Homemade Egg Rolls in an Hour

Trying new recipes and giving away the results (if successful) is one of my favorite pastimes. Of all the dishes I have bestowed on folks through the years (from recipes using uber simple to multiple-step, surgical-like procedures), homemade egg rolls are the most fawned-over and often requested. People are often intimidated by the thought of making this staple Asian cuisine dish, and are thrilled when someone else does it for them!

Egg Rolls or Spring Rolls?

Egg rolls differ from their cousins the spring rolls, in size and ingredients. While egg rolls typically use wheat-based wraps, spring rolls wraps are often made of rice flour. Egg rolls are generally larger than spring rolls, using more filling of larger ingredients. For example, while spring rolls might contain alfalfa sprouts, egg rolls will contain the larger bean sprouts. Spring rolls generally do not contain meat, poultry or seafood, but egg rolls often do. Egg rolls are generally fried at a higher temperature, creating a more "puffy" exterior. One thing egg rolls and spring rolls have in common is that neither contain eggs!

What is in egg rolls?

While dining with a friend recently at an Asian restaurant, she ordered a side of egg rolls, and voiced an opinion voiced by many: "I'm not sure what's in them, but they're delicious, so I'm going to eat them fast and not think about it!" We joked about the restaurant chopping up everything from the previous day's buffet, stirring in some 'mystery meat', rolling it all up in wrappers and frying (with plenty of salt). But tasty, indeed!

Most egg rolls are made predominantly of vegetables, and a form of protein. Cabbage is usually the main ingredient (often the Napa variety), and other ingredients can include bean sprouts, carrots, celery, water chestnut, mushrooms, any color of bell pepper, onion, garlic, grated ginger root, pork, chicken, shrimp, and sometimes rice. One of the beautiful things about making your own egg rolls is the process really is a good way to use leftovers. Any combination of vegetables and meat can be used.

Do I need special ingredients or equipment to make egg rolls?

Egg roll wrappers are paper-thin. Unless you have your own pasta machine or the capability of making wrappers that thin, I suggest buying commercially prepared ones. These are usually found in the fresh produce section of your grocery store, with the Asian vegetables. One package usually contains 15 wrappers.

If you are going to try the recipe below, you will also need cabbage and bean sprouts. You can usually find fresh bean sprouts near the packages of wrappers in the produce section. It is fine to use canned if you'd rather, but to give them a more "fresh" flavor, be sure to drain and rinse them well, then pat dry. The recipe also calls for ginger. You can buy fresh to grate, but the ground spice is fine to use as well.

Egg rolls are fried, so either a standard frying pan or electric skillet will work. Be sure to have plenty of paper towels on hand to drain the egg rolls. It helps to also have some wax paper and a cookie sheet to use during the rolling process.

The Recipe

This recipe will make approximately 15 egg rolls, depending on the among of filling used per roll. If you need to make more, simply increase the amount of filling by adding additional vegetables. Chopped bell peppers of varying colors are good to use, and you can always add more cabbage. Even some crumbled bacon can add volume and an interesting flavor. Remember to purchase extra wrappers if increasing the recipe. This recipe was created to make the process as fast as possible. if you don't mind a longer time investment, feel free to make substitutions such as baking your own chicken instead of using a grocery store rotisserie chicken.

• 1 grocery store rotisserie chicken (meat shredded, bones discarded)
• 1/2 head of regular cabbage (cleaned and cut into shreds)
• 2-3 cups of fresh bean sprouts
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/3 teas. ground ginger
• 1/3 teas. cracked black pepper
• reduced-sodium soy sauce
• egg roll wrappers
• vegetable oil for stir-frying veggies and for frying
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon water

The procedure

1. Prepare (clean and cut into shreds) cabbage
2. Chop onion and mince garlic, chop any additional veggies
3. Place all veggies into a wok or skillet, and stir-fry till tender crisp (medium high heat). If you have a large amount of veggies, you may need to stir fry in two batches. When done, place all veggies in a large mixing bowl.
4. To the veggies, add shredded chicken (and other meat if using), cracked pepper, and ground ginger. Sprinkle with a generous amount of soy sauce (1/4 cup or till ingredients are very slightly dampened), and stir until blended.
5. Prepare a paste of the flour and water (add more water as needed to achieve the consistency of thick pudding). This will be the "glue" that holds the egg roll seam together.
6. On a clean surface, begin preparing egg rolls. On each square wrapper, place a heaping amount of filling toward one end. Fold sides of wrapper toward the center, over the edges of the filling. Roll wrapper, tucking folded sides as you roll, till completely rolled. It is sometimes difficult to find the right balance of just enough tautness and rolling so tightly that the wrapper splits. With your finger, apply a thin layer of flour paste at the seam, pressing to seal. Set aside on wax paper, on a cookie sheet if you wish. Take care to leave space between them, as they will stick together and tear. Continue until all wrappers and filling have been used. Stir to re-blend ingredients as you go.
7. Heat approximately 1/2 inch of oil to over medium/high heat till an added drop of water sizzles. Fry egg rolls, 7 or 8 at a time, till deep golden brown. Turn with tongs to evenly brown the surfaces as needed. Place on paper towels to drain.
8. Egg rolls can be placed in the oven (300 degrees) to be kept warm while the entire batch is frying. They can be served right away with a warning to diners that they will be hot!

Leftovers

When I first began making egg rolls, I rushed to deliver the finished product to people while they were hot. I believed they would never again be as good as that moment when they were piping hot and crisp.

I still believe that, but have found some people actually do enjoy "2nd day egg rolls." In fact, my son-in-law will eat them cold from the fridge for breakfast! Any leftovers should be refrigerated (I have not tried to freeze them, so can't speak to the effectiveness of that effort). Leftover egg rolls can be enjoyed hot or cold by those who do not mind that loss of "crisp" that inevitably occurs.

Egg rolls are a little time-consuming (I have yet to make a batch in under an hour), but they are by no means difficult. Try breaking out a steaming plate of them next time you need a fix of appreciation!