I love egg rolls. Crispy on the outside, tender and crunchy on the inside. And while I’m not vegetarian, I don’t eat pork or seafood, and it’s impossible to find a veggie egg roll when we have the occasional take-out Chinese food for dinner. And while I can occasionally find them in the kosher freezer section of my grocery, they’re generally all cabbage and flavorless. I always intended to try making them at home – bought the wrappers and watched them slowly shrink in my fridge until they became dried up squares of pasta, beyond redemption. Sad, really.

Then, my husband decided to design a board game on China, and invited several couples over to play-test. So when Chris of Blog Well Done and Elle of Elle’s New England Kitchen announced the theme of this edition of #GoJunkFood would be Egg Rolls, it seemed like the time had finally come. I could delay no longer.

And just to make the experience even more intimidating? One of our guests that evening was Hong Kong-born Eleanor Hoh, another Miami food blogger and wok-cooking instructor. Do I know how to put the pressure on myself, or what? And despite that, I cheated anyway. You’ll see.

Vegetarian Egg Rolls
(makes about 16 egg rolls)

Ingredients:

Sauce:

2 Tbs. soy sauce or tamari
2 Tbs. corn starch
2 Tbs. hoisin sauce
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sriracha or other hot sauce (optional)

Filling:

1 14 oz. package fresh coleslaw mix
8 oz. baby portobello mushrooms (or your choice)
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained
2 or 3 scallions (green onions)

1 16 oz. package egg roll wrappers
1 egg, beaten
Oil for frying

Preparation:

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or measuring cup and set aside

Run the mushrooms through a food processor until finely chopped (or you can do it by hand if you’re more patient than I am). Set aside. Repeat with the drained water chestnuts. Slice the scallions thinly (both green and white parts). Set aside.

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the coleslaw mix and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, or until the cabbage just begins to wilt.

Add the mushrooms with the sauce to the pan, combine well, and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the water chestnuts and scallions. Stir to combine well. Allow filling to cool to room temperature.

For each egg roll, lay out one of the egg roll wrappers so that it appears diamond-shaped when facing you. Brush some of the beaten egg along the edges of the upper half of the diamond. Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling on the lower half of the diamond, below the two widest points. Take the point closest to you, bring it over the filling, and tuck it under the filling, tautly. Roll up to the widest points, fold them in over the ends of package and continue to roll all the way up. Make sure that the outer edges are sealed firmly. Repeat with each egg roll.

If you have a deep-fryer, heat the oil to 350º F and fry the egg rolls, no more than 4 at a time, until they’re golden brown, turning once. This won’t take more than 2-3 minutes, so look sharp!

I don’t have a deep-fryer, so I used my large frying pan, into which I poured about 2 inches of oil, heated to 350º F and proceeded the same way.

Serve with Chinese hot mustard, duck sauce, or my favorite dipping sauces – Oxford Falls Three-Pepper Peach Sauce or Cherry Chipotle Sauce.

Notes:

In case you’re wondering, Eleanor ate 2 of these, so I’m taking that as a seal of approval. Either that, or she was just starving after sitting in traffic for over an hour to get to my house.

These are super if you have a time crunch and need to make them ahead of time. Just allow them to cool, throw ‘em in a freezer storage bag, and freeze. To reheat, preheat your oven to 375º F and put the frozen egg rolls on a parchment-lined or foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

A bunch of other folks are also making egg rolls this weekend in their own unique ways. To find out who, search the hashtag #GoJunkFood

Happy Chinese New Year! It is the Year of the Rabbit, a kinder and gentler year, according to Chinese Astrology. I, myself, am a Monkey – no smart remarks, thank you. To celebrate, I’m trying out several dim sum style dishes, and I’m starting with Vegetarian Pot Stickers.

The concept of dim sum is similar to Spanish tapas: lots of little plates and tastes. It’s a wonderful way to try out different flavors and textures, and to stretch your cultural palate. For me, the problem with going out to a dim sum restaurant, is that it’s tough to find dumplings and pot stickers and so on, that aren’t filled with pork or some sort of seafood.

I decided that if I’m going to get to indulge in this delectable form of Chinese cuisine with abandon, I’d have to learn to make it myself. And you know what? It’s not particularly difficult to make at home, either. You can buy egg roll and won ton wrappers in pretty much any grocery store, and while there are traditional fillings, there’s no reason you can’t create your own, or modify the recipes to suit your own needs and tastes.

Vegetarian Pot Stickers
(makes 24 – double or triple recipe as needed)

Ingredients:

24 won ton wrappers

8 oz. mushrooms (your choice – I used half whites & half baby portobellos)
1 Tbs. tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp. sriracha hot sauce
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. fresh garlic (pressed through a garlic press)
2 scallions, white & green parts, roughly chopped

A little cornstarch
A little vegetable oil
1 cup water, divided

Special equipment: 10″ skillet with a tight-fitting lid, small bowl of water

Preparation:
Add all of the ingredients (except the wrappers, cornstarch, oil, and water) to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mushrooms are finely minced and all of the ingredients are well combined. It will help if you’ve given the mushrooms a bit of a rough chop first, or if you use pre-sliced mushrooms.

Place a won ton wrapper on your work surface, turned so that it appears to be a diamond shape. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper.

Dip a fingertip into the bowl of water and trace along the two edges farthest from you. Bring up the end closest to you, fold over the filling, and pinch the edges together to seal. Make sure you’ve gently pressed the wrapper around the filling so there are no air pockets.

Stand up your little triangle pocket so that the filling side sits on your work surface. Fold the top point down, away from you, and pinch. Now, give the edges on either side of that fold 2 little pleats and pinch. Your pot sticker will now look like it has wings. Place it on a large plate that’s been dusted with a bit of cornstarch, to prevent sticking.

Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Brush just a few drops of oil onto the hot pan surface, and place 12 of the pot stickers, upright, into the pan. Allow the bottoms to brown. Carefully add 1/2 cup water to the pan and cover it quickly. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove the pot stickers immediately to another plate to keep warm, and repeat the procedure with the rest of the uncooked ones.

Notes:

Traditionally, pot stickers are made with round dumpling wrappers, so if you have them, you can skip the part about folding the top point down. You still have to pleat, though.

Feel like you have to have meat? Substitute 4 oz. of ground chicken (or pork, if you must) for half of the mushrooms, just don’t run it through the food processor. Mix the processed ingredients with the ground chicken thoroughly and fill the wrappers as before. Add a full cup of water (instead of 1/2 cup) to the pan, and steam until the water evaporates, about 5-6 minutes.

Wouldn’t it be fun to do up a bunch of these for your Super Bowl party?