Recipe: Egg Rolls (3)

Egg Roll Wrappers

2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup ice water
Cornstarch

Directions: Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add egg and water. Stir with fork until dough holds together and leaves sides of bowl clean.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Cover dough with a bowl. Allow dough to rest at least 30 minutes.

Divide dough into fourths. Dust pastry board lightly with cornstarch. Roll each piece of dough to a 14 x 11 inch rectangle. Cut into 3-1/2 inch squares. Stack on a plate. Cornstarch will prevent them from sticking together. Fill with filling.

FILLING:

Egg roll wrappers (homemade or ready made)
meat of one large chicken breast half, cut up 1/4" dice

Marinade:

1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 lb. fresh beansprouts, cleaned and parboiled 1 minute
finely chopped cabbage and a couple of green onions
You should have about 1 lb. total veggies, however you want to mix them. (Can use mushrooms, chopped water chestnuts if you want to.)

In hot wok, stir-fry any veggies except bean sprouts for a couple of minutes. Add bean sprouts and cook a little longer, but don't wilt them too much. Add 1 Tb. soy sauce and the SECRET INGREDIENT, 1/2 tsp. (or more, to taste) of Five Spice powder. Stir in, and remove veggies to bowl.

Add more oil to wok and stir-fry chicken. Only takes a couple of minutes. Add veggies back in, just to mix well.

Pour all into collander and let drain and cool. This takes about 30 min. or you get SOGGY eggrolls.

When cool, place a couple of Tbs. on a wrapper with the corner pointing toward you. Fold bottom up and sides in and roll up. Seal top corner with a paste of a little flour and water. Keep dish towel over egg rolls until all are rolled up so they won't dry out.

Fry in hot oil, drain on paper towels, and serve hot with Sweet and Sour Sauce and Chinese mustard.

It makes about a doz. or so, depends on how much filling you put in each one.

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Mini Spring Rolls are a lighter, more authentic Chinese roll.

20 Spring Rolls

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
3 1/2 oz (100 g) ground (minced) pork
3 1/2 oz (100 g) ground (minced) chicken
2 oz (60 g) ground (minced) shrimp
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
6 canned water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
4 scallions (shallots), finely chopped
1 cup (3 oz/90 g) shredded Chinese cabbage
2 teaspoons cornstarch (cornflour)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons chicken stock
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
20 frozen mini spring roll wrappers, about 4 1/2 inches (11.5 cm) square, thawed
2 teaspoons cornstarch (cornflour) mixed with 2 tablespoons water

4 cups (32 fl oz/1 L) vegetable oil for deep-fryingMix together the cornstarch, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and chicken stock. Set aside.

Heat wok and add 1 tablespoon oil, swirling the oil down the sides of the wok. When oil is ready, add garlic and ginger, stir-frying until fragrant (approximately 1 minute). Add the ground pork, chicken, and shrimp. Stir-fry until they change color (approximately 3 minutes). Remove the ingredients from the wok and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. When oil is ready, add, in the following order, the celery, carrot, water chestnuts, scallions, and cabbage. On high heat, stir-fry the vegetables until they have softened (approximately 2 minutes). Add the cornstarch/oyster sauce mixture. Bring the ingredients to boiling, and then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking to allow the sauce to thicken (between 1 and 2 minutes). Remove the wok from the heat. When the ingredients have cooled add the pork mixture, stirring it in to mix well. Add the sesame oil.

Spring roll wrappers: Mix together the cornstarch and water. Carefully wet the edges of the wrapper with the cornstarch/water mixture. Mound 1 tablespoon of filling in the centre. Roll the wrapper up diagonally, folding in the sides. Repeat until all the spring rolls are made.
Heat the 4 cups of oil in a wok, using a deep-frying thermometer to determine when the temperature reaches 375 degrees F (190 degrees Celsius). (If you don't have a deep-fry thermometer, just stick a bread cube in the oil - when it sizzles and turns a golden color, the oil is hot enough). Cook the spring rolls in batches of 4 at a time, deep-frying until they turn golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

(This recipe is adapted from Vicki Liley's "Dim Sum", a cookbook in The Essential Kitchen series).
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Egg Rolls
Yield: 12 egg rolls

Filling:

1/2 pound cooked small shrimp
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
1 cup slivered carrots
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
4 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water 20 minutes, drained and thinly sliced
3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

Sauce:

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon fivespice powder
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon coarse salt
12 egg roll wrappers
1 egg, beaten
3 cups peanut oil for deep frying

Combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl, and combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Heat wok over high heat, add peanut oil and swirl to coat wok. Add shrimp and vegetable mixture to wok and stir fry for 1 minute. Add garlic, ginger, and salt, and stir fry for another minute. Pour the reserved sauce over the vegetables, toss well to mix, and stir fry about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl, and set aside to cool. (At this point, the filling can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day).

Drain filling of any excess liquid. Place the egg roll skins, one at a time so they don't dry out, on a flat surface. Arrange wrapper like a diamond with a corner facing you. Place about 1/4 cup of filling in the lower part of the diamond, leaving about 1 inch of wrapper on either side. Fold the bottom corner over the filling, roll up half way, then fold the sides over. Coat the top corner of the wrapper with egg, then seal and press to fully enclose. Arrange egg rolls on a baking sheet dusted with cornstarch, covered with a dry towel, until all the egg rolls are stuffed. (Do not refrigerate or the wrappers will crack.)Heat the peanut oil to deep-fry temperature (325 degrees F) in a wok or deep skillet. Fry the rolls until golden brown all over, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and serve warm with Plum Sauce and Hot Mustard.