Egg Rolls

Bart is chopping wood today.  We got 2 big loads of logs from Mark, and now we have plenty to get us through the winter.  The new loads will be sawed with the chain saw

And left to age.  The wood Bart is chopping was sawed up last year, and now he’s

Splitting it.  Plus we have plenty already split and dry. 

Allen is taking Liz Bowe’s Senior pictures.  He and Irene brought Lizzie to a few places around here that have scenic backgrounds – like the 5 Arches Bridge in Avon, Letchworth State Park, and a huge tree at the DEC with great branches to climb.

I was going to make coleslaw, but Bart mentioned that he’d hoped I would make egg rolls. 

So, 

I'm making egg rolls to use the last of the huge cabbage my parents gave us.  I sent Allen, Irene and Lizzie to Tops Market to get me wrappers, and they don't sell them anymore.  Not enough people were buying them, and they were having to be thrown away.  I called Shurfine grocery store, and they don't have any either.  Now we were down to coleslaw, or me making egg roll wrappers from scratch.  I found a recipe online - good old google.  The recipe called for ground pork.  I had pork in the freezer, but not ground, so I cut it into strips, and figure I'll chop it finer when it's cooked.

Egg Roll Wrappers - Recipe from About.com

Homemade egg roll wrappers are easy to make and often less dry than store bought wrappers.

Prep Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 large egg

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 cup ice water

·         Cornstarch

Preparation:

Sift the flour into a large bowl.

Lightly beat the egg with the salt. Stir in 1/4 cup of water. Add the egg and the ice water to the flour. Stir in as much of the remaining 1/4 cup of water as needed to form a sticky batter.

Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Cover the dough and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Knead the dough briefly, then cut in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll each half into a cylinder. Lightly score so that you have 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a 3 1/2-inch square.

Stack the wrappers while you are preparing the remainder, covering with a damp cloth so that they don't dry out. If necessary, lightly dust the wrappers with flour or cornstarch to prevent them from sticking together. Use immediately, or refrigerate or freeze in a plastic bag until ready to use.

I doubled this, and will freeze the leftovers.  Maybe I'll make dessert egg rolls with apple pie filling.  

Here is a general egg roll recipe.  I'm very into using what we have on hand, and will substitute or leave out ingredients.  So my egg rolls taste different every time. 

Egg Roll Filling:

• 4 cups minced fresh cabbage or chinese cabbage
• 1 lb pork, ground or cut small
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 can water chestnuts, minced
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, minced
• 1 can or 2 cups bean sprouts, chopped
•  

·         Sauce for Pork:

·         1 teaspoon oyster sauce

·         salt and pepper to taste

·         a bit (less than 1 teaspoon) cornstarch

·         Gravy:

·         4 tablespoons water

·         1 tablespoon cornstarch

·         1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

·         2 teaspoons oyster sauce

·         salt, pepper, accent (if desired) to taste

·         2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons cold water*

·         2 tablespoons oil for stir-frying - I use Sesame Oil

Mix seasoning ingredients together. Cut the pork into thin strips, add the seasonings and marinate the pork for between 10 and 15 minutes.

Preparation:

While the pork is marinating, prepare the vegetables, and the gravy mixture.

Heat the wok over medium-high to high heat. Add Sesame oil for stir-frying. When the oil is ready, add the celery and onion and stir-fry.

Taste and add salt and sugar if desired. Remove from the wok. Add the pork to the wok and cook until well done (place cover on wok). Remove. Clean the wok and stir-fry separately the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and bean sprouts. Check the seasoning while stir-frying the bean sprouts and add salt and/or sugar as desired. Stir-fry the suey choy, covering and cooking for approximately 1 minute, again adding salt and/or sugar if desired. Combine all the ingredients in the wok. If necessary, drain some of the juice from the vegetables out.

Add the gravy, pushing the vegetables up against the sides of the wok to form a well in the middle for the gravy, and stir to thicken. Mix thoroughly. Add green onion. Set the filling aside to allow to cool before wrapping.

Wrapping: Mix the cornstarch and water, slowly adding the water to the cornstarch until you have a "glue" which will be used to seal the wrappers.

To wrap, lay the egg roll wrapper out with the short (4 1/2") side directly in front of you. This will be the dry side. The two long sides will be called sides 1 and 3, and the other short side directly across from you will be called side 2. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper, spreading it out but not getting too close to the edges. Using your fingertip, spread a bit of the cornstarch/water glue along edges 1, 2, and 3. Fold over the dry side, then take side 2 and fold it over, making sure the two sides overlap. Press down firmly on sides 1 and 3, making sure they are well sealed.

Deep-frying: When oil is 375 degrees, slide each egg roll carefully into the wok - or deep frying pan, or even a 2qt sauce pan if that's all you have -  one at a time. Deep-fry until they are golden brown, then drain on deep-fry rack or paper towels. Keep on a tray lined with fresh paper towels until needed. The egg rolls should not be stacked. If possible do not reheat in the oven, as this can dry the eggrolls out, but if necessary, reheat them on low heat for 10 minutes on each side.

Serve with Sweet and Sour Sauce – I just buy a jar, and Hot Mustard – recipe below.

Hot Mustard - Bart's favorite!

Adding vinegar keeps the heat in this recipe for hot mustard. Feel free to spice it up further by adding other seasonings such as chili powder or horseradish at the same time as the vinegar.

And leave out the sugar if you want, also.

Ingredients:

·         1/2 cup dry mustard powder

·         4 teaspoons water

·         4 tablespoons vinegar

·         2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste

Preparation:

Slowly add the water to the dry mustard, until it is fully moistened. Wait fifteen minutes, and then stir in the vinegar and sugar.