Every time I eat a spring roll, I swoon over the savory filling, wishing I could make a whole meal of it. But there is only so much you can pack into one of those wrappers, so I decided to un-stuff it, turning the filling into this bountiful bowl and the wrappers into a crispy topper.
There are countless possibilities for spring roll stuffing — here I went with saute of shredded napa cabbage and carrot, cooked until just tender with plump shrimp and bits of Canadian bacon. It’s a satisfying, vegetable-forward combo, and the interplay of shellfish with a little pork is always a win as far as I am concerned.
That said, there is plenty of room to make it your own: You could skip the bacon or use turkey bacon; sub in marinated tofu for the shrimp; and swap in regular green cabbage and thinly sliced bell pepper for the vegetables, for example. Seasoned with fresh ginger, garlic, scallion and soy sauce, along with hints of sesame oil, rice vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes, the result serves up like a cross between a warm, fragrant slaw and a colorful stir-fry.
Crisped wrappers crushed on top add a shattering crunch and drive home the spring roll vibe. To make those, you simply brush wonton wrappers with a little oil, sprinkle them with salt and bake until they’re crisp and browned. (You can use spring roll wrappers instead, but wonton wrappers are more commonly found in grocery stores.) They take all of 8 minutes to cook, so the whole meal is an easy weeknight endeavor, but you can also make the wonton crisps a couple of days ahead and have them on hand for extra convenience. Crushed on top of the heaping bowl of sesame-and-ginger-scented “filling,” it’s a meal that certainly made my spring roll wishes come true.