Versatile Egg Rolls

Great flavor and interesting, fairly simple and can use whatever is at hand. I have several versions of this recipe - one of the neat things about it is that there are so many variations. I'm not sure of the quantities. It takes about 1 large soup bowl full of ingredients to fill 8-10 egg rolls for the two of us, but your experience could be different

Ingredients:

• wraps - available in most grocery stores in the freezer/cooler section of the store. Follow basic instructions on the package.
• protein - I'm vegan for medical reasons, but any protein is possible. Examples are egg, shrimp, pork, chicken, cheese, etc. shredded fine
• vegetables - fresh or frozen (defrosted), raw or packaged. lettuce, mushrooms, cabbage, corn, beans, etc. For simplicity, I buy broccoli slaw in the bag and steam it to soften it before putting it in the wraps.
• spices - salt isn't necessary if you use garlic or onion-sliced green onion makes the cutting simple and tear free. Sambal is good if you like it hot, vinegar if you like it tart, pepper, cayenne, dried onion, various herbs to taste, however you want to flavor the egg roll.
• olive or vegetable oil to about 1 1/2 to 3 inches deep in a thin pan-either a wok or a Paul Revere type pan.

I have made this with eggs and a very small amount of shredded sausage, completely vegetable, and twice with chicken (occasionally I break from my diet). All were very tasty. I will try shrimp next time and am eyeing a Mexican mix - who says it has to be Oriental?

Directions:

Cook the meat until just done (medium). Scramble eggs and set aside.

Lightly steam the vegetables if desired, they can go in unsteamed but won't cook much. Set them aside.

Cut up onion and anything else that needs cutting - shred meat, crumble egg, cut cheese into tiny pieces.

Mix protein and vegetable components together well. Add spice as needed.

Pour oil in pan to about 1 1/2-3 inches deep and heat on medium or a little higher. Do not heat on high or you will have burnt egg rolls and maybe a trip to the hospital. You will probably have left over oil.

Separate sheets of egg roll wrap and place in assembly line manner on a counter. A piece of wax paper underneath will keep the counter clean. The shiny side of the wrap is the uncooked side, so place that facing up. Use a spoon to fill the center of the wrap with the meat and vegetable mix. Don't put too much in as it makes it hard to roll it. Be fairly quick as the wrap can and will dry out. Keep a finger bowl of water at hand to moisten the edges - you don't have to make the egg white sealer the package suggests, just use the water.

Fold and roll the egg roll up as shown on the package - corners to center, first corner over the mix, completely covering it, second corner folded on top of first to close that end, then opposite corner to the second corner folded on top of second corner to close that end, and then the side that the first corner came from rolled over to wrap under the fourth corner so it's the shape of a small burrito.

Set out a plate with a couple or 3 layers of paper towels near the pan.

The oil, which has been heating while you've been rolling egg rolls, will make weird ponk noises. this is heated air dissipating. Test the oil with a small fragment of wrap. If it doesn't crackle, the oil isn't hot enough - you want it to sound like a lot of hands sharply smacking hard plastic.

When you have the oil hot enough, slip the egg rolls in -do not drop them in or you will have splash burns that don't stop burning. Slip them into the oil and watch them like they're your newborn, they can cook very, very quickly.

When a golden brown, remove them from the oil and set them on the plate with the paper towels for a short time. this will siphon off some of the excess oil.

In the cooking time, I put in 10-20 minutes, that's for 8-10 egg rolls in a fair sized pan, it varies on how many you are making, your speed in getting them out of the pan (they can be elusive), what size your pan is, and it takes a while the first time but gets faster as you get the hang of it.

Serve with rice, as a side with any oriental meal, or enjoy as a meal in itself. I've tried many sauces for dipping and haven't found one that went poorly with it. The recipe is incredibly versatile and can be incredibly simple or complex, quickly made or very complicated. I can see it stuffed with crab and broccoli with a hollandaise sauce on it - the possibilities are endless!

By Cornelia from Oregon