Homemade Egg Rolls

     I've made egg rolls before but, always baked them and wanted to try frying them!  I love the combinations of flavors that you can use for filling.  In this recipe - you can substitute the pork with any ground meat mixture you prefer.  I suggest making this recipe first to get the idea of the whole process before changing things up later on.  These egg rolls were super tasty and a welcome addition to our freezer! Yep, you can bake these now and then vacuum seal and freeze in portions for enjoying later! 
Hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Diane 

Homemade Egg Rolls

1 package (18 ounces) Twin Dragon Egg Roll Wrappers from the refrigerated section 
*usually found near the fresh produce. 

Filling: 
1 (16 ounce)tube jimmy dean pork sausage - crumbled, cooked well and drained on paper towels.
1 large carrot, sliced thin
1 small onion, finely diced 
1 bag (14 ounce bag) shredded coleslaw mix

Sauce for Filling:
(Mix together and set aside)  
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sherry
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon corn starch

Directions: 

1. Cook your ground pork in a sauté pan and place cooked pork on paper towels to drain off grease as you prepare the vegetable mixture. 
2. Place cut carrot and onion in a large Dutch oven with a minimal amount of oil or butter to sauté vegetables for 5 minutes. 
3. Add in the cabbage mix. 
4. Add in the Sauce. 
5. Let cabbage mixture cook down about 7 minutes and add well-drained meat back into pot with cabbage mixture and warm entire mixture through - place the entire filling mixture in a bowl lined with paper-towels. ((The trick for non-greasy egg rolls; is to get filling really dry and remove as much oil and grease as possible from the filling.))
6. Take an egg roll wrapper out and place it on your work space facing you like a diamond.
7. Using a 1/4 Cup measuring cup place about 1/4 cup of the prepared filling in the lower corner nearest you.
8. Using a pastry brush or your finger, wipe the perimeter of the egg roll wrapper with egg wash.  (This will seal the egg rolls so they don't open while cooking.)
9. Fold the bottom corner up over filling and then fold the sides in, like an envelope. Then roll from bottom upwards, making sure its as tight as you can get it until all the way rolled.
10. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet covered with saran until they are all rolled and ready for frying. 
11. Fill your fryer or Dutch oven with Canola Oil.  You want the oil heated to 350 degrees.  Always use caution when frying! Remember that water droplets will cause the oil to sizzle and can splatter!  I use only the amount of oil that will just cover the tops of the eggrolls and I use tongs to turn them in the oil if need be. 
12. Cook only a few egg rolls at a time or your cooking oil temperature will lower too greatly - my fryer cooks 3 egg rolls at a time.  I fried mine for 4 minutes before moving to the oven. 
13. Preheat your oven to 425F.  *This is an added step to ensure crispiness and doneness of your egg rolls.  Once You've fried your eggrolls - place them on a rack set above a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 3-5 minutes.  
14. Remove egg rolls from oven and place on a paper towel lined plate to cool.  This will help remove any more oil off of the rolls before eating. 

​Makes Approx. 12-16 eggrolls. 
  
Kitchen Notes:
  

• The Filling can be made and refrigerated a day ahead, which helps remove even more grease.  
• Using an egg-wash to seal the egg roll wrapper edges will help prevent filling from spilling while frying. 
• I used refrigerated Egg Roll Wrappers which were great! Just remember to keep them from drying out.  I opened the package but kept a moist paper towel draped over the package while assembling my egg rolls.  
• Serve the eggrolls with; Sweet Chili Thai sauce, Sweet & Sour sauce or Chinese Spicy Mustard. 

Recipe Credit:  I'd like to thank Lynn over at Southern With a Twist for sharing her egg roll recipe!  I used the sauce from her recipe *adding in some toasted sesame oil. She has a few tasty looking egg roll recipes - make sure to stop by and check out her site as well!!