Egg Rolls

Finally, back from my vacation. I'll be testing out some new Cuban dishes soon, hopefully. After being stuck in traffic forever yesterday, I didn't have the energy to do any grocery shopping until today. I finally have a fully stocked refrigerator again with fresh produce. So instead of just making egg rolls, I'll be wrapping mine in fresh veggies too. I know everyone and their mom has a recipe for egg rolls, and everyone puts different ingredients in their egg rolls. But this isn't just any egg roll recipe, this is the same recipe I used for my grandmother's wake/funeral earlier this year (thanks to some of my family members that helped me roll those egg rolls, since we made 500 of them) and from the feedback I received back then, I think this will be a hit amongst your friends and family as well.

Ingredients:

1-2 packages frozen spring roll wrappers (25 per pack)

2 servings bean thread (glass) noodles

1 cup finely chopped woodear mushrooms (reconstituted if dry)

1 medium yellow onion (finely diced)

2 cups finely chopped cabbage

1 lbs ground pork

1/2 tablespoon salt (kosher)

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup hoison sauce

2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1 egg (beaten)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well. Apply 1 large spoonful of filling on 1 sheet of spring roll wrapper. Apply a dab of egg on top corner off wrapper. Begin to roll contents and fold from the sides 1/4 of the way there and then fold sides in and continue rolling until you get to the very end and seal with egg wash. Continue until filling is completely gone, this will yield approximately 25-35 egg rolls.

In a deep saucepan or deep fryer bring oil temperature to 350°. Add egg rolls and let it cook for about 10 minutes or until egg rolls begin to float.

The dipping sauce below is a variation of the Vietnamese "nuoc cham" and the Laotian "jeow som vahn". This is a very versatile sauce that can be used for other applications as well, so when you make it make a lot of it! I love this with fish, pork and chicken. It also goes great on top of rice.

Dipping sauce ingredients:

1 cup sugar

4 garlic cloves

3 chili peppers

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoon fish sauce

4 cup water

2 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoon lime juice

Directions:

In a mortar and pestle, add garlic, chili peppers and salt. Pound into paste. In a sauce pan add sugar on medium high heat. Wait for sugar to caramelize (do not burn) to light-medium brown color, then add water. Bring to a boil until sugar completely dissolves (this will reduce down to about 3 cups. Let caramelize simple syrup cool at least 10-15 minutes, then add paste mixture and stir.

Note:

You can also add rooster brand chili garlic sauce and pickled carrots for extra depth in flavor and texture.

The above left plate contains:  Romain lettuce, pickled daikon, pickled carrots, Roma tomatoes, bean sprouts, cilantro, scallions, and cucumbers. Normally I would have vermicelli noodles as well, but I'm trying to to add any more carbs to this dish.

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