Chinese Egg Rolls

By David J. Stewart | February 2012

I love Chinese egg rolls. I made my egg rolls when I was beginning to learn to cook in 2006. They didn't come out so good. Through trial and error I've greatly improved my egg roll flavors. In fact, I made 19 egg rolls 3 days ago and I ate every one of them by myself. They came our really good. Here's a photo that I took of them on February 6, 2012...

They're simple to make, but it is a project. After you've made them a few times it goes MUCH faster. This recipe makes about 20-25 egg rolls, depending on how much filling you put in each. I recommend more filling. Don't be afraid to use more. The trick is to make sure to cook your mixture until all visible water (moisture) is gone from the bottom of the wok (you will need a Chinese wok to hold the large capacity of this recipe). If your mix is too wet, the moisture will make your egg roll wrappers fall apart. The other trick is to allow your mix to cool almost completely before wrapping your egg rolls. You don't have to wait, but I would. Wrap one to test your mix first.

Don't cover the wok while cooking, so the moisture can evaporate. As the mixture cooks down, the liquid in the wok will evaporate in a few minutes. I always set my wok on a heat setting of 12, which is hot (14 is the highest). You have to gently stir your food every 60 seconds or so to prevent burning the food (use a wooden or plastic spatula to prevent damaging your wok's surface). I use a Breville brand wok, model TC 30 (which I bought on Amazon.com). I like it a lot. It uses standard 120 VAC for power. I prefer fire because I can see the flame, but this electric unit works very nicely.

I make my egg rolls a little different each time, adding whatever vegetables and meats I have. You can add almost anything to egg rolls. CAUTION: You get into trouble by adding too much spices, too much salt, too much soy sauce (which is salty). As long as you go sparingly and taste your mix as you go, you'll be ok. I've learned not to trust recipes. I've ruined many dinners, especially fried rice, because someone said to add too much salt or soy sauce. Less is better.

Ok, here goes... you need the following ingredients (it doesn't have to be exact.

Medium-sized head of regular cabbage, shredded
8 ounce can of drained bamboo shoots, diced
2 big carrots (or about one-third bag of small carrots), diced
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (that's the red bottle in the picture above (you can use sherry instead)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (just regular table salt)
1 teaspoon sugar (I use brown sugar, but white sugar is ok too)
1 teaspoon of regular light soy sauce (I use Kikkoman)
1/3 pound of regular ground pork (optional, I used it in mine because I had it)
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 generous dash of white pepper
2 cups of Chinese BBQ Roast Pork (I'll tell you how to make it below. You may just eat the roast it's so good!)
1 cup of peeled, deveined, cooked shrimp (I buy it that way), diced
6 stalks of green onions, diced
2 cups fresh bean sprouts, diced
1/2 teaspoon of Accent (MSG). It doesn't give me headaches. I like the flavor. Don't use if it bothers you.
2 cups pure corn oil for deep frying. I also add 1/2 cup of peanut oil to the corn oil for flavoring. I actually cook the egg rolls in my frying pan on the stove because I don't have a deep fryer at this time. I just cook one side at a time. A deep-fryer is best set to 375 degrees if you have one.

Making Chinese BBQ Pork Roast

Here's how...

1 pork loin roast. I buy mine prepackaged. Most larger super markets carry them. There's no bone, just a delicious pork roast.
1 jar of Char Sui Sauce. It would be found in the Chinese foods section of a larger grocery store. It's Chinese BBQ sauce, very sweet. You'll use almost the entire jar.
1 Tablespoon Chinese rice wine.

Rub Char Sui Sauce all over the roast generously. Put it into a gallon-sized plastic bag and add the rice wine. Marinate the roast in the bag overnight in a refrigerator. With a little bit of olive oil, brown the sides of the roast in a hot frying pan.

Then put the roast into a baking or roast pan and again baste all sides with Char Sui Sauce. Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 375 degree oven. I use a meat thermometer. Stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the roast. It's done when the internal temp reaches 155-160. I remove it at 155 degrees.

Now baste all sides again with Char Sui Sauce and broil each side for 30-45 seconds. Cut the roast into thin slices and save all the juices in the pan. The juices are the most important part, to soak the meat in for flavor and moisture. Trust me, you love the juices. You may eat the roast all up as is. It's awesome!

You can also baste the sliced roast with Char Sui Sauce, dip it in the juices, and broil it some more if you'd like. Whatever is left that you don't eat...lol ... save in a bowl. I put the bowl into a gallon-sized freezer bag and store it overnight in the refrigerator. I usually cook my roast one day and make egg rolls the next day. I use about one cup of diced up BBQ pork in my egg roll batch. It is the key ingredient to restaurant take-out style Chinese egg rolls. You must have the Chinese BBQ pork.

Blanch Your Vegetables First

“Blanching” simply means to soak the vegetables in boiling hot water for a few minutes. Use a strainer and dip them into hot water a little at a time. I simply add sink water to a pot and sprinkle a few dashes of salt to help it boil. Put a lid on the pot also to bring to a boil. Salt lowers the boiling point of water. The carrots in particular need to be boiled for a few minutes until soft (you don't want hard crunchy carrots in your egg rolls). I also blanch the bamboo shoots for a minute to remove the overpowering flavor from them. Blanch the bean sprouts and celery for about 60 seconds. You can just rinse the cabbage under water in the sink to make sure there's no dirt. Just by rinsing your cabbage, it will shrink to half its volume.

There will be a little water left on the blanched vegetables when you add them to the wok, but that's ok, it'll all cook off as you stir and cook your mix for approximately 10-15 minutes. You'll see the steam evaporating from the wok.

Most Chinese restaurants blanch their vegetables in boiling water or a deep fryer in oil. Blanch your shrimp until it turns pink if it's not already precooked.

Making the Chinese Egg Rolls

Pour a couple Tablespoons of oil into a hot wok. Sautee your garlic and add all your vegetables. Cook for a few minutes and then add everything else. Stir often. Taste mix after everything has been added and stirred. Use your taste buds to determine if more salt is needed. If so, just add 1/4 teaspoon, stir well and taste.

I've since found some great (and I think simpler and better) recipes on YouTube. Here's one I like a lot. There are others. i recommend watching several of them to get a well-rounded idea of what is involved in making egg rolls and then pick the best one, or combine recipes. I really like the following recipe though...

How to Make Shrimp Egg Rolls with Sesame Noodles : Adding Bean Sprouts & Seasonings to Shrimp

I love Chinese food. This is a recipe I enjoy cooking because of all the fresh vegetables in it. The egg rolls are delicious, especially the next day. You can eat them cold, or warmed, or with some sweet and sour sauce. I don't add any ginger to my egg rolls as I don't care for the flavor, but you can add a teaspoon or two of shredded ginger if you'd like. Everybody makes egg rolls different, but these taste very good in my opinion.

Egg Roll Ingredients

1 cup roast pork or chicken, diced (you can also use ground pork if you'd like)
2 cups shrimp-peeled, deveined, and detailed (sometimes I only use shrimp, and no chicken or pork. You can add or reduce the amount of meat, depending on how much meat you like in your egg roll. The shrimp shrinks considerably when you cook it, so a big bag of shrimp isn't as much as it looks like after cooked. I usually cook a big bag when I make egg rolls, and this is good for 2 batches. I always make at least 2 batches at once, and freeze the extra egg rolls. I season the shrimp with salt and pepper when cooking. Fry shrimp in 1 Tbs. sesame oil.)
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh garlic, which is about 4 large cloves (I use a hand garlic press)
1 large head of cabbage, finely shredded (I think regular cabbage is more flavorful than Chinese cabbage)
1 bunch green onions (about 10), white and pale green parts, diced
2 cups celery ribs, diced
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
3 eggs, scrambled, and then diced
2 tablespoons oyster sauce (I use Mama Sitas)
4 tablespoons soy sauce (I use Kikkoman)
2 teaspoons sherry
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher salt, or sea salt)
2 teaspoons Accent Flavor Enhancer
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, chopped fine (I use a hand food dicer)
1/2 8-ounce can bamboo shoots, shredded or chopped fine

Optional ingredients are 1/2 cup Bok Choy, 8 Shitake mushrooms (without stems). I don't usually use these ingredients.

1 egg, lightly beaten (used to seal the egg rolls wrappers once filled)
1 package egg roll wrappers, about 20 wraps (not spring roll wrappers).
Several cups of UNREFINED peanut oil for deep frying (Unrefined peanut oil has a robust peanut flavor; but refined peanut oil has no flavor at all, which is no good. If you do use non-flavored oil, you can give your egg rolls a peanut flavor by including 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter in the ingredients.)

Dipping sauces: Sweet and sour; or Chinese mustard

Assembling the Egg Rolls:

Make filling:
In a bowl, stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, sugar, Accent, and salt in a small bowl until sugar and salt are dissolved.

Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a wok or large skillet, swirling skillet to coat. Add meat and cook. I add a little kosher salt and fresh ground pepper for flavoring. Cooking times vary, depending on the amount of meat and if thawed or frozen. Drain all juices from meat when cooked (I pour the meat into a colander to drain). Set meat aside in a bowl.
Under high flame, heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a wok or large skillet, swirling skillet to coat. When hot, add cabbage and bean sprouts, and cook for several minutes until withered. Turn vegetables occasionally to prevent burning. Add meat. Then, add the ginger root (if used), garlic, green onions, bamboo shoots, celery, and water chestnuts. Also add mixture of oyster sauce, soy sauce, sherry, Accent, sesame oil, sugar, and salt. Stir, heat through and steam for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the entire mixture in a colander to drain juices, for about 10 minutes. If you don't let the juices drain, your egg roll wrappers may tear apart from the moist filling. Some people recommend placing the mix in a refrigerator for an hour, but I never do.

Make egg rolls:

Gently peel apart wrappers to separate if necessary (wrappers may not be perfectly square). It's best to keep wrappers in the refrigerator, and remove them about 15 minutes before you're going to use them. Wrappers will dry out in air and become hard if left out. You can place a damp paper towel over wrappers to keep them moist. I don't like spring roll wrappers as they are too thin, and less flavorful.

Put 1 wrapper on a work surface, arranging wrapper with a corner nearest you and keeping remaining wrappers covered with plastic wrap. Place a heaping spoonful of the filling mixture in the center of an egg roll wrapper (depending on how big you want your egg roll). Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners, and then roll. Brush top corner with egg and roll up wrapper tightly to enclose filling, sealing roll closed with top corner. Transfer roll, seam side down, to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet or large plate. Repeat. One thing I learned not to do is STACK the egg rolls when waiting to be deep-fried, because the heat, weight, and juice will make them stick together. Use multiple plates.

Heat 2 inches of UNREFINED peanut oil in wok or pan until it registers 350°F on thermometer (I don't use a thermometer, I just wait until the oil gets hot enough to make the egg roll bubble as soon as I put it into the oil--a medium flame is good). Add 4 or 5 egg rolls (don't crowd pot), turning with metal tongs, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. If the oil begins to smoke, turn your heat down a bit. I think the egg rolls taste better when when slightly overcooked... browned, but not black. I use metal tongs to turn and then remove the egg rolls. I hold the egg roll over the oil for about 10 seconds to allow excess oil to drain off. I place them into a metal baking pan. Once all egg rolls are cooked, I cover with foil and refrigerate the egg rolls (i.e., the ones I don't eat right away). Egg rolls taste even better when reheated.

Caution: Never cook with oil when kids are around, unless they can sit completely still and be quiet, which is impossible for most kids. Put your animals outside, etc. There is nothing worse than being burned with hot oil. You don't just make one trip to the hospital, but dozens, to have the dead skin peeled off during each visit. This should scare you. Cooking is safe, and nothing to fear, if you take the necessary precautions. I actually cook outside, and have a concrete floor, which has traction. Kitchen floors are notoriously slippery when even a little bit wet, and no one should ever cook using oil, standing on such a floor. Even a little oil splatter can cause you to fall into your oil. Also, oil may look cool after you're done cooking, but be deadly hot. You may prefer to buy a small deep-fryer to cook your egg rolls.

So be safe, not sorry.

Cook's notes:

• Filling can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Stir before using.

• Egg rolls can be fried 4 hours ahead and cooled completely, then covered and chilled. Reheat in single layer on a rack set over a baking sheet in middle of a preheated 350°F oven, turning once, until crisp and centers are warmed through, 15 to 20 minutes.