Egg Rolls

Egg Rolls…o.m.g. (oodness) I absolutely love them, and the first time I ever had homemade Egg Rolls was at my father’s Christmas party decades ago. He had used pork, I think, and maybe shrimp in them, too. But it wasn’t until years later that I actually thought of making Egg Rolls myself. Now, y’all probably know that I *love* Egg Rolls from certain Chinese restaurants, but I have to say, I love my own homemade Egg Rolls too, and at times I actually crave them. Not trying to boast; just being honest. At times I crave the Egg Rolls made by certain restaurants too. My most favorite ones EVER were made by the Hong Kong Restaurant in Plainville MA, but they closed many moons ago. And I live in Virginia now. ;)

So here is the recipe I have made for years now, a combination of what I tasted in both restaurant Egg Rolls and the homemade that my father made. I usually use just some left over chicken in mine, but I have made them with pork or shrimp, and of course you can choose to make them with any combination of meat or seafood you choose. I hope you like it, and if I had to pick one thing I would like to improve on in my Egg Rolls, it would be how “tightly” they are rolled.

So, let’s get cooking!

For the cabbage, quarter it and slice off the core and discard.

Now slice that quarter of a cabbage in thin slices, and afterwards chop them into small pieces.

Dice the Vidalia onion, carrot, and celery in small pieces, almost mincing them. Peel and mince the garlic cloves, or use a garlic press at the appropriate time.

Mince the chicken or whatever meat or seafood you’ve chosen.

Place all those vegetables in a medium bowl with the minced meat and the bean sprouts.

Mix in the soy sauce well.

For assembly: Pour water into a ramekin at the ready, and lay an egg roll wrapper down in front of you with points so it forms a diamond. In the middle, place about  1/3 c of the veggie/meat mixture.

Fold the bottom point of the diamond up and over the pile of veggie/meat mixture. Dip fingertip in the ramekin of water and brush along the top side edges of the left and right  of the egg roll wrapper.

Fold the left point of egg roll wrapper to the middle, then the right side.

Now roll the egg roll towards the top point tightly, to seal, being careful not to rip the wrapper.

While assembling the Egg Rolls, start heating the oil in a large sauce pan or a very deep skillet. You want at least four inches of oil. Test it for readiness by dropping in a tiny scrap of cabbage, carrot, or whatever, and if it sizzles immediately and dances around, the oil is ready to cook the Egg Rolls.

Gently place 4-5 Egg Rolls in the hot oil and cook until golden brown on each side. It usually takes about 2 minutes or so, and I use a metal slotted spoon to roll each Egg Roll over to cook on the other side.

Place the cooked Egg Rolls on a sheet pan lined with one or two layers of paper towels to absorb the grease, and continue until all are cooked.

Serve and enjoy! ~TMMF

Here's my lovely daughter Caitlin assembling Egg Rolls. <3

Egg Rolls

1 package Egg Roll wrappers
¼ head large cabbage
1 can or 1 c fresh bean sprouts
½ md Vidalia onion
1 lg stalk celery
1 lg carrot
3 huge cloves garlic
2 c chicken
1 ½ Tbl soy sauce