This iconic appetizer is so popular that practically every Chinese chef has his or her own version. Although restaurants use deep fryers to cook in volume, you can use a wok or heavy-bottomed pot to fry at home. You also don’t need a lot of oil; it’s easy to get the same great taste and crisp texture of restaurant egg rolls by shallow frying in an inch of oil. For the filling, you can use just about any meat or vegetable that can be thinly sliced, but the combination of pork, shrimp, cabbage, and shiitake mushrooms remains a classic. Wrappers for egg rolls are available in the refrigerator and freezer sections of Asian markets, and increasingly in many Western supermarkets. If you are using frozen egg roll wrappers instead of fresh, defrost them at room temperature for 40 to 50 minutes, or overnight in the refrigerator, before using.
Peanut or vegetable oil for shallow frying
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
½-pound pork tenderloin, sliced into 2-inch-long matchsticks
½ pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
2 cups shredded napa cabbage
8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, caps thinly sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
24 6-inch Asian egg roll or spring roll wrappers
special equipment
Instant-read oil thermometer
1. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pork and shrimp and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and shiitake mushrooms and continue stir-frying until the vegetables have softened slightly 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook until both the shrimp and pork are cooked through, another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer everything to a shallow bowl and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. When the meat and vegetables are cool enough to handle, strain in a colander or mesh strainer and discard the excess liquid.
4. Fill a small dish with water and place it beside you for sealing the egg rolls later. Have a slightly damp towel or plastic wrap handy to cover the wrappers to prevent the edges from drying and cracking. Take the wrappers from the package as you use them.
5. If the wrappers are stuck together, gently peel them apart to separate. Lay one wrapper on a clean, dry surface, with one corner facing you. Spoon 2 teaspoons of filling onto the wrapper, about 2 inches from the bottom corner (photo 1).
6. Fold the bottom corner over the filling and begin rolling until you reach halfway up the wrapper (photo 2).
7. Fold the left and right corners toward the center (photo 3).
8. Dip your finger in the water and moisten the left and right edges of the top corner. Continue rolling up the wrapper, keeping the left and right edges tucked, to tightly enclose the filling. Seal the roll with the top moistened corner (photo 4).
9. Lay the finished roll, seam side down, on a dry plate or baking sheet. Keep the finished egg rolls loosely covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap while you repeat the process with the remaining egg rolls.
10. To fry the egg rolls, fill a wok or heavy-bottomed pot with 1 inch of peanut oil. Heat the oil until it registers 350°F on an instant-read oil thermometer. Gently lower the egg rolls into the oil, frying 3 or 4 at a time, turning them occasionally with tongs or a slotted spoon so that they cook all around, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain and cool.
11. Repeat the frying process with the remaining egg rolls. Once all the egg rolls have cooled for 5 to 10 minutes, transfer to a serving plate and serve with chili sauce, plum sauce, duck sauce, or Soy and Vinegar Dipping Sauce.
The pastrami egg roll :
Eden Wok in Manhattan is one of the handfuls of kosher Chinese restaurants around New York that serves the pastrami egg roll. On the outside, it looks like an ordinary fried egg roll. On the inside, instead of pork or shrimp, there is pastrami and cabbage, sandwich fillings straight from a Lower East Side deli. This clever mashup of a Jewish deli staple and a Chinese takeout standard shows you don’t need pork or shellfish to make a fine egg roll. But do dip it in mustard instead of duck sauce.
Eden Wok in Manhattan is one of the handfuls of kosher Chinese restaurants around New York that serves the pastrami egg roll. On the outside, it looks like an ordinary fried egg roll. On the inside, instead of pork or shrimp, there is pastrami and cabbage, sandwich fillings straight from a Lower East Side deli. This clever mashup of a Jewish deli staple and a Chinese takeout standard shows you don’t need pork or shellfish to make a fine egg roll. But do dip it in mustard instead of duck sauce.
Ideally, scallion pancakes are thin, not too oily, and have flaky layers and a generous sprinkling of chopped scallions. There are few ingredients to the recipe, and most are pantry staples. Once you get used to rolling out the dough, these will easily become part of your appetizer repertoire. And after you coax the dough into little patties, they can be refrigerated or frozen for future use. Also, note that the amount of water needed for the dough can vary if your environment is very humid, whether you live in a tropical climate, or if it’s just a rainy day. The best type of pan to use for panfrying is a well-seasoned cast-iron pan or a large skillet; it’s possible to use a wok, but the sloping angles make it difficult to fry the pancakes evenly.
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more if necessary
½ cup warm water
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil, plus more as needed
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1. Oil a large mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, mix together the flour and water until a smooth dough forms. If the dough seems sticky, as it tends to do in humid weather, add a little more flour (starting with 1 tablespoon and up to ¼ cup total, if needed) and mix again until the dough is no longer sticky.
3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes. Place the dough in the greased mixing bowl and turn until it is lightly covered with oil all around. Cover the dough with a barely damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
4. Flour your work surface again and roll out the rested dough. Divide the dough in half, then roll each half into a 1-inch-thick cylinder. With a pastry scraper or butter knife, slice the dough into 2-inch-long segments. Dust your rolling pin with flour and roll out each segment into a 5-inch circle.
5. Lightly brush the top of each circle with peanut oil, about 2 tablespoons total for all the pancakes. Sprinkle with the scallions and salt (photos 1 and 2).
6. Roll up each circle into another cylinder, making sure the scallions stay in place (photos 3 and 4).
7. Coil the dough so that it resembles a snail (photo 5).
8. With a rolling pin, flatten again into disks ¼ inch thick (photos 6 and 7). The pancakes will get a little oily from the scallions popping through the dough. Place the rolled-out pancakes on a plate and repeat with the remaining dough. If you stack the pancakes, put a piece of parchment paper between each layer to prevent sticking. (Whatever you don’t cook immediately can be frozen for future use.)
9. Heat a nonstick flat-bottomed skillet or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Working in batches, pan-fry the pancakes until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. If the sides or middle puff up during cooking, press them down with a spatula to ensure even cooking. (You may also need another tablespoon of oil between batches.) Transfer the pancakes to a plate, cut into wedges, and serve, either alone or with chili sauce or Soy and Vinegar Dipping Sauce on the side.
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