Egg Rolls

My favorite blog lately has been Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I don't think this is the first time I've mentioned this lovely little blog.  There are so many fantastic recipes and last night I might have spent a sizeable chunk of time laying in bed and reading recipes online.  Man, I love Christmas break!   

I made these tonight and they did not disappoint.  I made a few little adjustments and will most definitely be making them again. 

The recipe below made about 50 egg rolls.  I made some to take to a post-Christmas get together tomorrow.  I rolled them and stuck them in the fridge.  I'll fry them up tomorrow before the party.  I also fried and then froze some.  The frozen ones reheated nicely.  Put them in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.    

** Update & LESSON LEARNED:  When I went to fry the egg rolls that had been in the fridge overnight, they were really delicate and some fell apart while cooking.  It was pretty frustrating.  I will not be going this route in the future!  You can refrigerate or freeze the filling, but once wrapped, I would suggest cooking them before they sit for too long.   

 

SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE:  Using the right kind of wrapper is uber important here.  Typically egg rolls are made using wonton wrappers which can be a little on the heavy side.  This recipe suggests using spring roll pastry (specifically Spring Home brand) which make them a little lighter and crispier.  I found these, along with several of the other ingredients, at Uwajimaya, the Asian grocery store in Bellevue (for Seattle folks).  They are in the frozen section.  They only had one package so I also used Lumpia (Filipino egg roll) wrappers that I found at the regular grocery store.  I preferred the spring roll pastry because it had a little more stretch to it, but the lumpia wrapper ended up being a good substitute.  This is what the spring roll pastry and vermicelli look like:

 

I also realized that I put twice the amount of sauce that I was supposed to, but it tasted just fine to me so I'm editing this recipe to be a little saucier than the original. 

 

EGG ROLLS

• 50 sheets spring roll pastry
• sweet chili sauce for dipping (from Trader Joe's, this is KEY!)

Filling:

• 2 ounces vermicelli (mung bean thread noodles) noodles
• 2 pounds ground pork (you can use a combo of pork and ground turkey if you so desire)
• 1/2 head of cabbage, shredded finely
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg whites (save the egg yolks for sealing the egg rolls)
• 10 ounces shredded carrots
• 1 onion, finely chopped (use the food processor to get the onion minced, if you want)

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons salt
• 8 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 4 tablespoons black soy sauce (or regular soy)
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

Put the vermicelli noodles in a large bowl and pour hot water over noodles and let soak for 15-20 minutes.


Once soaked, drain well and chop noodles up a bit into 2-3 inch pieces.


Mix all the filling ingredients (noodles, meat, cabbage, whole eggs, egg whites, carrots and onions) in a LARGE bowl. Use your hands to mix well. 


NOTE:  I used the biggest bowl I have and it still was a little tricky so I mixed in two batches. 


Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl and add to filling.  Mix well. 


Pull apart spring roll pastry wraps.


** Leave main stack of wraps covered with a damp towel while rolling egg rolls.


Lay the wrap so it is a diagonal in front of you.  Put a large spoonful of filling about an inch above the bottom diagonal. Fold up the bottom triangle and tuck under the filling then proceed to roll up the egg roll, folding in the sides and tucking them in.


Moisten the top triangle with the remaining egg yolks (I used a silicone brush for this) and roll/press to seal.


Heat 1-2 inches of canola or vegetable oil to 375 degrees.


Fry egg rolls until golden brown and cooked through. Constantly turn the egg rolls so they don’t overcook on one side.


Drain on paper towels and serve with sweet chili sauce.


Source:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe