Egg Rolls

Growing up, I never appreciated my mom’s cooking. If there was a choice between going to a restaurant and eating home cooked food, I preferred to go out. It was the novelty of it – my family rarely went out to dinner. Now that I don’t live at home, I wish I could eat my mom’s cooking. Fast food gets monotonous, greasy, and expensive fast. I would kill for a home cooked meal every night of the week: simple, filling, and familiar.

Egg rolls are not healthy, but this recipe was meant to be a reminder of home. They’re easier to make than they seem, and they taste better than the frozen ones you find in the grocery store. I rarely buy egg rolls at restaurants, I typically only eat homemade or from an authentic Asian restaurant. When my mom makes a batch of egg rolls, she usually makes 50 or more at a time. You’d be surprised how quickly they disappear!

Ingredients:

Egg Roll wrappers (50)

½-1 lb of ground pork

4 carrots

1 head of cabbage

Salt/Pepper/Garlic/Sugar

1-2  pkg vermicelli noodles

The first step in making egg rolls is to shred the vegetables. For this serving size, my mom uses a head of cabbage and about four carrots. You want an even ratio of carrots to cabbage. On the stove, cook vermicelli noodles according to package directions. The amount of noodles is dependent on your preference. I prefer to have an equal amount of noodles to vegetables, or slightly more noodles. Once the noodles are cooked –make sure to not over-cook them—combine the noodles with the vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Fully cook the ground pork (salt/pepper to taste), then drain excess grease. Set aside. Once the meat is cool, add it to the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Combine, and add salt/pepper/garlic to taste. At the end, add a large pinch of sugar. It sounds weird, but trust me, it’s necessary.

Wrapping the egg rolls is the most difficult and time consuming step in this recipe, but it is not as difficult as it seems. Peel a wrapper from the stack and place on a wooden cutting board. The cutting board ensures the wrapper will not stick while rolling. Important: start from the corner, not the middle of the wrapper. The perspective will be a diamond shape. Spoon the filling in a short, small line. Skinny lines will make the egg roll thin, thick lines make the egg roll more plump. Be sure to not make it too large, otherwise the egg roll will open while frying. I prefer a plump egg roll to a thin one.

After placing the mixture as desired, take one corner and fold it enough to just cover the line of mixture, like sealing an envelope. Use your finger to seal the mixture in tight. At this point, one corner of the egg roll wrapper should be pointed toward the middle. Roll the mixture forward so that it is encased in the wrapper in 1-2 layers. Take the sides of the wrapper and fold inward. Make sure this is tight. If it is not, the egg roll will open while frying. Roll the egg roll until the there is only a small corner left, use water to seal the flap. All of the rolling should create about 4-6 very thin layers around the mixture.

Fry these at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown on the outside. Serve with any sauce you prefer. I suggest using sweet chili sauce but some prefer soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce.

When I make these at my apartment, I only fry a few at a time. These freeze very well. I suggest making a large batch at once, and then freezing them in Ziploc bags and cooking them when you are ready to eat. Each egg roll only takes about 6-8 minutes, so these are fairly easy to cook.