Better than Takeout 2: Homemade Egg Rolls

Continuing on with our "better than takeout" theme, I made some homemake eggrolls. Now ,before I give you the instructions, I need to say that my kids previously hated egg rolls and though they were gross. My husband loved them, and used to complain if I made stir fry with no egg rolls accompaning it, so I learned how to do this. After learning, though, our family decided that egg rolls are actually quite yummy, and and make a great meal unto themselves.

Because they are deep fried, we don't do this too often. My husband wouldn't mind, but for the sake of his heart health and my ever-shrinking waistline, I am insisting. ;)

I've tried baking them but they are so dry they are inedible (in my opinion anyway). If the oil is hot enough, they do not absorb as much oil, but this is definately not a lo fat dish.

Another note on ingredients: it can be whatever you want. I use just regular old cabbage, a carrot or two, and some onions, along with some leftover meat. You can also add some "worms" (my daughter's word for mung bean sprouts), and whatever else. This is great for leftover meat...especially I dare say, leftover Thanksgiving Turkey. Much more creative than turkey sandwiches ;). The egg roll wrappers are usually in the refridgerated produce section, near the tofu, organic veggies, and strange vegetables, and is usually less than $2 for 20-25 wraps (they are packaged by weight). Often I get it for 99 cents.

Start by cooking your meat if you haven't already, and then shredding it up. You need about 1-2 chicken breasts or whatever you have on hand. This is more art than science. Use what you have.

Finely chop or shred 1 small head of cabbage, 1-2 onions, and 1 carrot. Heat a wok with some sesame oil mingled with olive oil (about 2T total). The sesame oil provides flavor.

Mix in some fresh grated ginger (or dry ginger)--about 1t or so, and add 1/4t of Chinese Five Spices. Mix in your vegetables and the shredded meat. Stir fry to "wilt" the vegetables. It should reduce in size by half or more. Pour 1/4c. of rice vinegar over the vegetables, turn it off, and let it cool.


Prepare your workspace:

Plug in/warm up the deep fryer (or set a dutch oven on the stove with a good thermometer, and let it heat to 360F), and have a dry area for rolling your egg rolls. I usually put a little bit of corn starch down to keep them from sticking (and thus tearing).

Lay your wraps down in a diamond shape.

Add about 2-4T of mixture to the middle, towards the bottom corner


fold up the bottom corner over the mix, and start to roll.


Tuck in the side corners as you go past them.


Wet the top corner and sides by dipping your finger (or a brush--but finger is faster) in water, and rubbing it along the edge, as we did with the wontons.

Pull that corner up and over, and press to seal.


Set aside, and repeat. When you reach your target temp, fry them 3-4 at a time. Even if you can fit more in, don't. It will lower the oil temperature and make them cook improperly. Fry for about 3 minutes, then flip over, and fry for 3-5 more minutes. They should be golden brown.

Lightly salt them after you pull them out, and set them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off the grease.



Serve with Plum Duck Sauce. this is my own homemade sauce, which I can myself. I'll post the recipe another time. I need to make some new sauce soon, so I'll be sure to document it for the blog! :-)