Tom Herman
05-20-2008, 11:07 PM
Egg Roll Recipe: Makes 20. Tom Herman REVISED 072107
This recipe is a real crowd pleaser! It has been refined to this point over a number of years.
This recipe is flexible, easy to make, and is substitution friendly.
Ingredients: 1 package egg roll wrappers
1 medium sized Bok Choi or Napa Cabbage
1 large onion: Vidalia, Walla-Walla, or other sweet onion preferred
1 can bean sprouts (approx 14 oz. net weight, standard sized can)
1-8 oz. can whole or sliced water chestnuts (approx 5 oz. net weight)
1-8 oz. can sliced bamboo shoots (approx 5 oz. net weight)
1-32 oz. bottle cooking oil (Canola preferred, then peanut oil, then others)
1-2 oz. soy sauce as needed
Secrets to Success!
There are a number of secret steps which make the eggs rolls so successful: the first is cutting up the ingredients, and then pureeing them in a food processor. This insures smaller veggie particles, which makes for a more uniform and tasty egg roll.
The second secret is that once everything is run through the food processor, you add an ounce or two of soy sauce to it, mix it very well and let it sit for about 5 minutes. This allows the soy to work into the material and flavor it.
The third and most important secret step is to express the material and force out the water and unabsorbed soy before you start rolling, otherwise you get nasty, soggy egg rolls.
Timing is not really important. The main thing is to have the oil hot by the time you’re ready to drop the egg rolls into the pot.
You want the oil to be hot to the point where it crackles when you put a drop or two of water into it but not hot enough that it smokes.
From the time I start actually cutting materials, I usually have egg rolls coming out of the oil in 45 minutes.
The recipe is very substitution friendly and can be easily modified to add ingredients such as Shrimp, Beef, Pork, or other goodies.
Left over egg rolls (if there are any!) can easily be frozen and later microwaved. They may no longer be crispy, but they sure are delicious!
Enjoy!
How to make it all happen….
Pour the oil into a cooking pot, so that it is between 2-3” deep. Turn on medium heat, make sure that it is hotter than boiling, it should “crackle” a little as it goes through boiling and drives off any water in it or the pot, but you don’t want it so hot that it smokes. It is better to have it too cool than too hot!
Cut the Bok Choi. I usually peel off the outside layer of leaves and discard them. Then I will take a dozen or so leaves, wash them, and cut them where the stalks begin to leaf out.
It is easier and faster to cut the Bok Choi into two pieces where it begins to leaf out, and separately cut up the stalks and leafy sections by themselves.
Cut the stalks lengthwise into 3/16 –1/4” wide pieces. Then cut them across the grain into 3/16-1/4” chunks. Add to pot.
Cut the leafy sections in a similar manner. Add to pot.
I usually don’t use the entire head, there may be a 2” or thicker piece left over. Cut extra if you want, it’s easier to make bigger egg rolls at the end than try to stretch out material if you don’t have enough.
Next, peel the outside layer off the onion. Jill taught me this next move, and it’s slick: Cut the onion in half from top to bottom.
Now flop an onion half upside down so the flat part is on the cutting board. Cut in strips (keeping them together) from top to bottom about ¼” wide. When done, cut in the other direction to form approx ¼” chunks.
Move cut Bok Choi over, and put onion in pot, covering it up with Bok Choi (this helps to keep the onion fumes down).
Cut second onion half, adding it to the pot.
Open the cans of bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. Keeping them all in the can, pour off the liquids and stick the open cans under the faucet and rinse once or twice.
Take the bean sprouts and tip the can upside down on the cutting board, coaxing out the bean sprouts into a stack, like taking Jello out of a mold.
Cut down through the pile of bean sprouts, slicing it into sections about 3/8” at a time. Then, cut it at a 90 degree angle, basically cubing it in 3/8” blocks. Add to pot.
Arrange the bamboo shoots on the cutting board in a pile about 2” wide and however long, and about ¾” thick.
Cut through the pile about ¼” at a time. Then cut through it at a 90 degree angle. Add to the pot. This is the most frustrating stage, the stuff will not cut neatly or easily. It won’t be pretty, don’t worry about it. The food processor will take care of it later. Add to pot.
Now the fun begins! Mix up the chopped vegetables, and put them through a food processor, chopping the stuff (pureeing) t finer. Put it into another pot.
About half way through, drop the water chestnuts into the processor, and watch the fun! Other than eating, this is my favorite part. It’s a hoot to watch the whole water chestnuts spin round and round and disintegrate!
Add the pureed water chestnuts to the pot with the other processed veggies.
Continue processing ingredients.
Once everything has been chopped, add an ounce or two of soy sauce to the mass, work it in, and mix the veggies well.
After everything is blended, gently smooth flat, and let it sit for about five minutes to give the soy a chance to work in, and the mass to settle down.
Then express as much of the liquid from the veggies as possible. This is a very critical operation: The more you squeeze out, the drier (read: less mooshy) the egg rolls will be!
I usually use a colander to express the mixture, you could try cheese cloth, a screen sieve, or anything that separates the solids from the liquids.
Throw away the liquid, save the solids.
At this point, you would add any extras such as meat or shrimp to the mixture.
Once you have separated the solids, put them into a pot and “fluff” the mixture back up again so it’s no longer compacted.
Divide the mass into two batches: I do this purely to keep track of how much material I use: There’s nothing more frustrating than having about 12 or 13 egg rolls made, and finding out that you don’t have enough material to make 20 egg rolls!
This can make for some ugly scenes, it is to be avoided at all costs. You’ll know at about egg roll number six or so if you have enough material or too much. Adjust the egg roll size accordingly to make ten per half batch.
Read the instructions on how to roll the wrappers.
Do not open the egg roll wrappers until this point! They dry out, and will crack near the edges if opened before use, making it much more difficult to make good egg rolls.
Open the egg roll wrappers, remove one from the package, and add filler to it about the size of a walnut.
Wrap the egg roll, and drop it into your oil.
The egg roll should sink to the bottom, then rise to the top and vigorously cook. It should not be getting dark brown! If so, you will need to cut down the heat. If it doesn’t appear to be doing much, increase the heat.
I only drop one in at this time, as it is much better to burn one egg roll than five at once.
Keep on wrapping egg rolls while watching the first one cook.
Fish out the first egg roll when it’s done, usually 1-3 minutes, depending on oil temperature. When the egg roll starts to brown, it’s time to pull it out.
Set them aside five at a time, and once the oil is right, drop in the next five.
Put the cooked egg rolls on a bed of paper towels on a plate, to soak up excess oil.
Serve.
Make up the remaining egg rolls, frequently checking those that are cooking so they don’t burn.
Shut off the oil afterwards.
Enjoy!
(Note: I cool the waste oil, filter it, and use it as a base material for making soap. Waste not, want not!)
This recipe is a real crowd pleaser! It has been refined to this point over a number of years.
This recipe is flexible, easy to make, and is substitution friendly.
Ingredients: 1 package egg roll wrappers
1 medium sized Bok Choi or Napa Cabbage
1 large onion: Vidalia, Walla-Walla, or other sweet onion preferred
1 can bean sprouts (approx 14 oz. net weight, standard sized can)
1-8 oz. can whole or sliced water chestnuts (approx 5 oz. net weight)
1-8 oz. can sliced bamboo shoots (approx 5 oz. net weight)
1-32 oz. bottle cooking oil (Canola preferred, then peanut oil, then others)
1-2 oz. soy sauce as needed
Secrets to Success!
There are a number of secret steps which make the eggs rolls so successful: the first is cutting up the ingredients, and then pureeing them in a food processor. This insures smaller veggie particles, which makes for a more uniform and tasty egg roll.
The second secret is that once everything is run through the food processor, you add an ounce or two of soy sauce to it, mix it very well and let it sit for about 5 minutes. This allows the soy to work into the material and flavor it.
The third and most important secret step is to express the material and force out the water and unabsorbed soy before you start rolling, otherwise you get nasty, soggy egg rolls.
Timing is not really important. The main thing is to have the oil hot by the time you’re ready to drop the egg rolls into the pot.
You want the oil to be hot to the point where it crackles when you put a drop or two of water into it but not hot enough that it smokes.
From the time I start actually cutting materials, I usually have egg rolls coming out of the oil in 45 minutes.
The recipe is very substitution friendly and can be easily modified to add ingredients such as Shrimp, Beef, Pork, or other goodies.
Left over egg rolls (if there are any!) can easily be frozen and later microwaved. They may no longer be crispy, but they sure are delicious!
Enjoy!
How to make it all happen….
Pour the oil into a cooking pot, so that it is between 2-3” deep. Turn on medium heat, make sure that it is hotter than boiling, it should “crackle” a little as it goes through boiling and drives off any water in it or the pot, but you don’t want it so hot that it smokes. It is better to have it too cool than too hot!
Cut the Bok Choi. I usually peel off the outside layer of leaves and discard them. Then I will take a dozen or so leaves, wash them, and cut them where the stalks begin to leaf out.
It is easier and faster to cut the Bok Choi into two pieces where it begins to leaf out, and separately cut up the stalks and leafy sections by themselves.
Cut the stalks lengthwise into 3/16 –1/4” wide pieces. Then cut them across the grain into 3/16-1/4” chunks. Add to pot.
Cut the leafy sections in a similar manner. Add to pot.
I usually don’t use the entire head, there may be a 2” or thicker piece left over. Cut extra if you want, it’s easier to make bigger egg rolls at the end than try to stretch out material if you don’t have enough.
Next, peel the outside layer off the onion. Jill taught me this next move, and it’s slick: Cut the onion in half from top to bottom.
Now flop an onion half upside down so the flat part is on the cutting board. Cut in strips (keeping them together) from top to bottom about ¼” wide. When done, cut in the other direction to form approx ¼” chunks.
Move cut Bok Choi over, and put onion in pot, covering it up with Bok Choi (this helps to keep the onion fumes down).
Cut second onion half, adding it to the pot.
Open the cans of bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. Keeping them all in the can, pour off the liquids and stick the open cans under the faucet and rinse once or twice.
Take the bean sprouts and tip the can upside down on the cutting board, coaxing out the bean sprouts into a stack, like taking Jello out of a mold.
Cut down through the pile of bean sprouts, slicing it into sections about 3/8” at a time. Then, cut it at a 90 degree angle, basically cubing it in 3/8” blocks. Add to pot.
Arrange the bamboo shoots on the cutting board in a pile about 2” wide and however long, and about ¾” thick.
Cut through the pile about ¼” at a time. Then cut through it at a 90 degree angle. Add to the pot. This is the most frustrating stage, the stuff will not cut neatly or easily. It won’t be pretty, don’t worry about it. The food processor will take care of it later. Add to pot.
Now the fun begins! Mix up the chopped vegetables, and put them through a food processor, chopping the stuff (pureeing) t finer. Put it into another pot.
About half way through, drop the water chestnuts into the processor, and watch the fun! Other than eating, this is my favorite part. It’s a hoot to watch the whole water chestnuts spin round and round and disintegrate!
Add the pureed water chestnuts to the pot with the other processed veggies.
Continue processing ingredients.
Once everything has been chopped, add an ounce or two of soy sauce to the mass, work it in, and mix the veggies well.
After everything is blended, gently smooth flat, and let it sit for about five minutes to give the soy a chance to work in, and the mass to settle down.
Then express as much of the liquid from the veggies as possible. This is a very critical operation: The more you squeeze out, the drier (read: less mooshy) the egg rolls will be!
I usually use a colander to express the mixture, you could try cheese cloth, a screen sieve, or anything that separates the solids from the liquids.
Throw away the liquid, save the solids.
At this point, you would add any extras such as meat or shrimp to the mixture.
Once you have separated the solids, put them into a pot and “fluff” the mixture back up again so it’s no longer compacted.
Divide the mass into two batches: I do this purely to keep track of how much material I use: There’s nothing more frustrating than having about 12 or 13 egg rolls made, and finding out that you don’t have enough material to make 20 egg rolls!
This can make for some ugly scenes, it is to be avoided at all costs. You’ll know at about egg roll number six or so if you have enough material or too much. Adjust the egg roll size accordingly to make ten per half batch.
Read the instructions on how to roll the wrappers.
Do not open the egg roll wrappers until this point! They dry out, and will crack near the edges if opened before use, making it much more difficult to make good egg rolls.
Open the egg roll wrappers, remove one from the package, and add filler to it about the size of a walnut.
Wrap the egg roll, and drop it into your oil.
The egg roll should sink to the bottom, then rise to the top and vigorously cook. It should not be getting dark brown! If so, you will need to cut down the heat. If it doesn’t appear to be doing much, increase the heat.
I only drop one in at this time, as it is much better to burn one egg roll than five at once.
Keep on wrapping egg rolls while watching the first one cook.
Fish out the first egg roll when it’s done, usually 1-3 minutes, depending on oil temperature. When the egg roll starts to brown, it’s time to pull it out.
Set them aside five at a time, and once the oil is right, drop in the next five.
Put the cooked egg rolls on a bed of paper towels on a plate, to soak up excess oil.
Serve.
Make up the remaining egg rolls, frequently checking those that are cooking so they don’t burn.
Shut off the oil afterwards.
Enjoy!
(Note: I cool the waste oil, filter it, and use it as a base material for making soap. Waste not, want not!)