vegetable egg rolls

Making egg rolls was really a spur of the minute idea.  I already had the wrapper handy left over from making pumpkin raviolis.  That plus my massive love of Chinese food meant I HAD to make egg rolls!  Sorry for the bad photos.

Dice and chop all the veggies and tip them all into a medium sized pot with the pepper, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, and white wine vinegar.

Cook on medium-low for about five minutes.   Stirring occasionally.  The vegetables should have softened slightly but still have some crunch.

Take the pot off the heat and set up the assembly area.  You'll need a clean surface to roll the egg rolls, egg roll wrappers in easy reach, somewhere to set the prepped egg rolls, a brush, and a small bowl with water.

This picture is horrible, but you get the idea.  Point one end of the wrapper towards you and put a large spoonful of vegetable mix in the bottom center of the wrapper.

Fold the bottom corner up to the center.

Brush the two lines marked with arrows gently with water.

Fold the two sides in towards the center, making sure the wrapper seals the area brushed with water.

Brush the four open edges with water.

Push the vegetables towards you within the wrapper, tightly but not so tight as to break through the wrapper.  Roll the wrapper away from you, pushing down the edges to ensure a good seal.  Congratulations, you just made an egg roll.  Not as much of a pain as you thought it would be, right?

Keep doing this until you run out of wrappers (like me because I had already used some from this pack) of filling.  You should end up with about 12 egg rolls.

Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet about 1/4" deep, and turn the heat to medium.  Prep somewhere to place the finished egg rolls.  I don't like to lay them on paper towels becaue they tend to stick, so I like to use a cooling rack over a lipped pan (for quick and easy clean-up).

Once the oil heat up place several egg rolls at a time in the skillet.  Don't overcrowd them.  Four was the perfect amount for my pan.

They will cook quickly, so keep an eye on them.  They only need about a minute or two a side.

They should be golden and crispy.  Be careful not to let them get too brown.  Once you have cooked them on both sides, set them on the cooling rack for several minutes.  They retain heat very well, so let them cool off a little before eating.

I'll be honest, I never actually tried eating them by themselves.  I'm a huge fan of sweet and sour sauce, so I had to dip every bite in the sauce.  Jeff said they were pretty good plain, but he too loved them with the sauce.

I didn't have any sweet and sour sauce on hand, and this turned out really well.  It's not my recipe though.  sweet and sour sauce I left out the MSG, but otherwise followed the recipe, and it turned out soo yummy.

These egg rolls didn't last long, and I'm definitely making them again.  For leftovers, pop them in the oven (or toaster oven) at 300 for just a few minutes until warm.  That keeps them nice and crunchy!

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vegetable egg rolls

by Liesl August-26-2014

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 1/2 large carrot, shredded
• 1 cup jicama or water chestnuts, diced
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• some oil for pan frying
• 12 egg roll wrappers

Instructions

1. Dice or shred vegetables and place in a medium pot with garlic, pepper, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, and white wine vinegar. Stir over medium-low heat for several minutes until the vegetables have softened slightly, but are still crunchy. Remove from heat.
2. Set an egg roll wrapper in front of you with one point towards you. Spoon about 1/4 cup of vegetable into the bottom center of the wrapper. Lift the bottom wrapper point over the vegetables to the center. Brush water on the recently folded edges. Bring the two side points to the center, making sure the water brushed edges have now been covered. Press lightly over the covered edges to seal. Brush water over the current four edges. Push the vegetables gently towards the you inside the wrapper and roll the wrapper away from you. The egg roll should now be sealed closed. Set it aside and continue this until you run out of wrappers or filling.
3. Prep a large skillet with 1/4" vegetable oil covering the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat to medium. Prep a resting place for finished egg rolls. Set a cooling rack over a lipped baking pan within easy reach of the skillet.
4. Once you are ready and the oil is hot place about 4 egg rolls at a time into the pan. Be careful for possible oil splatter. Don't crowd the egg rolls in the pan. They cook quickly, 1-2 minutes a side. They should be golden and crispy. When they are finished, use tongs to place them on the cooking rack, and put the next egg rolls into the pan. When the egg roll batches are through, move the pan aside and let the egg rolls sit for several minutes to cool. Serve with sweet and sour sauce. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, and reheat in the oven.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins 
Cook time: 10 mins 
Total time: 25 mins 

Yield: 12 egg rolls

fakeout lo mein

I call this "fakeout" lo mein because it would probably get laughed at by anyone with skill at making real Chinese food.  I love Chinese food like crazy, I just suck at making it.  So many sauces that seem overly complicated, so many ingredients... This is the easy version that I can make just about any time I want.  I don't know about you, but I happen to keep every ingredient in this recipe in my fridge or pantry almost all the time.  Yes, this recipe requires a bit of prep, mostly chopping up veggies, but once you finish with that, it is so quick and simple.  I made mine veggie, but you can easily bake/ grill, etc. some chicken and throw some into the mix.

This recipe is great because I love veggies, and this has a ton, plus it reheats really well for leftovers, and I love any excuse to use chopsticks.  I'm not one of those crazy people who eat things like waffles with chopsticks (as much as I wish I was making that up, I've actually seen it... yeah), but I think eating with chopsticks is fun and not done enough.

I don't know if it is my lack of knowledge, or utter failure with legit Chinese food, but its been my experience that when you make it yourself there is either not enough sauce, or it is too thin, so when the noodles are added at the end no sauce sticks to them, and it is a sad day.  This sauce is a bit thicker, so it stays attached to everything well, and every bite has good flavor.  Yeah, I'm hungry now...

Evenly cut up the veggies first and add them to the pot with a bit of vegetable oil.  Minus the broccoli.  Let them soften for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevents burning.

Add the sauce.

The vegetables should have a nice glaze to them.

Once the veggies look almost done, add the broccoli.  This will cook fairly quickly and you don't want it to get overcooked.

This picture really wasn't necessary, I just thought it was cool that the pasta came knotted in the bag.  :)

I love any excuse to eat with chopsticks.  Well, any legitimate excuse.  I don't try to eat cereal with chopsticks or anything.  Jeff would rather use a fork at all times.  To each their own.


ingredients:
1/4 standard sized bag of spaghetti
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/4 C chicken broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 small carrots, chopped
2 small broccoli florets, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger (optional)
2 cloves finely chopped garlic (optional)
1 chicken breast, shredded (optional)

directions:
1.  Cook the pasta until al dente and drain.  Set aside.
2.  Meanwhile, mix the hoisin sauce, chicken broth, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch and set aside.
3.  In a large wok or pot heat the vegetable oil for 30 seconds on medium-high heat.  Add the onion and stir for about 2 minutes, until they start to soften.  Add the carrots and bell pepper and stir for another 2 minutes.  Add the sauce, and if including, the garlic and/or ginger.  When the veggies have softened a bit stir in the broccoli and water chestnuts.
4.  If you are including chicken cut it into bit sized pieces and pan fry on medium heat in a frying pan with one tablespoon of vegetable oil.
5.  When the chicken, veggies, and pasta have all finished, mix them together in the largest pot or wok used and toss well.  Keep on the heat for several minutes, until warmed all the way through.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.  Serves 4-6.

Note:  Feel free to change the amount of time you cook your vegetables.  I prefer mine to be cook and obviously cooked, but with a bit of crunch left.  If Jeff had it his way, all the vegetables would be very soft.  It's all personal preference.