NOTE: Who doesn’t love egg rolls? No one I know! They are an absolute “must have” for any visit to a Chinese restaurant, and now they are easier than ever to make on your own at home. This has been made possible because of the recent appearance of ready-made egg roll skins, now being available in most grocery stores, or at least at Asian grocery stores. The idea of making egg rolls sounds daunting, but I am going to show you how to easily made your own freshly created egg rolls can be one of your favorite things to make in your own kitchen. (Want something other than shrimp in your egg rolls? No problem, substitute chicken, pork, or raw bean sprouts for the shrimp.)
Ingredients:
– 3 cups of sliced and chopped Cabbage
– 1 cup chopped Onion
– 1/8 cup chopped fresh Garlic
– 1/4 cup chopped Water Chestnuts
– 1-½ cups cooked sliced Shrimp
– 1 Egg, beaten
– 12 to 14 Egg Roll Skins
– Prepared Chinese Mustard, to serve on the side
– Prepared Chinese Sweet & Sour Sauce
– Enough cooking oil for your method of frying at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
NOTE: The way I make my egg rolls is in an electric wok, that way I can set the temperature at 400 degrees, fry three at a time, turning them as they brown, and I have fantastic results. You can also do them in an electric frying pan, a standard frying pan with a cover on the stove, or an electric deep fryer, depends on the equipment you have. If you do this in a frying pan on the stove, you would go for a medium high setting, and be very careful! The way I do them in the electric wok only takes 1 ½ cup of oil, and I prefer to use olive oil. You can also use vegetable oil or peanut oil.
Directions:
First comes your filling:
The shrimp needs to be cleaned, deveined and cooked. You can either buy fresh cooked shrimp at your grocery store, or if you start with raw shrimp, you can boil them in water for four to five minutes, or cook them in your wok or frying pan in two to three tablespoons of oil. When the shrimp is cooked, remove them from your pot or pan and put aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, slice them in quarter inch pieces.
In a wok or frying pan add the cabbage, onions, water chestnuts, garlic and ginger. Over medium-to-medium high heat, stir fry the four vegetables together until they are softened up. Don’t overcook them, you still want a bit of crunch to the cabbage and onions. When the vegetables are cooked, add the shrimp, and remove the filling from the heat.
If the wok, electric wok, or frying pan is what you are going to use for the frying of the egg rolls, remove the filling, and allow it to slightly cool.
Begin heating the oil at this point, as you are at about three minutes until you start frying the actual egg rolls. I strongly suggest you do these in batches of threes. Your cycle will be: 1) roll three, 2) fry them immediately, 3) remove them from the oil. If you are going to make a dozen of them, still do them in groups of three, each time putting the finished egg rolls into a 250 degree preheated oven so you can keep them warm while you do the next trio of egg rolls. (The reason you don’t roll more than three at a time is that the filling will start turning the egg roll skins to mush if they sit more than three minutes.)
OK…it’s time to get rolling! Crack and beat one whole egg in a small mixing bowl. On a clean surface (a cutting board, or a plate), set down one egg roll skin, with one of the four points facing you. With a pastry or basting brush, dip it in the beaten egg, and trace a one inch wide line of beaten egg along the entire edge of the egg roll skin. This will serve as “the glue” that will seal the egg roll’s filling inside the second it hits the oil.
Carefully put two tablespoons of the shrimp and vegetable filling in the center of the egg roll skin in a horizontal line, leaving an inch of clean egg roll on the left and right sides, and several inches at the top and the bottom of the egg roll skin. Fold both the left and right side corners inward over the filling. Next, fold up the bottom corner of the egg roll skin, and proceed to tightly roll upward over the last point of the egg roll skin, making sure that the beaten egg serves as glue to hold the egg roll together. If needs be, tuck inward the sides to make sure there is no part of the filling exposed.
Repeat the process on your next two egg rolls. As soon as you have three of them made, into the hot oil they go. Use kitchen tongs for this task, and you never want your fingers anywhere near the hot oil. Once all three egg rolls are in the oil, cover them with the lid of your cooking vessel (unless you are using a deep fryer).
If you are using a frying pan or wok, make sure you turn over the egg roll with the tongs after approximately one minute. Then take additional minutes turning the egg rolls so that all four sides of the egg roll are thoroughly brown as well.
When the egg rolls are golden brown on the outside, it is time to eat them, or to put them in a heatproof dish or pan which you place in a 250 degree oven as you start on the next batch of three.
NOTE: As you remove them from the hot oil, you might want to place them on a piece of paper towel on a plate for 15 seconds to absorb any excess oil.
Don’t be alarmed if there is a learning curve with these. The first batch is usually the most difficult. By the time you do the second batch of three, you should have the process down.
When serving the egg rolls, have Chinese hot mustard and sweet & sour sauce ready for dipping. If you have people over to have these yummy egg rolls with you, I guarantee you will be heralded by your guests as a true rock star in the kitchen!
NOTE: The best thing about this recipe is the fact that once you get the egg rolls rolled up and in the oil, your only concern is making sure the outer egg roll skin brown, crunchy and beautiful. Since the filling and the shrimp is already cooked before you roll the egg roll, you are just reheating the filling, and you will have perfect uniformly cooked egg rolls. Serve them with your favorite Chinese food, or on their own!
– 3 cups of sliced and chopped Cabbage
– 1 cup chopped Onion
– 1/8 cup chopped fresh Garlic
– 1/4 cup chopped Water Chestnuts
– 1-½ cups cooked sliced Shrimp
– 1 Egg, beaten
– 12 to 14 Egg Roll Skins
– Prepared Chinese Mustard, to serve on the side
– Prepared Chinese Sweet & Sour Sauce
– Enough cooking oil for your method of frying at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
NOTE: The way I make my egg rolls is in an electric wok, that way I can set the temperature at 400 degrees, fry three at a time, turning them as they brown, and I have fantastic results. You can also do them in an electric frying pan, a standard frying pan with a cover on the stove, or an electric deep fryer, depends on the equipment you have. If you do this in a frying pan on the stove, you would go for a medium high setting, and be very careful! The way I do them in the electric wok only takes 1 ½ cup of oil, and I prefer to use olive oil. You can also use vegetable oil or peanut oil.
Directions:
First comes your filling:
The shrimp needs to be cleaned, deveined and cooked. You can either buy fresh cooked shrimp at your grocery store, or if you start with raw shrimp, you can boil them in water for four to five minutes, or cook them in your wok or frying pan in two to three tablespoons of oil. When the shrimp is cooked, remove them from your pot or pan and put aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, slice them in quarter inch pieces.
In a wok or frying pan add the cabbage, onions, water chestnuts, garlic and ginger. Over medium-to-medium high heat, stir fry the four vegetables together until they are softened up. Don’t overcook them, you still want a bit of crunch to the cabbage and onions. When the vegetables are cooked, add the shrimp, and remove the filling from the heat.
If the wok, electric wok, or frying pan is what you are going to use for the frying of the egg rolls, remove the filling, and allow it to slightly cool.
Begin heating the oil at this point, as you are at about three minutes until you start frying the actual egg rolls. I strongly suggest you do these in batches of threes. Your cycle will be: 1) roll three, 2) fry them immediately, 3) remove them from the oil. If you are going to make a dozen of them, still do them in groups of three, each time putting the finished egg rolls into a 250 degree preheated oven so you can keep them warm while you do the next trio of egg rolls. (The reason you don’t roll more than three at a time is that the filling will start turning the egg roll skins to mush if they sit more than three minutes.)
OK…it’s time to get rolling! Crack and beat one whole egg in a small mixing bowl. On a clean surface (a cutting board, or a plate), set down one egg roll skin, with one of the four points facing you. With a pastry or basting brush, dip it in the beaten egg, and trace a one inch wide line of beaten egg along the entire edge of the egg roll skin. This will serve as “the glue” that will seal the egg roll’s filling inside the second it hits the oil.
Carefully put two tablespoons of the shrimp and vegetable filling in the center of the egg roll skin in a horizontal line, leaving an inch of clean egg roll on the left and right sides, and several inches at the top and the bottom of the egg roll skin. Fold both the left and right side corners inward over the filling. Next, fold up the bottom corner of the egg roll skin, and proceed to tightly roll upward over the last point of the egg roll skin, making sure that the beaten egg serves as glue to hold the egg roll together. If needs be, tuck inward the sides to make sure there is no part of the filling exposed.
Repeat the process on your next two egg rolls. As soon as you have three of them made, into the hot oil they go. Use kitchen tongs for this task, and you never want your fingers anywhere near the hot oil. Once all three egg rolls are in the oil, cover them with the lid of your cooking vessel (unless you are using a deep fryer).
If you are using a frying pan or wok, make sure you turn over the egg roll with the tongs after approximately one minute. Then take additional minutes turning the egg rolls so that all four sides of the egg roll are thoroughly brown as well.
When the egg rolls are golden brown on the outside, it is time to eat them, or to put them in a heatproof dish or pan which you place in a 250 degree oven as you start on the next batch of three.
NOTE: As you remove them from the hot oil, you might want to place them on a piece of paper towel on a plate for 15 seconds to absorb any excess oil.
Don’t be alarmed if there is a learning curve with these. The first batch is usually the most difficult. By the time you do the second batch of three, you should have the process down.
When serving the egg rolls, have Chinese hot mustard and sweet & sour sauce ready for dipping. If you have people over to have these yummy egg rolls with you, I guarantee you will be heralded by your guests as a true rock star in the kitchen!
NOTE: The best thing about this recipe is the fact that once you get the egg rolls rolled up and in the oil, your only concern is making sure the outer egg roll skin brown, crunchy and beautiful. Since the filling and the shrimp is already cooked before you roll the egg roll, you are just reheating the filling, and you will have perfect uniformly cooked egg rolls. Serve them with your favorite Chinese food, or on their own!