Seasonal Recipe of the Week
I miss Chinese food. I don’t really have a go-to cheap and cheerful Chinese restaurant anymore, though some of my friends have urged me to give Bamboo another chance. In the meantime, I was craving egg rolls and then it dawned on me I should just make some. They are simple enough and you know homemade will be better than frozen. So here is the recipe.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups fresh ground lean pork
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped
1 cup cooked shrimp, chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce
30 egg roll skins thawed (they usually come frozen)
vegetable oil for deep frying
Procedure
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet and add the pork, garlic, and chile. Cook, stirring constantly, ‘til pork is cooked. Add the shrimp, scallions, ginger, cilantro and fish sauce. Cook stirring ‘til heated through. Remove from heat and let cool. Place a spoonful of filling atop each egg roll wrapper, leaving space clear on all sides. Brush the edges with water. Fold the top and bottom over and then fold in the sides to form a roll. It's like rolling a tiny burrito! Heat your oil to 325 degrees or 'til almost smoking. Deep fry rolls in small batches for 2-3 minutes or till golden brown.
Drain on paper towels and keep warm while frying the rest. Serve with red chile sauce or duck sauce, which by the way is also way better when homemade, as opposed to out of the little squeeze packet from the local Chinese takeout!
