Healthy Eating

Healthy eating = egg rolls. Really? Yes. Well, almost. It goes like this.

First, you make the filling. That's the healthy part.Then you put the filling in an egg roll wrapper and fry it. That's the not-so-healthy part. But it's a delicious addition to the first step, so let your health and your taste preferences guide you. Eat the filling as is for a low-carb, gluten-free meal or fill and fry for the full egg roll experience.

For a printable recipe, click here, and begin your egg roll experience with dinner tonight.

Despina's Pork & Cabbage Rolls

Filling:

4 T olive oil (will be used in 1 T amounts throughout the cooking process)

3 large cloves of garlic finely chopped

2 T grated ginger (from a 2”-3” finger of ginger)

1 lb ground pork

1 t salt

½ t ground black pepper

3.2 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced thinly (will yield about 3 ½ - 4 cups)

8 c thinly sliced/shaved cabbage

2 c julienned carrots

12 green onions, sliced

4 T sesame seeds

1 c roughly chopped fresh cilantro

25 Egg roll wrappers*

1 egg & 1 T water whisked well to use in sealing the egg rolls

Sauce:

2 T oyster sauce

2 T sesame oil

1 T light soy sauce

½ t ground black pepper

1 T chili-garlic sauce

½ t sugar

Whisk together all ingredients and pour over stir-fried items at the end.

Instructions:

In a hot wok (without any oil or butter) quickly toast the sesame seeds by turning the pan and stirring with a wooden spoon. Transfer to a large platter and set aside to cool.

In the same wok, pour in one tablespoon of the oil followed by the garlic and ginger. We want to toast lightly and flavor the oil with their aroma, so stir for no more than 30 seconds and transfer garlic and ginger to the platter. (You can use a spider or slotted spoon to remove them quickly and drain excess oil.)

Next, add the pork with the salt and pepper. Work with the wooden spoon to brown and break up the ground pork. This will take five to ten minutes depending on your stove. Everything will be cooked over high heat.

Once the pork is done, transfer to the platter with the garlic and ginger. Pour any cooking juices over the pork. Wipe the wok with a paper towel and pour in the second tablespoon of oil. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and cook until lightly browned and wilted. Transfer to the platter. 

Pour the last two tablespoons of oil into the wok and stir in cabbage and carrots. When they are heated through and beginning to soften, stir in the remaining ingredients and all of the precooked items that you set aside on the platter. Pour in the sauce and toss well to combine all ingredients and coat everything with the sauce.

Set aside to cool before wrapping.

Wrap & Fry:

One by one, turn each wrapper so that you are looking at a diamond shape. Brush egg wash at the edges of the square/diamond wrapper. Take a generous amount of filling and place at the upper end of the wrapper close to the top point. Begin rolling downwards, keeping filling tightly wrapped. When you’ve rolled down to the left and right points, pull each of those towards the center to wrap the sides of the roll. Keeping everything tightly rolled, continue downwards until you have used up the wrapper. Set aside seam side down.

Once all of the rolls have been assembled, heat two inches of oil in a heavy skillet and fry the egg rolls in two to three batches. Transfer to a platter with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. The rolls should be golden brown. May be eaten as is or with chili sauce, which is often called Thai chili sauce.

*Egg roll wrappers come 15 to a pack where I shop. Where you buy them that may be different. Ultimately, you will decide how many egg rolls you want to make and how much filling you want to have left over to eat without wrapping and frying. With my leftover filling, I add about a half to one cup of sliced almonds, heat it up and have it for lunch or dinner. Just as good as the egg rolls. Really!