#GoJunkFood: Vegetarian Egg Rolls

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