Egg Rolls

I got this recipe here and made a few modifications to my liking.
I have been using square wonton wrappers lately to make mini egg rolls, but the instructions are the same for full size egg rolls.

Egg Rolls

Ingredients:
Chinese egg-roll wrappers (or if you want to do mini egg rolls get the square shaped wonton wraps)
1 very large chicken breast cooked and finely chopped (you could also use Ground pork or shrimp)
1/2 c. carrots shredded
1/2 head of Cabbage shredded (or Nappa Cabbage-Chinese cabbage)
1/3 c chopped green onions
1 egg
Chinese bun noodles (or bean thread; they are in the oriental section)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp each salt/pepper
Pure Canola Oil

Soak the bun noodles in warm water in a seperate bowl for about 15 minutes or until they are soft. (I only used a tiny section of the package and I actually cut the little sectioned one in half and use the other half the next time.)

Shred the cabbage and grate the carrots; set aside. In a tablespoon of oil, fry the chicken and onion in a large saucepan for a few minutes and add in the carrots and cabbage, mixing well. Heat on medium for about 8-10 minutes or until the cabbage is cooked down. Remove from heat and set aside in a large bowl to cool.

Remove bun noodles from water and drain. Using your hands, mix the noodles into the cooled cabbage mixture, making sure to mix all ingredients well. Add one beaten egg, 1 T. sugar, 1 t. salt, and 1 t. pepper and 2 t. minced garlic, 1 T. Soy sauce. Mix well with hands.

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat (about 1/2 inch deep with oil) **I use the same pan for the oil as I did to cook the chicken and cabbage mixture**

Have a small cup of water for dipping your fingers in to seal the wraps.
Take an egg roll wrap and put a small amount of cabbage mixture in the middle. Fold in side corners and fold up bottom corner. Wet the seams a little and the top corner.

Squeeze it a little as you roll it towards the top and fold over the last flap. Wet the seam again to make sure that it is sealed and carefully place it in the heated oil.Use tongs to pick up the egg roll and flip it over. When the egg rolls are done take them out and place on a plate or cookie sheet covered with paper towels to soak up remaining grease.
They taste WONDERFUL with Sweet 'n Sour sauce! Find the recipe here!!

NOTE: You can prepare all of them then put them in the oil, but I do it as I go. I use a gas stove so often I turn the heat off if the oil is getting too hot and over cooking the outer shell, and turn it back on when it stops cooking it enough... Annoying I know but oil is tempermental! Make sure you get all sides cooked!

You can cook them in a deep fryer, but I find it is harder to get all sides cooked evenly and I also think that they are more greasy that way.

Mini egg rolls: about 22-25 egg rolls

Full size egg rolls: about 11-14 egg rolls.

Beer-Battered Onion Rings

from my brother, Denton and (allrecipes.com with our changes)

3 cups flour, divided
2 eggs, separated
1 cup Fat Tire Beer, plus more for thinning (its better, I promise)
4 Tbsp butter, melted
salt to taste (a pinch or so... we usually end up doing about 1/4 tsp, but you can start with less and add more later after you test one)
3 large Vidalia or Walla Walla onions (Vidalia are our favorite)

Put 1 cup flour into small bowl for dipping onions before the batter. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks (saving the whites for later in a small bowl). Add in beer, butter, and salt. In a large bowl, add 2 cups flour. Slowly stir the egg mixture into the flour and mix well.  Batter is different every time I make it due to humidity and time of year etc. So sometimes it is a little thicker and sometimes it is thinner. Add more beer from the bottle until the batter resembles pancake batter. Sometimes we end up using the entire bottle. Sometimes less. But get it to a pancake batter consistency. Allow to stand for 30 minutes to an hour. Heat up deep fryer to 375.

After batter has rested, in a small bowl, beat the egg whites with hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Coat each onion ring with a dusting of flour (to help the batter stick) and then dip into batter.Using a fork, allow some of the batter to drip off a bit. Carefully dip the onion ring into the hot oil. You don't want to just plop it in there or the batter will fly off and your onion ring won't be as pretty. (But it still tastes the same.) I usually fry one or two and then taste them to see if the batter needs more salt. You don't want them salty. Just barely there for flavor. We dip the onion rings in various things so you don't want an overpowering salty flavor. So we start with 1/4 tsp and that is usually enough. Sometimes it needs a dash more, but not too often. Once you're happy with the taste, continue flouring and battering and frying until you get the amount of onion rings needed.Deep fry until rings are golden brown. Usually 3 minutes or so. I use my larger fryer (not shown) and can get about 4-5 rings at a time. And I flip them over half way.

Note: If you don't need to use all the batter, it can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Admittedly, this makes a large batch. LARGE! But don't despair, that means more for later. Just put the onions and batter in the fridge and make some more later or the next day. It's still great. Follow same directions as above... flouring first, then batter, tap... and fry to golden. :) ENJOY! YUM!!!!

Mexi-Rolls

(see variation for Southwestern Egg Rolls)
from my own brain

1 pkg egg roll wraps (I like the Nasoya or Melissa's brand, they work best. Don't use Azumaya, they are really chewy and thick. The other brands have a little cornstarch on them and they work better.)
1 lb hamburger, cooked and drained, and cooled
Taco Seasoning to taste
1 pkg Spanish Rice (I use the Lipton/Knorr packets -they're around $1 or less), works best cold
1/2 can of refried beans (regular or black) -use as much or little as you like
grated cheese
Ranch or Guacamole or green chile enchilada sauce (also good mixed with the ranch)


Directions:
Put wraps on a plate. Mix taco seasoning to taste into the hamburger. Add as much refried beans as you want to hamburger. Mix it together until mixed well and sticks together.

Get your assembly line ready. Put some water in a small bowl. You will use it to seal the roll as you roll it up. Have a plate to make the roll on. One to put the rolled roll on and another to put the cooked roll on. I also keep a dry washcloth or paper towel on hand to dry off my assembly plate after I am done with the water. Place small scoop of rice, then small scoop of hamburger/bean mixture, and grated cheese. (It works best if all ingredients are cold. If you use the rice hot, it makes the wrap tear easier. I make the rice earlier in the day and then put it in the fridge.)With fingertips, dab small amount water around filling to the edges of wrap. This helps seal the roll. Starting at the bottom corner, roll up over filling. Continue to wet the wrap with your fingertips. Fold sides in and then top, like an envelope, while continuing to dip fingertips in water on the wrap to seal the roll. See picture below. I know it isn't clear. This is more for illustration than for readingPlace roll in hot fry daddy. I do the heat around 350-375. Just make sure it is good and hot before you plop one in. I don't use the basket because the rolls stick to it. Cook until light golden brown. I can usually do around 3 or 4 at a time -it will depend on how big your fry daddy is. I use the fry daddy slotted spoon thing to remove them when they're done.Here is the finished product. There are quite a few wraps in a package. This recipe usually makes around 16-18 rolls.Cut in half and serve with Ranch, guacamole, or mix them together for a great dip!

For appetizers, cut each egg roll diagonally and place on a plate. Have guacamole ranch, ranch, and green chile enchilada sauce for the dips.

Note: These rolls are easy to make and so yummy. I'm sure they're full of calories. We don't make them a lot, but there are times you've just got to enjoy your food. They are one of Brinlee's very favorite dinners. They take a little bit of time to figure out how to roll the wraps well. But if you use the water on your fingertips to keep sealing it, they should stay together okay.

Variation: I use these rolls for southwestern egg rolls, too. I use chopped, grilled, & seasoned chicken, tostitos southwestern dip, little black beans, corn, chopped cooked spinach, and cheese. Mix up all of this together so that it is thick but not too juicy or too try. It also works best if it is chilled. Spoon it onto egg roll wrap and then roll up like normal. Dip in guacamole ranch dip.