How to Make Egg Rolls

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Bok Choy, Napa cabbage, real water chestnuts (the kind you have to peel), celery, onion, ginger root, and garlic were just a few of the vegetables included in the Asian pack I ordered the last time I got a Bountiful Basket.A friend of mine mentioned she used the veggies to make egg rolls from scratch. Intrigued, I asked for the recipe. Here is a photo tutorial for egg rolls, courtesy of my friend Donna (and her friend Karen, whose recipe this is). I will say, I thought it was going to be a time-consuming, involved process, but it wasn't too bad. Perfect for a Saturday night!Step one: purchase egg roll wrappers from your grocery store and the needed vegetables. (I asked for help finding egg roll wrappers; at Safeway, they were in the produce department, in the refrigerated produce section--with pre-cut veggies, etc.) Although the brands will likely vary by region, here is a photo to show what you are looking for:

Step 2: cook 1 pound meat (whatever kind you want--pork, shrimp, ground beef, etc. I used ground beef)
Step 3: Shred a head of cabbage (I used about half a head of regular green cabbage in addition to some Napa cabbage) --Chop one can water chestnuts--grate a cup of carrots
--chop: 1 c. celery, 1/2 c. chopped onion, 2 c. mushrooms (or zucchini), 1/8 c. green pepper; be sure to chop finely or put in food processor(*I added some Bok Choy in place of the mushrooms/zucchini and really liked it)Step 4: Stir-fry veggies and add cooked meat of choice; then mix:2 T. water, 2 T. soy sauce, 1 t. ground ginger (or 1 Tbs. fresh grated ginger root), 1 clove garlic (minced), 1 T. cornstarch; and pour sauce over meat and veggies, warm slightly, and let cool while preparing egg rolls.Step 5: Unroll egg wrappers. On a lightly sprayed/buttered sheet of tin foil, lay egg wrapper as shown below. Scoop about a tablespoon of filling across bottom third of wrapper (I used my Pampered Chef cookie scoop)

• Fold bottom corner up

• Fold sides in

• Roll up

• Brush the top triangle lightly (very lightly) with water. Continue until all egg rolls are assembled before beginning to fry.

• Heat oil in a large, heavy pan (I used my Lodge Dutch Oven with about 2 inches of vegetable oil (although I think peanut oil would also be a great choice).

• Heat oil to 375-degrees. I used a candy/deep frying thermometer to closely watch the temperature, turning the burner up or down as needed during frying.
• Fry four to five egg rolls at a time, watching closely, and turning as they turn golden (or to desired doneness) (less than a few minutes per side)
• Drain on paper towels and serve!

The next day, I heated the leftover egg rolls in a 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes. In my opinion, they tasted even better this way. Some of the excess oil dripped out, and the egg rolls were very crispy still.
Here is a sauce recipe to try. This is not the typical red sweet-and-sour sauce you will find at the Chinese restaurants, but very good, nonetheless. (For a red sauce recipe, just Google it. Or try adding a few tablespoons of ketchup and a bit of clear corn syrup to this recipe--if you don't think corn syrup is evil, that is).
Sweet and Sour Sauce:

• 3/4 c. pineapple juice
• 1/4 c. vinegar (rice vinegar would be great)
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• Mix and cook until it becomes transparent

Sure, these aren't as simple as ordering Chinese take-out, but they taste fabulous! Definitely worth the effort. And fun!(P.S. I'm on Pinterest now. Find me here)
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