Is It Egg Roll or Eggroll?

riffraff's Note:

This recipe was a long time coming. I have been working on it for about 6 months. With the help of Bratty I was finally able to put it down on paper. It is all about the prep, chop before you start. This is not a whip it up in 10 minutes recipe but it makes enough for several meals. The number of egg rolls or eggrolls you get depends on if you add the bean sprouts. My friends and I get together and make them by the hundreds, of course that required more wine! Feel free to leave out any ingredient you do not like, there are no rules with these. Hope y'all like em.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 25 eggrolls

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 large onion , chopped
• 6 tablespoons garlic , minced (at least)
• 1 -2 teaspoon fresh ginger (no powder please)
• 3 big carrots (chopped or shredded)
• ½-¾ head napa cabbage (shredded or chopped,regular will work fine)
• 1 -2 cup bean sprouts (fresh please, leave them out if you do not like them)
• water chestnut (optional)
• celery (optional)
• cilantro (optional)
• hot pepper , chopped (optional)
• salt and pepper
• 25 egg roll wraps or 25 lumpia skins , the thin ones, i get them in the freezer section of my local Asian market

Directions:

1. Brown the meat in a large pan.
2. Add onion, garlic, ginger, carrots and some salt and pepper halfway through.
3. Remove from heat when carrots are tender.
4. Stir in cabbage and bean sprouts, this will help cool the mixture down.
5. Taste it now and see if it needs any more salt, good huh.
6. Drain this mixture VERY WELL, moisture is you enemy in this recipe.
7. I put it in a colander with a plate on top and a weight.
8. It will look like there are more veggies than meat, that is a good thing.
9. Blot it with a paper towel, it does not have to be bone dry, just not puddling and it needs to be cool before rolling.
10. We are almost there, have a glass of wine while you are waiting for it to cool!
11. Stir occasionally in the colander to get the hiding moisture.
12. Lay the wrapper so that one point is towards you.
13. Put about about 3 tablespoons of mixture across the wrapper.
14. Here is where I add a bit of cilantro, green onion, chopped hot pepper.
15. Fold the point that is pointing at you up over the mixture.
16. Now fold the corner on the right over that, now the point on the left and begin to roll till you get to the end.
17. Moisten the last point and finish the roll.
18. Freeze these individually on a cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap than put in freezer bags unless you are eating them right away.
19. To cook them remove to a cookie sheet (do not thaw) and spray them with Pam, Bratty used garlic flavored and said it was good.
20. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, turn over and spray again and bake another 10 to 15 minutes.
21. They will not get all brown like fried ones but they will be crispy and delicious.

Reviews

[bratty]

These Eggrolls are fantastic. And if you take the time to prep everything, they are very easy to prepare as well. About the only thing I did differently was after adding the cabbage to the pork mixture, it tasted a little flat. So, I added a couple of dashes...literally just dashes of Chinese 5-Spice Powder to kind of wake it up again, and it worked. We loved these so much because they are SO MUCH better than the frozen ones you buy. You done good with this one Riff, a keeper for sure!

[Just Cher]

Oh yes finally these are up! I was lucky enough to get this chef's recipe prior to posting and I made these a few weeks ago. I used all the ingredients listed except I did not add the peppers and did add 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder. These are truly amazing. It is time consuming so do double the recipe and freeze. I am lucky enough to have nearly a dozen in my freezer that I have been saving for a special occassion. I have baked as well as fried these babies and both were excellent. I will never buy frozen again. Thanks Riff for trusting me with this special recipe.

[Kauaian cook]

Not to sound like a broken record, but this recipe is a KEEPER! Yes, it takes some time to get all the chop-chop done -- well worth the effort when you get to the eating part. "Broke da mouth"(Excellent!) Served this with Mae Ploy, a sweet chili sauce, for the hot crowd, and for the more traditional folks, Thai Dipping Sauce (recipe 33113). Mahalo Riffraff -- or is it Riff raff?