marti (01/29/83)
The following receipe for eggroll is a potpourri of ingredients that
changes slightly every time I make them - but they always turn out
really well and get eaten up right away.....
Filling:
1 pound ground pork (can be mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with hamburger
(or veal or chicken, etc. Also if you can't find
ground pork, pork sausage can be substituted but one
must be careful that the sausage spices are not too
overpowering - especially the sage aspect.)
3-4 stalks of celery
1 large head of Nappa Cabbage (any cabbage can be used
including all the oriental varieties)
1 large bunch (head?) of Bokchoy (an oriental vegetable that
is halfway between celery and cabbage and has large
dark green leaves with light green stalks)
3 cups of fresh beansprouts (can use canned but they're not as
good!)
4-5 green onions
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 can sliced bamboo shoots
1-2 cups of sliced fresh mushrooms
2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce (to taste)
Handful of chinese peas cut up (optional)
Slivered Almonds (optional)
Scramble ground pork in a skillet or wok till done - set in a colander
to drain while preparing vegetables - pressing it from time to time to
extract every ounce of fat/grease possible. Clean and cut vegetables
into medium to small pieces (i.e.,shred cabbage and bokchoy) and
sautee all in a little butter and the soy sauce in the previous
mentioned skillet/wok (withholding the beansprouts until the very last
couple of minutes) until cooked but a little crispy. Dump vegetables
into a bowl and stir in meat until well blended. I have also used
chopped up fresh broccoli and/or spinach or anything else I happened
to have in the crisper - even tried grated zuccini once and it wasn't
half bad! Also, a footnote for our vegetarian net.users, the meat
could also be optional.
Now comes the tricky part..... (shades of the Burrito)
The Roll
1 package of eggroll skins (Can be found in the refrigerated
or deli section of your favorite food store) They
usually come about 20 to a package and I go ahead
and make them all up and freeze what isn't eaten.
Cornstarch and Water paste (Mix about 2 T cornstarch with
enough water that will make it an Elmer's glue
consistancy (bad analogy?).
Place eggroll skins flat placing about 2-3 tablespoons of filling
in the center in a sort of kattycorner arrangement. Then fold one
corner over filling and roll to the opposite corner. Then take
other two corners and fold toward the center using paste to seal
them to the underneath skin. (There are usually folding instructions
on the back of the eggroll skin package.) After patiently doing
this with all 20 skins you're ready to cook 'em! (P.S. Don't stack
them on top of each other cause they'll stick like "glue" to each
other)
Heat about 1/4 inch oil (I use corn) in the bottom of the skillet/wok
until hot - but not smoking. It has to be hot or the skins will just
absorb the oil instead of frying crisp. Fry about five minutes until
golden brown on each side. Serve while hot.
Some added notes: Eggroll freeze really well and can be reheated in
a lightly greased pan. (Doesn't take long.) I tried reheating them in
the microwave but they just turned out soggy and the skins got a
little tuff. They are good served plain, with a sweet and sour sauce
or that hot spicy oriental mustard. I have served a gathering of
six on 20 eggroll as the entree and that amount was just right (two
were children who ate two apiece). That's it - happy rolling!