I love Chinese food! I just love it! It was always such an exciting treat when we were kids, like you had just received an exotic gift from a mysterious faraway land! A little bit of everything was ordered, so you got to try bites of many different things that each had such unique and fun flavors! You never knew what each thing was possibly going to taste like, and that was the fun of it! 😀

My step-grandparents had a New Year’s Eve tradition of ordering dinner for everyone from their local, favorite Chinese restaurant, and what a fun way for everyone to ring in the new year! Especially for us kids! Holidays at grandparent’s houses were always fun, who doesn’t love going to visit their grandparents?! And the Matthews family always made New Year’s Eve an evening to remember! We’d giggle ourselves silly trying to eat with chopsticks, and couldn’t wait until it was time to crack open the sweet crispy funny-shaped cookies to see what wise words of advice our secret fortunes inside would tell us!

I think the first dish that I tried, as a usual kid normally does, was the “Sweet ‘n Sour Chicken”! Kind of like our “chicken nuggets”, only with a different batter and a sweet dipping sauce. (What kid wouldn’t love that? 😉 ) And instead of fries, it comes with rice! Asian-style comfort food! 😉

But no matter what dishes I chose to explore, I always wanted an egg roll! 😀 Whether you categorize them as an appetizer or main dish for lunch, even as a little kid, I swear I could eat 10 of them after a long, hard day’s play and want nothing else!

Those crisp-fried pastry shells rolled and filled with sweet cabbage, crunchy mild bean sprouts, salty soy sauce, and bits of pork won my heart instantly!

Every time I eat one, I feel like a kid again they’re so much fun!

So since I’ve been on an Asian cooking-spree lately, I couldn’t possibly neglect trying to make these little guys! 😀

*And don’t believe what you read or hear about them being hard to work with or make. BOLONEY! They were easy and FUN. I had ZERO trouble at all whatsoever. So I’ve made you a little step-by-step pictorial so that you can see just how easy they are to make! 🙂 😉

So let’s get started! I’m hungry! How about you? 😀

The filling is a no-brainer. There just wasn’t even any need to show more steps it’s that easy. And WOW was it delicious! I made sure to include all of my favorite flavors in there and they truly were a celebration in my mouth! My tongue was already dancing! 😀

The main thing is just seeing how to roll them. I had to go by the pics on the egg roll wrapper insert, but even that explained it well. It just needed a little bit of extra hands-on explaining is all.

What I’m here for! 😉 😀

Can you believe only 2 tablespoons of filling is needed?

Add the filling in the center, then smoosh it into a small log right across the center in the middle.

I found, while making my very first one, that just folding the bottom point over wasn’t going to be enough. So I kind of “back-rolled” it while fitting the wrapper snugly to the filling, then rolled it forward to tuck a little under so that it stayed nice and tight. This worked REALLY well, and I recommend that you do this.

Then just fold the outside pointed edges over to the middle like an envelope.

Brush the whole last pointed edge (flap), with egg wash to seal it well….

….then just roll it up!

And TA-DAH!!!!!! My first egg rolls!!!!! And every single one of them came out beautiful! Not kidding. I had no trouble at all.

Great tip for keeping egg rolls from getting soggy while cooling off! 😉

Pretty as a bouquet….and a few are already missing!

(Actually, I had my hubby try one of them to see what he thought, and if “they’d do”).

They must’ve been ok, because shortly afterwards, when I went to take the photo, another one had mysteriously disappeared…hmmm. 😉

We had these awesome Asian treats with my homemade Beef Lo Mein and ate like we hadn’t eaten in days! 😀

One of the most fun suppers! And all made right at home from scratch with no fillers, additives, preservatives or MSG! (And a WHOLE lot cheaper!!! Always a good thing! 😉 )

So never think that, oh, I can’t possibly make this, it must be too hard or take too much time. It isn’t hard. And no one works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This made 17 rolls from just a few ingredients, and you can freeze them! Fry them all up, let them completely cool, then freeze what you’re not going to eat right away in a ziploc baggie in the freezer! 😉

If I can do it, anyone can. I have faith in you! And they are just too good and fun to make to not at least try your hand at them just once! (But warning, once you make them homemade, you might not want to order them ever again. 😉 ) Jus’ sayin’. 😉

Hope spring is showing it’s first blooms and a robin has found a place to stay for the summer in your backyard!
Let’s have the best spring and summer ever, all! 😀

16-18 egg rolls

Take-Out Style Authentic Pork Egg Rolls

Ingredients

16 - 18 egg roll wrappers (mine measured 5 1/2" x 6")
1/2 lb. finely diced pork loin, can sub ground pork
2 tsp. canola oil
3 tsp. sesame oil, divided
3 1/2 - 4 cups chopped cole slaw mix with carrots (mine was actually an Asian blend and chopped)
2 Tbl. soy sauce, more if desired
1/2 tsp. very finely chopped or grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced, (1 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. sriracha sauce
1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. salt, to taste
1/2 of a 14 oz. can bean sprouts, drained (*save other half for another Asian dish, or freeze)
2 green onions, finely snipped, (green and white part), 1/8 cup
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
oil (for frying)
Dipping Sauces to Choose From: soy sauce, plum sauce, Chinese hot mustard, jalapeño pepper jelly, hoisin sauce, garlic-chili sauce, sweet 'n sour sauce, warmed jam such as peach or apricot, or even sriracha sauce!

Instructions

Finely dice (1/4") pork loin, trimming fat.

Brown pork in large frying pan or wok with canola oil and 1 tsp. sesame oil until done. Drain any grease. Stir in cole slaw mix, ginger, garlic, and 2 tsp. sesame oil, and sauté 3 - 5 minutes longer.

Mix hoisin sauce, dark brown sugar, sriracha, pepper, soy sauce, (and salt to taste) in small bowl. Add to pork mixture and stir in well.

Fold in bean sprouts and green onions. Taste for saltiness, and adjust seasonings to taste. Let cool down.

Lay wrap pointed end in front of you so that it looks like a diamond.

Place 2 tablespoons pork filling across center of egg roll wrapper horizontally.

Fold bottom point up over filling tightly but without tearing, back-roll a little keeping snug, then roll forward to tuck a little underneath to hold in place.

Fold in right and left points.

Brush beaten egg on whole top point.

Finish rolling, sealing well.

Set aside and repeat with remaining filling until all 16 - 18 egg rolls are filled and rolled. (I got 17).

Heat 2 -3 inches oil in large frying pan to very hot (350ºF).

Fry a few egg rolls in hot oil at a time placing seam side-down into oil to start, turn after 1 minute, then turn often for even browning, and fry a total of 4-5 minutes until deep golden brown.

Drain in paper towel-lined pot, standing rolls up vertically to drain so that they don't get soggy.

Serve hot with choice of dipping sauce if desired.

Notes

If preferred, you can also make these with cooked shrimp, beef or chicken.
*If using a regular shredded cole slaw mix, I would suggest that you chop it into smaller pieces for easier rolling.
**I used regular soy sauce for this. If using low-sodium, you may need to add more or add more salt. Just add to your own personal preference. Some people are salt-sensitive. I'm not one of those people. 😉