Copycat Takeout Egg Rolls

Copycat Takeout Egg Rolls

from thewoksoflife.com
120 min

Egg rolls are the quintessential Chinese takeout food. Here's our family's restaurant recipe—a 100% accurate, easy-to-follow egg roll recipe to make at home!

Ingredients

  • 16 cups Taiwanese cabbage ((or green cabbage or savoy cabbage, shredded))
  • 2 cups carrot ((shredded))
  • 2 cups celery ((shredded or finely chopped))
  • 3 scallions ((chopped))
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons peanut, vegetable, or canola oil ((plus more for frying))
  • 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder ((optional))
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 3 cups roast pork
  • 2 cups cooked shrimp ((chopped, optional))
  • 1 package egg roll wrappers ((about 24 pieces))
  • 1 egg ((beaten))

Directions

  1. 1

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put the cabbage, carrots, and celery into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes. Transfer the veggies to an ice bath and drain. Thoroughly squeeze out all the excess water from the vegetables (you can put the drained veggies in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the water). This is a very important step because if the filling is too wet, you will have a wet filling and soggy egg rolls!

  2. 2

    Once dry, transfer the veggies to a large mixing bowl. Add the scallions, salt, sugar, sesame oil, 2 tablespoons oil, five spice powder (if using), white pepper, roast pork, and cooked shrimp (if using). Toss everything together. The filling is ready to be wrapped!

  3. 3

    To wrap the egg rolls, take a small fistful of filling, squeeze it a little in your hand until it is compressed together, and place it on the wrapper. The wrapping method is similar to that of a burrito. Just add a thin layer of egg to make sure it stays sealed. Line them up on a lightly floured surface, and continue assembling until you run out of ingredients.

  4. 4

    In a small pot, heat oil to 325°F/160°C. You don't need too much—just enough to submerge the egg rolls. Carefully place a couple egg rolls into the oil, and fry them for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Keep them moving in the oil to make sure they fry evenly.

  5. 5

    Cool slightly and serve! Freeze leftovers in freezer bags and reheat them in the oven at 350°F/175°C, until crispy.