Egg rolls are easy to make. You buy the wraps at your grocery, you cook the filling, you fold the wrap around the filling, and you deep fry the egg rolls. (Egg rolls can also be baked but they are not as crisp. We’ll address baked egg rolls another day.)
- Place the egg roll wrap in front of you. Since it is a square, turn it so that the corner is facing you. (See the pictures below.)
- Put 1/2 cup of filling onto the center of the egg roll wrap. Press the filling together so that it is shaped into a long rectangle horizontally leaving an inch and a half of wrap on each side of the filling.
- Lightly whisk an egg with one tablespoon water to make a thin wash.
- With the egg wash, brush over the four edges of the wrap.
- Take the corner away from you and fold it over the filling. Pinch and fold in each side one at a time so that the filling stays together. Gently roll the egg roll up.
- Pick up the egg roll and look at it smoothing all the sides to make sure the filling will stay intact. If there is a loose edge, glue it down with the egg wash. Repeat with subsequent egg rolls.
For the filling:
Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey or beef
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium head of cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 stalks of celery chopped
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
egg roll wrappers
vegetable oil for frying
Directions
Brown the meat and add the 1/4 teaspoon salt and fresh ginger for seasoning. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
Cook the cabbage, onion, and celery until it is wilted and crisp-tender. Add the seasoned cooked meat. Stir in the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
The wraps are often found in the grocery in the produce section but sometimes in an ethnic foods section. In our stores, they come 20 to a package for about $3—about 15 cents each. Egg rolls are usually economical to make. No special equipment is needed though a food processor to cut and chop the vegetables is handy.
