Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Egg Rolls... kinda



Let me start by making one thing very clear- I hate egg rolls. I can't stand cabbage. It's slimy and stringy and just... ew. From about the time we got married I would ask the Hubs what he wanted for dinner and every once in awhile I would hear- "My mom's egg rolls". Well, first of all, I hate egg rolls. Secondly, I ain't making slimy cabbage bundles- even if they are deep fried. So, he was on his own there. Thirdly, I had been informed that these weren't your average egg rolls. Being a man- he couldn't adequately describe the ingredients, but I wasn't going to get the recipe anywhere but his mom. I didn't really pursue the recipe. Cabbage remember.

And then it happened. We were visiting his family when his mom offered to make the Hubs THE egg rolls. Oh man. How am I going to wiggle my way out of this? Pretty sure I couldn't gag down slimy deep fried cabbage if my life depended on it. But as the ingredients appeared on the counter the dreaded "green things" never showed up. What!?! Apparently these are a version of a Phillipino dish similar to egg rolls- kinda. I might survive dinner.

These strike me as quintessential American MAN food. You stuff wonton wrappers with ground beef, shredded potato and carrot, and diced onion. The only thing slightly egg roll-ish about these is the splash of soy sauce you dump in there. And did I mention you deep fry them? Yeah- you do. I suppose you could bake them if you HAD to, but we haven't gone that route yet. This is totally steak and potato food though. How funny is that?

Since learning how to make these I have made them countless times. Fairly easy and so, so yummy.

Ingredients
1-2 pkgs. wonton wrappers- found in the produce section
1 lb. cooked and seasond ground beef
2-3 large potatoes, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 of an onion, shredded or diced
2 eggs
1 C. soy sauce

an additional egg to seal the edges of the rolls

Directions:

Brown your hamburger and drain well. Meanwhile, shred your carrots, potatoes, and onion into a large bowl. Dump the hamburger on top- I do this while its still warm. Add your soy sauce and 2 eggs. ROll up your sleeves and mix it all together really good.

Don't judge yet.

I love these wraps. The only trick is that they dry out really quickly. Only take out 4-5 at a time and then keep the bag closed otherwise.  Start heating your deep fryer or pot 'o oil. You want your oil temp at 350*.

Lay out your wrappers and fill with a large tablespoon of the mixture. I use a slotted serving spoon. As you fill your spoon you want to push the mixture against the edge to remove as much of the moisture as possible. You don't want drippy egg rolls.


Roll those baby's up and use a little egg wash to seal that last flap.

All wrapped up and ready to go in the fryer. I fry 5-8 at a time in a fairly large dutch oven. Once they are a lovely golden brown on the outside pull them out and let them rest on a plate of paper towels.



We love them dipped in sweet and sour sauce or ketchup. Yum.