they are still warm.
Combine rice flour, tapioca starch, and salt in a heat-proof mixing bowl. Bring 90 g of water to a rolling boil. I boil a bit extra to account for evaporation during boiling or in case you need a bit extra. Then pour 70 g into the flour mixture while stirring with a chopstick or a spoon on the other hand. Add the mashed potato and then knead with your hand into a dough. If the dough feels to dry, you can add a bit more of the water you boil earlier and continue to knead for about 5 minutes until you get a nice dough. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes so the starches have time to absorb the liquid
After the rest, give the dough some kneding, about 2-3 minutes to make sure it's soft and elastic. Divide into 8 equal pieces. Keep them covered tightly. Work with one dough at a time. Dust your work surface with some rice flour. Flatten the dough into 4-inch circle. Roll out into a large circle, about 6 inches. As you can see in the photos above that I'm not good at rolling it into round shape. I got a rectangle shape instead :) But in a way, it makes it easier to wrap the filling too
Continue with the rest of the dough and keep the rolled-out dough covered with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out
Cook the dough:
Preheat a large heavy-bottom pan. When you drop water on the pan and it evaporates quickly, the pan is ready. Place one wrapper on the hot pan. I spray with a bit of water, cover with the lid and cook for about 1-2 minutes on one side and then flip over to the other side and cook. Don't let them brown
Remove the wrapper from the pan and keep them covered with a clean towel to make sure they stay soft. Continue cooking the rest and stack them up and covered with a towel
Prepare the glue:
Put the tapioca starch and water in a saucepan over medium heat and keep stirring until the mixture turns into a paste consistency. Turn off the heat and let it cool completely
Assembling:
Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of filling on the lower end of the wrap near you. Fold the bottom over to cover. Fold the two sides over. Smear the two sides and the top with some glue paste you made earlier and continue to roll up into a spring roll shape
Continue with the rest of the wrapper and filling
Frying:
Preheat about 2 inches height of oil in a saucepan. When you put a skewer in, the oil bubbles around it. The oil is ready. Fry 3 pieces of the spring roll until light golden brown. Remember to fry in batches. Put on an absorbent paper towel and continue frying the rest
If you want them extra crispy, bring the oil back to hot and then fry them again very briefly. This second frying will crisp the wrappers up further
Serving:
Serve them warm as is or with your favorite sweet chili sauce or any chili sauce
Video
Notes
Depending on the potato and the starches, you may need more water or you may not
You can also use shredded cooked leftover chicken meat or other types of meat such as ground pork or ground beef. A meatless option would be firm tofu cut into fine strips