Over the weekend, while I was picking up groceries for the week, I had a strong craving for egg rolls. I’m not sure why I was specifically craving egg rolls, but I really wanted to make a batch at home to enjoy throughout the week. As the holidays are approaching, I’m beginning to get more excited about indulging in the most delicious fried foods. This year, I will be heading home to visit my parents for the holidays. Every year for Christmas, my mom always makes spare ribs and barbeque chicken wings early in the morning for us to enjoy throughout the day. By the time the rest of my family gets up, we always rush into the kitchen to start snacking on the spare ribs and wings. My mom makes the best, simplest, oven baked wings during the holidays. She marinates wings in a mixture of sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce, and then slathers the wings in barbeque sauce right before popping the wings into the oven to bake. Every time I smell barbeque wings, I am immediately transported back to the holidays at home. My family also tends to indulge in French fries, chips, and crispy pork chops during the holidays. I guess we just love fried foods. Well, in the spirit of the upcoming holidays, I wanted to make some homemade egg rolls for lunch. Egg rolls are very easy to make. I like to add a mixture of vegetables and thinly sliced chicken in mine, but pretty much any protein or just vegetables work well in egg rolls. The hardest part of the process is to let the egg rolls cool before taking a bite. Sometimes I get too excited to bite into a freshly made egg roll—I end up burning my tongue. To prevent the egg rolls from becoming soggy, I always rest the egg rolls on a metal rack right after frying. These egg rolls are best when consumed on the day it is made, but I wouldn’t oppose to making a couple more to pack for lunch throughout the week. Egg rolls are the perfect appetizers to serve at a party and works well as a side dish to serve with fried rice or noodles. I served my egg rolls with some chili oil noodles, but you can pretty much serve the egg rolls with anything you want. Better yet, you can just eat a couple of egg rolls for lunch on their own.
Vegetable and Chicken Egg Rolls:
· ½ inch piece of ginger, minced
· 2 garlic cloves, minced
· 2 stalks of scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
· 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
· 2 teaspoons soy sauce
· 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
· 2 teaspoons cornstarch
· 1 teaspoon fine sugar
· ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder
· 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
· 5 pieces of Napa cabbage leaves, thinly sliced
· 1 large chicken breast, thinly sliced
· Vegetable oil, for frying
· 1 package of store-bought egg roll wrappers
Directions:
1) In a small bowl, combine the minced ginger, garlic, white parts of the scallions, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and white pepper powder. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, combine the julienned carrots, thinly sliced Napa cabbage, and green parts of the scallions. Pour half of the sauce into the bowl. Stir to ensure the vegetables are coated in the sauce.
3) In another bowl, add the thinly sliced chicken breasts. Pour the other half of the sauce into the bowl. Stir to ensure the chicken pieces are coated in the sauce.
4) Heat a skillet on medium heat. Once hot, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the marinated chicken to the skillet. Let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.
5) Add the vegetables to the skillet. Cook the vegetables until softened about 5-7 minutes. Return the cooked chicken back to the skillet. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Let the mixture cool for at least 30 minutes before using it to make egg rolls.
6) To make the egg rolls, lay a sheet of egg roll wrapper with one of the corners facing you. Scoop one or two tablespoons of the filling onto the bottom corner of the egg roll wrapper. Fold the corner towards the center and begin rolling until halfway rolled. Fold the two horizontal corners towards the center. Add some water on the top corner. Roll the rest of the egg roll until you form a tightly rolled cylinder. Continue this process with the rest of the egg rolls.
7) Heat a large pot or skillet on medium heat. Add vegetable oil to the pot or skillet until the oil reaches about ½ inch deep in the pot or skillet. Add 2-3 egg rolls at a time and let the egg rolls fry for 1-2 minutes. Flip the egg rolls and let them fry another 1-2 minutes on the other side. Continue this process until all sides of the egg rolls are fried and golden brown in color. Remove the egg rolls to a metal rack stacked on top of a baking sheet. Let the egg rolls cool for a couple minutes before serving.
Takeaways: The egg rolls are very versatile. You can swap in pretty much any protein and vegetables of your choice. These egg rolls are delicious on their own, but can also be served with a side of sweet and sour sauce, chili oil, or sweetened soy sauce.