Mama’s Egg Rolls

 
Makes about 30 egg rolls

Ingredients

4 medium carrots, shredded very finely
1 small onion, minced
3 celery stalks, minced
1 lb. Coleslaw in a Bag ready-to-eat mix, divided
1 cup button or cremini mushrooms, diced finely

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 lb. ground pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean)
1 lb. ground chicken

1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons Sesame Garlic Stir Fry Sauce
1 cup Maifun noodles (2 bunches)
2 packages Egg Roll Wrappers

1 egg yolk

Directions

Prepare all of your vegetables for sauteing – Shred, chop, and mince each type until you have fine pieces. I did this with my Tupperware Chop N Prep, which chops foods extremely fine. If you don’t have a tool like this, do your best to get the vegetables as small as possible for stuffing into the egg roll wrappers.

Divide the coleslaw package. I sauteed half of it and left the other half uncooked, but used the entire package.

When the vegetables are all chopped, divided, etc., mix all but the saved bit of raw cabbage together in a large bowl and set them aside.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is fairly hot, add one tablespoon of olive oil to it. When the oil slides across the pan easily, add your mixed vegetables to the pan and saute them until they start to sweat. Season with salt and pepper. Return them to the large bowl they started out in.

Add the ground pork to the saute pan, stirring and smashing to create small chunks and to evenly brown. Salt and pepper the meat as it cooks. If your pan is big enough, add the ground chicken at the same time. If it isn’t, once the pork is cooked, remove it to a bowl while you cook the chicken.

Add the second tablespoon of oil to the pan, and repeat the process with the ground chicken, again seasoning it with salt and pepper as you go. When the chicken is cooked, add the pork back to the pan and mix them thoroughly.

Add the minced garlic, ground ginger, Sesame Garlic Stir-Fry Sauce, Onion Powder, and freshly cracked black pepper to the meat, stirring well to evenly distribute the spices.

Remove the meat mixture to the same large bowl as the vegetables and stir well to evenly combine.

Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at last half an hour, until the filling has cooled enough to be handled.

When the filling has about 10 minutes left of cooling time, fill a medium bowl with very hot tap water. Add two bunches of Maifun (also called glass or cellophane) noodles to the water and allow to soak.

After 10 minutes, remove the noodles from the water and pat them dry on paper towel. Use a knife to chop them into smaller pieces.

Remove the filling from the refrigerator and add the Maifun noodles and reserved uncooked coleslaw mix to it, stirring well.

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Whisk the egg yolk in a small bowl and set near where you will prep the egg rolls.

Take one egg roll wrapper at a time. Fill it with a couple tablespoons of filling. Fold up the bottom of the egg roll wrapper over the filling, then fold in the sides. Roll the wrapper until you have just what looks like the top of an envelope left.

Using the tip of your finger, first dip it into the egg yolk, then rub your finger along the top fold of the egg roll. Roll the rest of the egg roll up. The egg yolk acts as glue to make a seal.

Place the egg roll on the jelly roll tray, then repeat the process until you have used all of the filling.

To Deep Fry: Fill a large saucepan or French oven with 3-4 inches of oil. Heat the oil to 375°F. Drop 1-3 egg rolls into the oil at a time and allow them to cook for approximately 60 seconds, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted metal spatula to a paper-towel lined plate or tray. Allow to cool slightly before eating.

To Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush egg rolls lightly with olive or canola oil. Bake on a parchment lined tray for approximately 10 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.

Notes

– While this recipe makes 30-36 egg rolls, you don’t have to cook them all at once. Place them on a parchment lined jelly roll pan and freeze them. When they’re frozen, remove them from the tray and place them in a freezer-safe ziptop bag. You’ve just made your own ready-to-cook egg rolls instead of buying them from the warehouse store.

– Cooking from frozen, either baked or fried, will require more time. Just watch for the golden brown color in both instances.