Harumaki / Japanese Spring Rolls

Mom’s Spring Rolls

There are so many varieties of spring rolls, but, of course,  I love my mom’s harumaki (spring rolls) the best.  There are a lot of ingredients inside of her spring rolls, pork, shitake, bean sprout. The most important ingredient of her spring roll is the bamboo shoot, which gives a crunchy texture. The wrap is crispy outside, and molten, juicy and crunchy inside. 

Harumaki is a Japanese Name of Spring Rolls

Spring rolls started in China as a pancake filled with the new season’s spring vegetables. The name is related to their being consumed during the spring festival in China. We call this roll harumaki (haru means spring, maki means roll) in Japan. This Chinese-originated spring roll has become one of the common family dishes in Japan, like Gyoza dumplings. Every family has slightly different recipes.

Harumaki vs. Chinese Spring Rolls

Like ramen noodles, Harumaki was also adjusted to Japanese style from the original  Chinese one. Harumaki is really similar to the  Cantonese style of spring roll, but there are some differences between them.

Fillings- the big difference is that the  Japanese version does not use garlic in the fillings. Also, Harumaki filling has a  more gravy-like texture while Chinese spring rolls come with drier stuffing. Since Chinese stuffing typically includes cabbage as part of their filling, the  Japanese recipe won’t use cabbage that much.

Shape –  The traditional Chinese spring rolls are thin and cylindrical rolls while harumaki appear in a rectangular shape. 

Ingredients for Harumaki

Bamboo Shoots – Spring is a bamboo shoot season, however,  it is not easy to purchase the fresh bamboo shoot in the U.S. So, I normally use the blanched bamboo shoot which comes in a  bag. You can also find the bamboo shoots canned in an  Asian grocery store.

Harumaki Wrapper– There are two types of wheat flour-based spring roll wrappers. One is thin and smooth textured.  It becomes crispier when fried which is normally used for spring rolls. Another wrapper type is thicker and gets a bubbly exterior, and is mostly used for egg rolls. I usually prefer to use thin wrappers, but I couldn’t find them in the Asian grocery store near me, so I used the thick one for this shooting.

Mom's Harumaki (Japanese Spring Rolls )

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes 25 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

• 1/4 lb (150g) of pork slice
• ⅓ lb (150g) of boiled bamboo shoot
• 2 to 3 pc of shiitake mushroom
• ⅓ lb (150g) of Bean sprout
• 2 teaspoons of sake
• 2 teaspoons of potato starch
• Salt and pepper
• *3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• *1 tablespoon of sake
• *1 teaspoon of chicken soup powder
• *⅓ cup ( 80 ml) of water
• *1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• *1 teaspoon of sugar
• *Salt and pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoon of potato starch
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 10 pc of Spring roll wraps
• Some flour and water for glue
• 2 to 3 cups of canola oil

Instructions

 

1. Cut the meat into  1-inch pieces and put them into a small bowl. Pour in the sake, potato starch, salt, and pepper and massage them.
   

2.  Slice the shiitake mushrooms. Cut the bamboo shoot into long strips.
   

3. In another small bowl, add in all the * ingredients and stir them up.

4. In the medium frying pan, pour the oil and sauté the meat and vegetable in medium-high heat.

5. When meat and vegetable are cooked, add (3) * ingredients.  Also pour the potato starch and water mixture, to make the thick sauce.
   

6. Transfer the filling into a container, and let them cool down completely in the refrigerator.
   

7. Peel the spring roll wraps, and wrap the filling. Place the filling on the edges of the roll in front of you. Roll it up. Fold from the side and roll it out. Try to not wrap with air enclosed.  It can actually explode while frying.  Seal the edges by using a bit of water and flour.
   
   
8. Fill a tall pot with 4 inches of oil and preheat to 330℉／165 ℃.

9. Fry the rolls until they are golden brown. Transfer them into the mesh cooler.
   
10. Serve with soy sauce and vinegar mix.  Add mustard as you prefer.
     

Notes

•  Make sure to chill the filling before wrapping. If the filling is warm, rolls may explode when frying. 
• Increase the oil temperature right before it’s done as they start turning brown. Frying in too low a temperature will make the rolls greasy.