Remember when I posted about my husband’s favorite childhood dish (here)? Yes, it took me over 20 years to attempt that one, but this recipe, my mother-in-law’s egg roll recipe), I hopped on that one right away. I first made it many years ago when we moved away from Maryland, and I was craving her egg rolls. They really are the best egg rolls I’ve ever tasted. She was kind enough to share her recipe with me.
Awesome egg rolls!
While mine aren’t quite as good as her’s, they come pretty dang close. The only problem is that I cannot seem to find the right egg roll wrappers. The egg roll wrappers sold in the grocery store are more like a pasta than a flaky egg roll wrapper, so if any of my Vietnamese friends know which egg roll wrappers I should be buying, please let me know. I went to 99 Ranch (here in LA) and thought I bought the right ones, but I didn’t. I think if I found the right wrappers, these would be as good as John’s mother’s.
See how the wrappers are bubbly instead of flaky? If you know the right kind of wrappers, I would love you forever if you’d tell me what kind I want, especially if you sent me a picture of them!
The last time I made egg rolls, I made a couple of small changes, so this is not her original recipe. I wanted my son, Michael, to actually eat them, and he doesn’t love vegetables, so I put fewer in. He liked them, so I consider them a success. And I’ll share that success with you right now.
Anna’s Vietnamese Egg Rolls
1 package egg roll wrappers
1 pound ground pork (not sausage), or use ground turkey or chicken
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons fish sauce (nuoc mam)
shredded cabbage and carrots (to taste – sometimes I use a coleslaw mix, without dressing, from the produce department)
Onion, dried or fresh (to taste)
bean thread noodles (to taste)
wood ear mushrooms (to taste)
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup water
Oil for frying
Before you begin making egg rolls, soak bean thread noodles and wood ear mushrooms (separately) in water until soft. When ready, mix egg and ground pork in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, and fish sauce and stir well to incorporation. Add cabbage, carrots, and onion and stir to combine. Using kitchen shears, cut up softened wood ear mushrooms and stir into meat/vegetable mixture. Then do the same with the bean thread noodles.
Mix flour and water together to form a “glue.” Roll egg rolls and use the “glue” on the end of the wrapper to seal. Preheat oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, then cook the egg rolls for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from oil and place on paper towels. Serve.
Here’s my photo step-by-step.
Ingredients assembled!
Softening the bean thread noodles and wood ear mushrooms. I used a a couple tablespoons of dried wood ear mushrooms and one “bundle” of bean thread noodles. Bean thread noodles usually come in a package with a few “bundles.”
I put the meat and the egg into a bowl and mixed them together.
Then I added the fish sauce (nuoc mam), salt and pepper and stirred to combine. Please note that fish sauce is not the same as soy sauce. They are not interchangeable.
Next, I added the shredded cabbage. I usually add carrots, too, but my son asked me not to this time. In general, I make the vegetables about 1/2 the mixture (in volume). I did not this time, but I do like it better with more veggies.
I pulled the wood ear mushrooms and bean thread noodles out of the water and set them on a paper towel to remove the excess water.
I used my kitchen shears to cut up the wood ear mushrooms.
I realized that I forgot to add the dried onion, so I added it at the same time as the mushrooms.
After mixing everything together, I was ready to proceed.
Using my kitchen scissors, I cut up the bean thread noodles. You can use a knife, but scissors are so much easier! Don’t skip the bean thread noodles. They add a nice texture, but they also absorb the excess fat from the meat and prevent soggy egg rolls.
I mixed everything together and was ready to roll my egg rolls!
So, I set up my rolling station and mixed my “glue” mixture of flour and water.
To roll an egg roll, I prefer to have the wrapper set on the diagonal forming a diamond shape. Then I put the meat mixture a little below the center of the diamond.
I fold up the bottom corner and “tuck” it around the meat mixture to remove air holes.
I fold over one side…
Then the other. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Mine aren’t. See? I tore the wrapper just a bit on the left hand side. But that will be rolled inside and no one will ever know!
I roll the egg roll like one would roll up a carpet or a towel. Then I put a little bit of “glue” on the tip of the wrapper to form a good seal.
Then I finish rolling it up, and it looks beautiful!
And here are the egg rolls, ready to fry. I preheated my oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
When my oil reached the proper temperature, I placed the egg rolls gently into the oil using chop stick. I like using chop sticks, because they are less likely to break the wrapper before it goes into the oil. Please use whatever tool works best for you, but take care, because the oil is very hot!
After about 2 minutes, I turned the egg rolls over and continued cooking them.
When they were cooked through, I removed them from the oil to a paper towel lined plate to let them drain.
Shortly thereafter, dinner was served! I had a lovely Kale salad with my egg roll. Dinner was so good!
