Dre got me an awesome deep fryer for Christmas and it took some debate on what to christen it with. Making Egg Rolls is new to me but seemed easy enough. Dre & I popped over to our local Asian market and picked up some ingredients to make the basic cabbage filler. Thank god for my Frankenberry so I could pull up some pics to discern Chinese Cabbage from the wall of greens in front of me. I love how it looks crimped when you slice it thin.
Chinese Cabbage
I added some shredded Carrot, Bean Sprouts, minced Ginger, Garlic & Shallots, Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, and S&P. After a quick toss, it was a perfect fresh slaw to begin my egg rolls. I had some leftover Pan-seared Chicken Breast from Thursday’s dinner and leftover Snow Crab from Friday’s dinner. Both seemed like perfect proteins to add to my Egg Rolls. I chopped the Chicken and tossed it with Chili-Garlic Sauce, Chinese BBQ Sauce, & Clementine Zest. Half of the Cabbage mixture was mixed with the Chicken and we piled the fresh lump Crab Meat on top of the rest.
Chili BBQ Chicken & Cabbage Egg Roll Filler
So far, so good! Rolling was easy enough as Dre took over with the crab and I rolled the chicken mixture.
Soon to be... Chinese Chili BBQ Chicken Egg Rolls
Once we got in a rhythm, we banged out almost two dozen perfect egg rolls sealed with an egg wash and love.
Egg Rolls
I heated some (very expensive!) peanut oil in my Presto Cool Daddy and dropped in batches of 2-3 egg rolls at a time. Dre whipped up a Ginger-Hoisin-Soy Sauce from scratch and poured some Sweet & Sour Chili Sauce for us to dip them in. I’m proud to see him turn into such a great kitchen helper. Once the Egg Rolls crisped, drained, & cooled, we were ready to snack!
Fried Chinese Egg Rolls
Chinese Egg Rolls ~ makes about 18-22 egg rolls
- Chinese Cabbage – (2) bunches, shredded or sliced thin
- Fresh Bean Sprouts – (1.5) dry cups
- Carrot – (2) large, shredded – about 1.5 dry cups
- Garlic – (2) T, minced – about (3-4) cloves
- Ginger – (2) tsp, minced
- Shallots – (1) large, minced
- Soy Sauce – (2) T, preferably low sodium
- Toasted Sesame Oil – (1) T
- S&P
- Egg – (1) whisked in a dish for an egg wash
- Egg Roll Wrappers – (18-22) – usually in the frozen section, not be mistaken for spring roll wrappers, lumpia wrappers, etc.
- Toss all ingredients (except egg & egg roll wrappers) until mixed thoroughly.
- Add chopped protein if desired – semi-cooked shrimp, crab meat, chicken breast
- Lay an individual wrapper on a hard surface so it’s shaped like a diamond. Paint the edges with the egg wash using a pastry brush or back of a spoon.
- Spoon cabbage mixture towards the bottom point of the wrapper, I’d say what looks like about 2-3 hot dogs put together. Make sure to squeeze any moisture from the mixture before spooning on wrapper to avoid sogginess!
- Fold bottom point on top of mixture and roll once, tightly. Fold in each side and continue to roll and seal.
- Deep fry 2-3 at a time at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until crispy.
- Shake out oil and then drain on paper towels.
- Enjoy with Soy Sauce, Sweet Chili Sauce, or the Asian Dipping Sauce below.
Asian Dipping Sauce
From the Best Answer on Yahoo! Answers for an “egg roll” dipping sauce
- Soy Sauce – (1/4) cup, preferably low sodium
- Toasted Sesame Oil – (1/2) tsp
- Garlic – (1) tsp, minced – about (1) clove
- Green Onion/Scallions – (1) tsp, minced – about (1) stalk
- Hoisin – (2) T
- Ginger – (1/4) tsp, minced
- White Sugar – (1/2) tsp
- Combine ingredients in a small bowl, cover, & chill for 1-2 hours so flavors can marinate.
- Serve warmed or at room temperature with egg rolls, spring rolls, wontons, dumplings, potstickers…
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