Egg Rolls

Last Thursday I couldn't resist making Ramen Queen's yummy Chinese Chicken Salad.  This salad makes so much that there are always leftovers at our house.  A great way to use up the salad is to use it as a filling in egg rolls!  I know ramen noodles are not typically in egg rolls, but if you think about the other ingredients--cabbage, carrots, green onions, chicken or pork, seasoning--I already had all of those ingredients in the salad.  In the past I have stir fried the salad before using it in my egg rolls, but this time I opted to use it as is.  It worked great. 

You can pick up egg roll wrappers in the produce section of your grocery store.  It's by the tofu/organic stuff.  You can get a package of 20 for less than $2.50.  Or you can make the wrappers yourself.  It's not hard, but it does take a lot more time.  I'll cover that another day. 

Step 1: Open the package of egg roll wrappers, turn them on point, so that they resemble (somewhat) a diamond shape.  Turn your oven on to 400 degrees to bake them, or heat your oil to fry them. 

Step 2: Have a little bowl or cup of water handy next to you on the counter.  This is to dip your fingers in to brush water on to the edge of your wrappers to create a seal on the egg roll.

Step 3:  Put 2 tablespoons of filling (the chinese chicken salad) into the center of the wrapper.

Step 4:  Fold up the bottom point of the diamond (the one closest to you) up over the filling.

Step 5:  Fold in the two middle points to the center of the egg roll.

Step 6:  Moisten the edge of the top point (the one away from you) with water (you don't need very much water) and roll the egg roll up. 

Step 7:  Place on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, seam side down. 

Repeat steps 3 through 7 until the wrappers or the salad is all used up.  You can refrigerate any leftovers to use another time. 

Brush the tops of the egg rolls with olive oil or spray them quick with your cooking spray (skip this step if you opt to fry them).  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.   Or you can fry them in hot oil for 2-3 minutes on each side.  

The back of the package should have these instructions, plus pictures so you know what you are doing!

Round out your meal with plain rice or fried rice.  

I like to serve them with Teriyaki sauce.  It's really quick and easy to make your own sauce.

Teriyaki Sauce--a variation of Betty Crocker's recipe

1/4 cup water--the original recipe calls for oil, but I think it's great without it.
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Whisk everything together.  Serve with egg rolls, tempura meats or veggies, or over rice.  Yum!