Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Sausage Egg Rolls

Mmm...egg rolls. I have to admit I'm not really a fan of Chinese food. Egg rolls are an exception and they're fairly easy to make at home. Here I have 6 green onions, sliced, 3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped, 1 carrot, grated, and 1 can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped. I cut everything pretty small because it cooks quickly, fits in better and is less likely to break through the fragile wrap.
Then brown 1 lb pork sausage and drain.

Season with a little bit of salt and 1 tsp *Accent. Mix pork and veggies. Add one egg, lightly beaten, and stir it all together. It will look like this.

You will need 1 package of egg roll wraps. (If you don't know where to look for them I usually find them in the refrigerated section near the vegetables.)
Now preheat your deep fryer full of oil to 375 degrees. Since the egg rolls cook in batches I also like to line a rimmed baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels and heat my oven to it's lowest temperature - 170 degrees - just so that I have a warm place to keep the cooked egg rolls while the others are frying.
Rolling the egg rolls is simple, although it can take a couple of tries to perfect the technique. My husband was nice enough to man the camera so I could use both hands to demonstrate. He first felt it necessary to take a candid of my derriere, which I have thoughtfully not posted...you're welcome.
Place the wrap on your work surface at an angle. Spoon about 2 Tbs of sausage filling corner to corner.
Fold the bottom corner up over the filling. Tuck wrap firmly around filling.Fold the side corners firmly against the end of the filling. It looks like an envelope.
Roll the egg roll once up onto the remaining corner.
Dip your finger in water and moisten the exposed flap.
Roll the egg roll over the flap to seal.
Place egg rolls, 3 or 4 at a time, seam-side down in the fryer basket. Cook until golden, turning if necessary. Remove egg rolls from fryer basket with tongs. Place on prepared baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Or if you have a warming drawer with your oven you can use that. Also, should you have a warming drawer...I hate you. Okay, maybe I'm just jealous.


Here's the recap:

Sausage Egg Rolls
1 lb pork sausage
6-8 green onions, sliced
3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Accent
salt
1 pkg egg roll wraps (about 20)
hot oil for frying

Brown sausage and drain. Combine sausage, onions, celery, water chestnuts, carrot and egg. Stir in Accent and salt. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Spoon 2 Tbs filling into egg roll wrap and roll, burrito style. Place 3-4 egg rolls, seam side down in oil. Cook until golden. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

*Accent is monosodium glutemate (MSG.) This ingredient is optional.

5 comments:

Adrienne said...

I'm always scared of eggrolls because you never know what you will find in them and I'm not a huge veggie fan! But there is nothing scary in these....I'm definitely going to have to try them! About how many eggrolls does this recipe make? And do you have a good dipping sauce recipe {sweet and sour?} or do you buy something? I have yet to find a fav!

Gwen said...

My favorite is Thai Sweet Chili Sauce by Aroma Chef. (They carry it at Wal-Mart on the top shelf in the Asian aisle.) It's sweet and spicy but doesn't overpower the flavor of the egg roll.

ShellyH said...

wow...great blog! This is my third time visiting you blog and I always see something new that catches my eye!

Marcia said...

I make these and freeze them. They're so quick for surprise guests or after-school snacks. We just reheat them in the microwave or oven. Your recipe is slightly different than mine because of the sausage; mine uses ground beef and fresh ginger. I'm going to try yours for a change. Thanks.

Adrienne said...

okay...made these last night and were a hit! My hubbie LOVES eggrolls and loved the meat/veggie ration! Even my pickiest eater ate one! (i have to admit I left out the water chestnuts (I cannot eat those!) and put in some cabbage instead) Thanks for the great recipe! oh and the rice was good too!