Harumaki Spring Rolls
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Harumaki spring rolls are a delicious example of the popularity of Chinese food in Japan. Harumaki is literally translated as spring roll, you may have noticed that the word ‘maki’ is also used in maki sushi rolls! The name originates from a custom of harumaki typically being eaten on the first day of Spring. Harumaki were originally introduced to Japan by Chinese immigrants and adapted to Japanese tastes in a similar way to ramen noodles. Just like ramen, harumaki can now be found in restaurants and supermarkets all over Japan.

Harumaki spring rolls are usually deep-fried until the outside becomes deliciously crispy while the inside stays soft and full of flavour. They are easy to make too, you can use various leftovers for the filling and all your favourite ingredients such as meat or vegetables work well. Serve them as an appetizer for you and your friends or as a side dish to your main Japanese meal!

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Ingredients

• Harumaki Wrap – One Packet of 10
• Shiitake Mushrooms – Between 2 and 4

• Ginger – 5g
• Soy Sauce – One Tablespoon
• Cooking Sake – Half a Tablespoon
• Sesame Oil – One Tablespoon
• Karashi Japanese Mustard (Optional)

Ideas for Filling:
• Leak – 50g
• Baby Corn – 50g
• Beansprouts – 50g
• Carrot – 50g
• Minced Pork or Chicken – 150g
• Prawn – 150g

• Flour
• Cooking Oil for Deep Frying

How to prepare

First things first, grab your shiitake mushrooms and place them in water to soak and become soft again. While you are waiting for those, slice up your vegetables into pieces a few centimetres long, then cook them in a pan with a little oil.
Next, grab a bowl and mix together your meat or prawns with some grated ginger and a pinch of salt. Add the soy sauce, cooking sake and a touch of pepper before mixing again into an even mixture. Lastly, add the baby corn, leak and sliced shiitake with some sesame oil and mix them together one more time. Once done, separate the mix into 10 equally sized portions.
To make the harumaki, separate the wrappers carefully and place one of the edge in front of you. Place the filling near the edge and start rolling it up. Once you have rolled about halfway, fold in the sides like an envelope so that the fillings don’t all fall out. Use a mix of flour and water as a glue to keep the edges together when you fry them.

Heat up some cooking oil on a medium heat to approximately 140°C. Sunflower, rapeseed and peanut oils are all good choices for deep frying oil. No need for a dedicated fryer, you can just use a saucepan or wok instead here. Place 3 harumaki gently in the oil, and increase the temperature slowly to 170°C. Once they have turned golden take them out and place on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.
To make a tasty dip, mix some Japanese karashi mustard with soy sauce and enjoy your harumaki as a delicious appetiser or side dish.

Tips and information

• You can experiment with different types of fillings such as cheese or even mochi rice cake!
• Your oil should reach 140°C after two to three minutes on medium heat. If you put your chopsticks in the oil, you should see small bubbles gently forming around the ends. The bubbles will increase in size once the temperature of the oil reaches 170°C.
• Deep-frying is the traditional way to cook harumaki but you can also fry them a few minutes on each side in a saucepan with one tablespoon of oil.

Tips for deep-frying:
• Try to check the oil’s temperature regularly, if it is too low your harumaki will become too greasy.
• Submerge the whole harumaki in the pot, but allow some space at the top so the oil level can rise.
• Don’t overcrowd the pot to avoid splattering as it may lower the oil’s temperature.
• Use paper towel after deep-frying and not a newspaper! The ink is toxic.
• Don’t add cold water to hot oil, it could result in serious burns!