How to Use Spring Roll Skins

Spring rolls consist of a wrapper -- made with rice flour, salt, water and sometimes tapioca starch -- surrounding various minced vegetables and meats. They are the perfect appetizer for most Chinese meals, and allow you the flexibility to customize them to suit your personal taste. One of the trickiest parts of making spring rolls at home is using the wrappers -- or skins -- properly. If you do not wrap your rolls correctly, they might fall apart before you can serve them.

• 1

  Add 1 in. to 2 in. of cool water to your pan.

• 2

  Place one of your spring roll skins into the pan, pushing it down to completely submerge it in the water. Place another skin into the pan on top of the first one, pushing it down to completely submerge it. Repeat this process until all of your skins are submerged in the pan.

• 3

  Soak your spring roll skins for 2 to 3 minutes to allow them to become flexible. Meanwhile, get two clean kitchen towels wet, wring out the excess water, and lay two of the towels on a flat surface. Remove the spring roll skins from the pan and place them on one of your flat wet kitchen towels, then put the third wet kitchen towel over them to keep them damp.

• 4

  Remove one of the skins from the pile and place it on the second flat damp kitchen towel. Place a small pile of your fillings in the center of the skin. A 9 in. skin can hold about two small handfuls of fillings. Spread the fillings out slightly so they are not one high pile.

• 5

  Fold the bottom of the skin up to cover the fillings completely, pressing it down firmly to hold the ingredients tightly together. Next, fold in the sides of the skin until they barely touch in the middle. Roll up the spring roll, starting from the bottom, until you have completely rolled it. Roll it as tightly as possible to help prevent it from falling apart. Repeat this process until you have made spring rolls out of all of your skins.