What are Sri Lankan Chinese rolls?
I never gave that name a second thought when I devoured them one after the other when I was young and now that I think about it, I cannot for the life of me figure out what makes them Chinese. These Sri Lankan Chinese rolls are delicate crepes filled with a spicy and juicy meat or vegetarian filling, breaded and fried till they are golden brown. The sweet, dessert version of these stuffed crepes (without frying!) would be Sri Lankan pani pol (sweet coconut stuffed crepes). So when you bite into them, they are crunchy, spicy, savory, juicy and oh so tasty! It’s an absolute favorite amongst Sri Lankans (along with fish cutlets, fish patties, curried beef roti, curried beef buns etc.) and it will be a mighty shame if the rest of the world never found out about them. And on a cold wintry day, I guarantee, that nothing will hit the spot better than these delicious Fried Savory Crepe Rolls! (Sounds better? I thought so too!). So back to that question I had before I started writing this. Why Chinese Rolls? The only explanation might be that they bear a slight resemblance to Egg Rolls or Chinese Spring rolls. But that’s where the similarities end. This Sri Lankan variety is juicier, infinitely more flavorful and just down-right more satisfying to eat. When my sister and I were younger, my mum used to make these regularly at home. We would form an assembly line every time she made these. Station 1 was where the crepes were formed, station 2 was where filling and rolling were done, station 3 was where coating and crumbing happened. I always took up position in station 2, because that meant I could steal a crepe or two every now and then. My sister may have gotten wiser to my sneaky ways over the years, but being the little sister what was she going to do? And when they had been fried to perfection, our mum would let us eat the first couple of rolls, while they were still hot and insanely crunchy, you know just to make sure “they tasted alright.” Like they ever tasted less than super awesome. My husband is a huge fan of these savory crepe rolls too, so I usually make the crepes, fill them, bread them, and freeze them and then fry them up fresh on those days we just want to nibble on something spicy. And tasty of course! So the first thing I do is cook the crepes, then I fill them and bread all of them, and finally either freeze them or fry them if we are going to eat them the same day. Some days I feel like Superwoman and have all the stations set up right next to the stove so that I fill and roll the crepe that has already been cooked while the next crepe is cooking on the stove. The whole process feels therapeutic at times like that and the end result is an even better pay-off! What makes these Sri Lankan Chinese rolls even better is that you can use ANY filling you want. In Sri Lanka they are usually always savory, with a meat or vegetable filling or a bit of both. This recipe calls for mince beef but I LOVE using mince lamb too. But chicken, fish, tofu, paneer, vegetables, and especially a mix of meat and vegetables, all go exceptionally well in the filling. Do not be put off by the seemingly long recipe(s). These are in fact very easy to make and absolutely worth it! Crunchy, savory, juicy and with a spicy dipping sauce of your liking, this is just what the doctor ordered when the Mercury plummets on that thermometer outside. Try it once and I guarantee you’ll be making them again. And again :). You can enjoy these warm or at room temperature, although like most spicy things, warm makes them taste just that extra bit better and in this case crunchier. You could even freeze them after frying them and then thaw them out on a later date and reheat them in the microwave or oven until heated through (although these won’t be as crunchy as freshly fried ones). It works as a snack just as well as it does as a meal and the filling can be absolutely anything you want! The possibilities are so limitless, I can easily see myself re-inventing these with a sweet filling in the near future. Have you tried these before? Or something similar? What were they called? I would love to find out so do let me know in the comments below! In the meantime you can find me on facebook, instagram, pinterest or google-plus for updates from my kitchen and new recipes! You can also subscribe below (or on the sidebar), and receive new recipes as soon as they appear on the blog!
