I am a huge fan of Chinese food, but have always struggled to get the flavors right. Something I love to have with my Chinese dishes are egg rolls. This is something that seems like a slam dunk, but like so many take-out dishes, it's difficult to reproduce,
I finally came to the conclusion that I don't need to duplicate them, I just need to make them as tasty and scrumptious as I like them to be. So that is what I sought to do with this recipe. It was actually a recipe born from having leftover chicken from a rotisserie chicken. I hate the waste, but my family isn't that good about eating leftovers. I'm better off finding a new recipe to incorporate the leftovers into, making it a whole new meal.
I have a previous egg roll recipe on the blog, but my tastes have evolved over the years, and I wanted a more bold and authentic taste in my egg roll. This one has all the wonderful flavors of the veggies, as well as using grated ginger root instead of powder. What a difference! I also use more spices to make the flavors bounce out more.
This can be it's own dish, or it can be a side to a dish like fried rice or chow mein. It can also be a great snack or appetizer as it's not too heavy or filling. Finally, they freeze wonderfully! This was important for me because it means I can make giant batches and then have dinner on call and ready if I'm in a pinch. I have included air fryer instructions, but they can also be heated in a traditional oven as well.
Chicken Egg Rolls
1 lb chicken or pork, cooked, chopped or shredded
1 Tbs canola oil
4 c cabbage shredded
1 c carrots, shredded
3 green onions, sliced
2 tsp ginger, minced
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp chinese five spice powder
20 egg roll wrappers
1 large egg, beaten
Oil for frying
Prep your ingredients so you can go quickly with cooking. In
a large wok or sauté pan, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Once warm but
not smoking, add the cabbage and carrots. Cook until softened and reduce in
size (about 7-10 minutes). Add the green
onions, ginger and garlic and cook for another minute. Then add the meat and
the seasonings. Allow the meat to warm and the flavors to cook for a couple
minutes, and check to see if it needs more salt or other seasoning. Remove from
heat and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, prep your rolling station. Have your wrappers
package open, but keep the wrappers in the package until you are ready for
them, otherwise they will dry out. Begin warming your frying oil to 350. Lay
one wrapper on point on a flat surface (I like to use a cutting board). Place
2-3 Tbs of filling at one end of the wrapper (slightly off-center). Use a brush
or your finger to rub egg mixture along the edges of the wrapper. Take the bottom
corner of the wrapper up over the filling, making sure the filling is covered.
Fold in the two side corners and add a little more egg at the folds. Finally,
roll the rest of the way to the top corner. Make sure you have a good seal and
set it aside to continue with the rest.
Once all rolls are ready, start placing them in your fryer
(a deep pan on the stove with a couple inches of oil will work as well. Don’t
crowd the fryer as this will drop the oil temperature and make the rolls
greasy. When I first place them in the oil, I hold them a minute to make sure
they stay closed. Once they’ve reached a golden fried color, pull them out of
the oil to a paper towel to drain and cool (about 4-5 minutes). Enjoy them with
a sweet chili sauce as an appetizer, side to a meal, or as a meal themselves.
*These freeze wonderfully and are easy to re-heat in the air
fryer. I warm them from frozen in the microwave for 2 minutes and then put them
in the air fryer at 350 for a 2-3 minutes. They come out with a nice crisp to
them.
