Egg Roll Recipe

It was requested that I share my egg roll recipe that I teased you with yesterday and I am not one to stand between a person and fried food, so here you go...

Egg Rolls
2-3 chicken breasts cut into small chunks and cooked
3 large carrots, grated
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1-2 (16 oz) pkg bean sprouts
4 c cabbage, chopped
1 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic
1 tsp sesame oil (opt.)
Egg Roll Wrappers (2 pkgs) found in produce section (this last time, I only had one package and it wasn't enough, but two packages would've been too many. I wonder if you can freeze them...)

Saute carrots, celery, pepper and onion in 1-2 Tbs Olive Oil until crisp-tender. Add cabbage and bean sprouts and heat through. Add cooked chicken and seasonings.

Assemble egg rolls by laying out one wrapper on counter or a dinner plate with a point facing you (see picture) and add 1/4 cup filling. Combine 1 Tbs cornstarch with 1/2 c water. Use this as your "glue" to hold the egg roll together. Dip your finger in the cornstarch mixture and dab/spread some of the "glue" on the egg roll wrapper edges. Fold bottom up and each side into middle.

Fold the top down after you've added some "glue" and voila, you've got yourself an egg roll. The wrappers are fragile. Be careful not to tear them. You can still cook them if they tear, but it's messy.

Heat 1/2" of oil in skillet and fry a few at a time for 2-4 minutes until golden, turning once. You can keep them warm in a 300 degree oven until they're all ready. This is a recipe that my mom got from a neighbor when we were kids and they had us over for dinner one night and wowed us with egg rolls! I've tweaked the recipe a little bit.

Now, I won't eat my egg rolls with Sweet and Sour Sauce, so I better share that recipe also! My mom got this recipe from a microwave cookbook she had. It is yummy good!

Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/2 c sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 c cold water
8 oz crushed pineapple
1/2 c chopped green bell pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c cider vinegar
2 Tbs soy sauce
10 drops Tabasco (opt.--I don't do this, but I'm a wimp!)

In 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish, stir together sugar, cornstarch and water. Stir in remaining ingredients and microwave uncovered on high for 5-7 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes until thickened. Let stand 5-10 minutes to develop flavor.

Another option is the dipping sauce recipe that was on the package of egg roll wrappers. Ellea likes it better than the Sweet and Sour. I think she's crazy, but maybe you're crazy too.....

Dipping Sauce
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs White Vinegar
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Stir and serve.

And there you have it. It's an undertaking and I always make a huge mess of my kitchen. Wait, I make a huge mess when I make dinner every night. That's why I hate cleaning the kitchen. Come to think of it, I should be cleaning my kitchen right now!