These Air Fryer Rice Paper Rolls also known as fried summer rolls, are the perfect appetiser served with sweet chilli sauce. They're very similar to air fryer spring rolls, but instead of using spring roll wrappers, we're using rice paper wrappers. Filled with a simple, customisable filling, they're juicy, crispy, and so tasty. I really hope you enjoy them!
I used to work at a Vietnamese restaurant and would make summer rolls on repeat. Summer rolls have a fresh filling consisting of prawns, carrots, cucumber, vermicelli noodles, and herbs. They're best served fresh. Spring rolls on the other hand have a cooked filling consisting of ground meat, sliced carrot, celery, shiitake mushrooms, and seasonings. They're then deep-fried and served with sweet chili sauce.
What we have here is a gorgeous marriage of two rolls: Vietnamese summer rolls and Chinese spring rolls. Because we've got the filling of a Chinese spring roll and the wrapper of a Vietnamese summer roll. We're then air frying them instead of deep frying them (healthier and easier), resulting in a hot, crispy, delicious bite!
If you're a fan of rolls, then check out my Vietnamese cabbage rolls recipe! For more appetisers, have a look at my spicy tuna crispy rice recipe or my Japanese onigirazu recipe!
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About Emily's Recipe
If you're new here, hi! I'm Emily - a recipe developer, food content creator, and cookbook author! Thanks for stopping by to check out my air fryer rice paper rolls recipe. I really hope you enjoy it and please do let me know in the comments if you give it a go!
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Texture: because we've double up on the rice paper wrappers, the outside is crispy and slightly chewy as you bite into the roll. The filling is meaty with random crunchy bits from the celery and carrot.
Taste: you've got the saltiness from the soy sauce, nuttiness from the sesame oil, and sweetness from the oyster sauce. Those are the flavour profiles, you've then got all of the amazing ingredients that provide an extra layer of umami and deliciousness.
Ease: To be honest, frying the filling is simple. However, what I've found people find the most difficult is navigating the rice paper wrappers, but don't worry, I have a foolproof method for that further down in this blog.
Top Tips: 1. time when you put the filling elements in to fry...I'll hold your hand with this don't worry. 2. taste the filling and adjust accordingly. 3. double up on the rice paper wrappers otherwise they will fail.
Would I make this again? a big fat yes.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Pork: we're using ground pork for this recipe. The higher the fat % (around 20%) the juicer the filling will be. If you're looking for a healthier option, then you can use a 5% fat. For a vegan option, use extra firm crumbled tofu.
Onion: white onion is perfect for this. I wouldn't recommend powder or granules, because we want the texture from the onion in our bite!
Garlic: fresh or granules! I'd use 1 teaspoon granules.
Ginger: fresh ginger is best for flavour!
Cabbage: savoy or Chinese cabbage is great. If you don't have cabbage, you could finely chop pak choi.
Carrot: you want to slice the carrots into little batons. Don't have carrot? Use bell pepper.
Celery: for a crunch, thinly slice into batons. No celery? I would use zucchini/courgette.
Shiitake: gorgeous umami-rich mushrooms. Don't have access to these? Then use chestnut or portobello.
Soy sauce: we're using light soy sauce for this recipe!
Sesame oil: for nuttiness. If you're allergic or don't like sesame oil, then you could use peanut or walnut oil.
Oyster sauce: if you don't have oyster sauce, you could sub it out with hoisin sauce or sweet chili sauce.
The full list of ingredients and quantities is at the bottom of this blog in the recipe card!
Step by step instructions with photos
Step 1: Place a large frying pan / skillet / wok on medium-high heat. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, then add in your sliced onions. Fry for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 2: Add in the ground pork and break the meat apart with a spatula. Fry for 10 minutes, leave the pork to cook and stirring occasionally.
Step 3: After 10 minutes, or once any excess liquid has evaporated and the pork has started to brown in certain patches, add in the garlic and ginger. Fry for another minute, then add in the carrot, cabbage, and mushrooms. Fry for 2 minutes, then add in the celery.
Step 4: Pour in the soy sauce, sesame oil, and oyster sauce. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then taste and season with more sauces, salt, and/or pepper. It should be super flavourful with the carrot and celery still slightly crunchy! Then transfer to a large plate and leave to cool in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Step 5: Once the filling has cooled, get your rice paper wrappers. Grab a large plate or bowl and fill with warm water. Dunk the rice paper wrapper into the water so it's submerged for a couple of seconds, then remove and place onto a clean chopping board. Place 2 tablespoons of the filling 2 inches from the base of the wrapper. Once the wrapper has changed texture to a slightly sticky texture (10-20 seconds), pinch the base of the wrapper and fold over the filling. Fold in the sides of the wrapper, keeping the filling firm, then tightly wrap the rice paper into a roll.
Step 6: You then want to wrap that rice paper roll in another wrapper to ensure it doesn't break while air frying. Then set this aside and repeat for all 8 summer rolls.
Step 7: Place the rice paper rolls into your air fryer (ensure they're not touching), and cook for 10 minutes at 200C / 390F. Keep an eye on the rolls to ensure they don't burn. Then serve up with sweet chilli sauce and enjoy!!
What to do with leftovers
Storage: I highly recommend eating these fresh. The rice paper doesn't age well. But, if you've got leftovers, don't throw them away! Leave them to cool, then place them in airtight containers and into the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing: not good for freezing!
Reheating: Place the rice paper rolls into the air fryer and reheat at 200C / 390 for 5 minutes.
FAQs
For sure! Use extra firm tofu (crumbled) instead of the ground meat. Then use vegan oyster sauce or hoisin sauce.
For sure! Just cook for the same time and temp on your air fryer! Just make sure to brush with vegetable oil before frying.
I love sweet chili sauce, but you could also serve with sriracha mayonnaise.
More recipes you might enjoy!
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Air Fryer Rice Paper Rolls
Ingredients
- 300 g pork mince
- 1 white onion finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- ¼ cabbage finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely sliced into 1 inch batons
- 2 sticks celery finely sliced into 1 inch batons
- 100 g shiitake mushrooms finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 16 rice paper wrappers
- 2 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
Instructions
- Place a large frying pan / skillet / wok on medium-high heat. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, then add in your sliced onions. Fry for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add in the ground pork and break the meat apart with a spatula. Fry for 10 minutes, leave the pork to cook and stir occasionally.
- After 10 minutes, or once any excess liquid has evaporated and the pork has started to brown in certain patches, add in the garlic and ginger. Fry for another minute, then add in the carrot, cabbage, and mushrooms. Fry for 2 minutes, then add in the celery.
- Pour in the soy sauce, sesame oil, and oyster sauce. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then taste and season with more sauces, salt, and/or pepper. It should be super flavourful with the carrot and celery still slightly crunchy! Then transfer to a large plate and leave to cool in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Once the filling has cooled, get your rice paper wrappers. Grab a large plate or bowl and fill with warm water. Dunk the rice paper wrapper into the water so it's submerged for a couple of seconds, then remove and place onto a clean chopping board. Place 2 tablespoons of the filling 2 inches from the base of the wrapper. Once the wrapper has changed texture to a slightly sticky texture (after 10-20 seconds), pinch the base of the wrapper and fold over the filling. Fold in the sides of the wrapper, keeping the filling firm, then tightly wrap the rice paper into a roll (see images further up this blog for reference).
- You then want to wrap that rice paper roll in another wrapper to ensure it doesn't break while air frying. Then set this aside and repeat for all 8 summer rolls.
- Place the rice paper rolls into your air fryer (ensure they're not touching), and cook for 10 minutes at 200C / 390F. Keep an eye on the rolls to ensure they don't burn. Then serve up with sweet chilli sauce and enjoy!!
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