On a trip a year ago to visit my Dad, the culinary genius, I had introduced him to the blog Steamy Kitchen where he proceeded to bookmark and print off all the recipes that made him drool on his computer screen. We spent an entire Saturday afternoon making and rolling her mother's famous Egg Rolls, as well as Firecracker Shrimp. We had a feast of Fried Rice, Beef & Broccoli, Lemon Chicken and those crispety, crunchety, delectable egg rolls. My mouth wouldn't stop eating the egg rolls even though my stomach was making things perfectly clear that it was FULL. Just. one. more.I attempted to make them once on my own but got the wrong wrappers and really didn't know my way around a deep fryer, so I decided that my Dad was a necessary component to the long drawn out egg roll making process.
So when he came to visit me a few weeks ago, there was one thing on both of our minds. EGG ROLLS. We spent two afternoons rolling two different batches (we defs needed extra for the freezer). As I rolled I would sneak bits of the cooked pork/cabbage/carrot filling. With every mouthful I would exclaim "mmmmmm.....this is sooooo good". On the second day of rolling, I thought what a shame it was that the egg rolls took such a long time to make. As I reached for my 18th bite of filling and popped it in my mouth I thought "THIS is so good on it's own, I should just turn it into a stir fry"....as the wheels of my brain started to turn I started to compose a recipe in my head right there on the spot. I dropped my egg roll mid-roll and ran to my recipe journal to write it down.
I have since made this recipe a few times, each time perfecting and working on the sauce. My family and I all agree now that this stir fry is an absolute keeper.
Recipe inspired by Steamy Kitchen
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Serves 4
Pork Marinade:
3/4 lb pork chops, cut into thin strips
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
Stir Fry:
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 head napa cabbage, cut into thin ribbons (about 2 cups)
3 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 cup bamboo shoots, julienned (buy these canned in the International food aisle)
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
4 egg roll wrappers, cut into 1/2 inch x 2 inch strips
2 green onions
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together all pork marinade ingredients. Let the pork marinade on the counter for 20 minutes or in the fridge up to overnight.
In a wok over high heat, add a tbsp of vegetable oil. Add the pork and all the marinade as well as the fresh garlic and ginger. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the pinkness in the meat is gone. Add the cabbage, carrots, bamboo shoots and mushrooms and continue to stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the veggies have softened slightly. While they are cooking, mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar and rice vinegar in a measuring cup or small bowl. When the veggies are slightly softened pour in the sauce and continue to stir fry for 2-3 minutes to let the sauce heat through and thicken slightly. Remove from the heat.
In a small pot with high sides, fill with canola or vegetable oil until the pot is half full (don't go over half full or you'll risk the oil spilling over the sides). Turn the heat to medium-high and let the oil come to between 350 and 375 degrees. I like to use a food thermometer for this so I know for sure how hot my oil is. When it's in this temperature range your food gets crispy but not oily. Once the oil is hot, add a 1/4 of the cut up pieces of egg roll wrapper. It's important that they be egg roll wrappers, since spring roll wrappers are much thinner. You won't get a nice crunch out of spring roll wrappers. The wrappers will crisp up really quickly and need only about 30-60 seconds in the hot oil. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined bowl and then add another 1/4 of your egg roll wrappers. Continue until all wrappers have been crisped in the oil.
Serve egg roll stir fry over a bed of rice. Sprinkle with the crispy egg roll wrappers and chopped green onions. The flavor of this on it's own is fabulous, but you can also add a dollop of your favorite condiment for dipping egg rolls in. We love Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, but Plum Sauce would work here too.
Click here for printable version of Egg Roll Stir Fry
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THE RESULTS?
The flavors of this is phenomenal...it captures all the delicious flavors of Steamy Kitchen's egg rolls but in a quick and easy to prepare weeknight meal. I'm all about contrasting textures, so the crispy bits of fried egg roll wrapper on top make this dish for me. I also find that any time I make Egg Rolls or Firecracker Shrimp I always have leftover wrappers that I put in a plastic bag in the freezer. It's never enough wrappers for a full batch, so this worked out perfectly just using up the few that were left in the bag. What I would do if I didn't have leftover wrappers, is when I brought the package of egg roll wrappers home from the grocery store, immediately divide them up into 3 or 4 ziplock bags and then store in the freezer.
DELICIOUS!
For more recipes check out Gayle's Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap and Erin's $5 Dinner Challenge.