Egg Rolls
(note all amounts are approximate)
2.5-3 lbs of ground beef , cooked through and drained off all
fat. You can even rinse it and dry thoroughly.
2 6 ounce packages of frozen salad shrimp, thawed and
drained. You can omit or use larger shrimp chopped coarsely.
1 medium head white cabbage , shredded
2 medium napa cabbages shredded
5-6 carrots julienned
3 medium onions julienned
450 grams (about 1 lb) Korean sweet potato starch noodles ,
prepared according to package instructions, drained and cut into 2 inch
lengths with kitchen shears
1 cup or more of oyster sauce
3 eggs beaten lightly
1 cup or more of plain breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
90-100 lumpia wrappers , thawed if frozen
In a very large mixing bowl combine cabbages, carrots and onions and
sprinkle with a couple of teaspoons of plain table salt. Let sit for 30-60
minutes to allow the salt to penetrate the vegetables to release excess
liquid. Rinse thoroughly and drain.
The most important secret to making good egg rolls is to squeeze as much
moisture as possible out of the vegetables, otherwise the finished product
will be soggy and heavy. Put the squeezed vegetables in a large mixing
container (we used a clean dishpan) and combine with the cooked and drained
beef, the shrimp, the noodles, oyster sauce and about a tablespoon of
pepper.
Mix well with your hands then taste for seasoning. If it seems bland, add
a bit more oyster sauce and/or pepper. You can add a little salt but
probably won’t need to as the vegetables will be a little salty and the
oyster sauce is full of salt, too. Add the raw, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs
and mix well with your hands again.
Set the mixture aside, covered in the fridge, while you peel your lumpia
wrappers. There are a few different brands on the market, we use Simex
brand. If you can get it, they have a version that comes with the wrappers
separated by waxed paper which is much easier to separate (you can save the
paper to freeze the egg rolls later). If the only kind you can find is the
one without waxed paper, it’s fine, too just a little more tricky. Any ones
that are completely mangled can be set aside to provide patches for other
torn ones.
Rolling the egg rolls takes practice, but after you do a few it should go
rather quickly. It’s a lot like rolling a burrito. Put a few tablespoons of
filling a couple of inches from the edge, leaving space at the sides. Fold
the bottom up over the mixture, then fold the two sides in and roll. You’ll
want to try and make it snug and tight but don’t fret if they seem a little
lumpy at first. Place them seam side down in a container and go to town.
To cook the eggrolls, heat about half an inch of vegetable oil in a
skillet over a medium hot burner. When the oil is hot (around 375 – I test
by putting the end of a wooden chopstick in the oil and if lots of bubbles
form around it, it’s good) put a few egg rolls in seam side down and fry
until golden brown and then flip and fry the other side. Drain well on paper
towels or put them in a metal colander standing up on end to drain out the
excess oil. Serve hot with dipping sauce of your choice.
To Freeze Egg Rolls:
You can freeze egg rolls uncooked successfully by freezing them on a
cookie sheet lined with waxed paper until hard and then putting in freezer
bags. When you’re ready to eat them, thaw and fry as before. You can also
fry them frozen, but that tends to get really messy and dangerous with the
hot oil splattering, even if they are crispier that way.
Freeze them after cooking them. After they are cooled, wrap them in waxed
paper and put in a freezer bag. You can also freeze them on trays as
described above. Thaw and fry. They are less soggy if you cook them first,
then freeze.
Substitutions:
As above, this is a very flexible recipe. If you don’t want to use all
ground beef, you can substitute some or all of it with ground pork or ground
chicken. You could omit the shrimp or add more if you want a really shrimpy
flavor.
For a vegetarian version you can simply omit the meat and shrimp and use
vegetarian oyster sauce. I’ve made egg rolls for years without any eggs so
you could omit those, too. If you want a bit of protein, you could add tofu
but try to get as much moisture out as possible first. I like making tofu
crumbles by freezing the tofu, thawing then wrapping it in a clean, lint
free cloth and squeeze out all the water. Put it in a bowl and break into
crumbles with a fork. You could also use baked or deep fried tofu cut into
slivers.
The Korean sweet potato starch vermicelli is available at most Asian
markets. If you can’t find it, I’ve substituted clear rice noodles in the
past with good results. You could also leave them out.
Lumpia wrappers are available at most Asian markets as well and some
supermarkets. Regular eggroll wrappers will work, but will be much more
doughy, like a Chinese food buffet egg roll.
If you are making a ton of egg rolls for a large event, fry them and
drain them very well and then stack them in one of those large rectangular
chafing dishes to keep warm. They are best right out of the pan, of course,
but are still very good for quite a while after cooking.
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