Eggrolls & Wontons

I love egg rolls and was having company over this past weekend and decided to make them.  I  have never made egg rolls before and thought...how hard could this be?  Well this is certainly a lot of work but well worth the time and effort.
Everyone that tried these said that they could never eat another egg roll from Chinese takeout.  They said that these were by far the best they have ever had.  I think each person sat down and had at least three.

What you'll need:

1 1/2 lb ground pork or ground turkey
1 Napa cabbage, shredded (aka Chinese cabbage)
1 can bean sprouts
1 can Chinese mushrooms
4 carrots, chopped
2 tbsp Hoison sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp chili oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp corn starch
4 scallions diced
1/4 cup duck sauce
1/4 cup lite soy sauce
Eggroll wrappers

In a wok heat up the sesame oil.  Add the scallions and garlic and saute.

Now add the ground pork with a wood spatula break up the pork as it cooks.

Once the pork is cooked through add the hoison sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, duck sauce and the chili oil.  Let that heat up, and then add the ginger, bean sprouts, mushrooms, carrots and the cabbage.

 Make sure to stir often and allow the mixture to cook for about ten minutes.  Sprinkle about a tbsp of corn starch into the mixture and allow to continue to simmer. (this will help thicken the sauce) Once the mixture is done cooking take off the heat.  Place a strainer over a large bowl and slowly place the mixture into the strainer.  Once most of the liquid is out of the mixture and in the bowl under the strainer, place the mixture into a seperate bowl.  Continue straining until all the mixture is strained.  Take the liquid that is in the bowl under the strainer and set that aside.

Now its time for the fun...

Wrapping up the egg rolls.  I think the easiest way to explain this is via picture...

Take a table spoon of the mixture and place it on the egg roll wrapper.

 Now beat one egg yolk and use a pastry brush and brush the flap of the egg roll to seal the egg roll closed.

Voila...You have yourself an egg roll.  Now do this until you have no more mixture left.  

(I did say it was a lot of work)

Heat a fry pan up with 1/2 inch of peanut oil or vegetable oil.  When the oil is very hot start to add the egg rolls to the oil after 1-2 minutes flip the egg roll. 

Once all the sides are a nice crisp brown place on a paper towel.  

Serve with soy sauce or the left over liquid that was drained from the mixture.  Sometimes I add some corn starch to the liquid to thicken it.  I also have a variety of dipping sauces I like to make. I will post some of those sauces in the days to come. 

The above photo shows egg rolls and dumplings.  I used the same filling in the wontons.  See the pictures to show you how to wrap a wonton

Once again use the yolk mixture and a pastry brush.

Even my 7 year old could do it!!! What a big helper she is!

Now just pan fry the wontons for a minute or two.  You could also heat a 1/2 inch of water in a fry pan and just boil the wontons.  This makes for a healthier wonton.