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!