Egg Rolls Because I Can!

I am a huge fan of the egg roll.  Something about the crunchy outside, and the warm and slightly crunchy veggie inside, and of course, the dipping sauce.  YUM. 

Friday, on my revamped weekly menu called for Bourbon Chicken and Egg rolls.  Sometimes I buy egg rolls, but this time I had purchased the ingredients to make egg rolls.  I am trying to find any reason to use my new kitchen gadget, the Chop 'N Prep.  I love this little thing! 

I don't have an official "recipe" for egg rolls.  In my mind, it's a bit of a "wing it" sort of food.  For the purposes of this blog, I've attempted to capture the steps, and will give approximate quantities (but no promises here!). 

You will need to start with egg roll wrappers (one package). If you have never purchased them before, they can be found in the refrigerated produce section.  DD#3 went grocery shopping with me last week, and had no idea where to find them.  She could simply not believe that was where the grocery store "hid" them.  I asked her where they should be, she just shrugged, and said "well, not there."

Next, for my egg rolls, I used about 1/2 a small head of cabbage, one carrot and four mushrooms. 

Using my Chop "N Prep, I chopped them up into little pieces (no kidding, little pieces!).

And I almost forgot, half of a yellow onion.  You can add any other vegetables you want.  If you want spicy egg rolls, add a jalapeno.  If you have some vegetables you need to use, add them.  No right or wrong combination - I think the only necessity is the cabbage. 

If you don't want to chop up all this stuff, because you don't have a fun little kitchen gadget, or because you are short on time, or just because, buy a bag of coleslaw mix and add a diced onion.

Normally, I would use some ground pork or small shrimp as the meat in the egg rolls.  This time, I had a leftover grilled chicken breast.  I chopped it up and added it to the vegetables.  You can also just make these veggie.

Then I added about 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp sesame oil (I like sesame, so you might want 1tbsp), 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tbsp sugar, and a little salt.  I'm trying to cut back on salt, so just do a taste test for the salt. 

Lay out an egg roll wrapper so it looks like a diamond, and put about 1/3 cup or so in the middle of the wrapper.

Then fold the bottom point up over the mixture.

Then the right and the left sides in so it looks like a little envelope.



Wet your fingers with water, and moisten the flap (just like an envelope) and roll from the bottom to the top.

Heat at least 2" of oil (peanut is preferred, but canola is OK too) to about 300 degrees.  I don't think I every really check the temperature, instead I cut a tiny piece of egg roll wrapper off and drop it in the oil.  If is starts to fry, it's hot enough.  If the wrapper sinks to the bottom of the oil, it's not hot enough yet.  This is the medium setting on my electric stove, preheated for about 10 minutes.

Fry for about 2 minutes per side, rolling the egg roll over in the oil to get an even fry.  Good luck with this one.  Sometimes they stay rolled over, and sometimes they are stubborn.  Just trying to get an even brown.


Please don't judge the dirty stove top!

Place a couple of paper towels on a place, and CAREFULLY remove the egg roll from the HOT oil.  If your kiddos are helping make these, this is an adult step! 



I got this one a little too brown - taking pictures, I forgot to get out the paper towels!  But trust me, it was still delicious! 

Make or purchase your favorite dipping sauce.  Serve hot.  Enjoy!