My mom's egg rolls

The house smelled like the fryer, but I had egg rolls to eat.

In May, I drove all the way to Wisconsin from New York to visit my parents. I needed to drop off my car because I wouldn't need it in New York City.

Every time I come home, my mom makes egg rolls because they're my favorite. But this time, with her guidance, my brother and I made them ourselves.

We cooked vegetable egg rolls because we didn't have ground pork, but they were still crispy and wonderful and fried.

Mom told me to shred each vegetable for the filling.


The filling is made of Korean sweet potato, cucumber, zucchini, Napa cabbage and bean thread noodles.

Bean thread noodles looks like this:




My brother and I wrapped the egg rolls and he cooked them in the deep fryer.



Mom’s vegetable egg rolls
Ingredients:
1/3 to 1/2 of a Korean sweet potato or regular sweet potato
1 zucchini
1 cucumber
1 Napa cabbage
1 bundle of bean thread noodles
1 package egg roll/spring roll wrappers. (They must be thin wrappers, not thick.)
salt
vegetable oil

For sealing the egg rolls:
1 egg
1 tablespoon of water

Soy sauce

Shred the Korean potato. Microwave the shredded potato in the microwave for one minute to soften it. Set aside.

Wash the zucchini and shred it in another bowl. Season with salt. Then microwave the zucchini for a minute. Repeat with the cucumber.

Soak bean thread noodles in warm water. Set aside.

Pour vegetable or peanut oil in a Dutch oven or cast-iron pot until it is about 2 inches high or the depth you desire. Heat oil until it reaches 375 degrees F. If you don't have a thermometer, drop a tiny piece of an egg roll wrapper in the oil and see if it sizzles.

Meanwhile, rinse cabbage in a large bowl of water. Strip away some of the large outer leaves and use them for soup. Julienne all other leaves. Season with salt. Microwave cabbage for a minute or two.

Cut bean thread into lengths as long as your forefinger. Mix potato, zucchini, cucumber, cabbage and bean threads in a large bowl.

Beat an egg and add 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl and set aside.

Take an egg roll wrapper and place it in front of you on a plate, so it looks like a diamond. Spoon two tablespoons of the mixture in the bottom corner. Fold over the corner. Take your hand and pull the filling towards you to tighten the bundle.

Turn the bundle over again. Then fold the flaps of the wrapper inward. Fold the egg roll one more time. Brush egg wash over the last corner. Then roll the egg roll over to seal it.

Repeat until you have as many egg rolls as you want. Save any leftover filling in the refrigerator. Dip egg rolls in soy sauce.

Note: You can cook ground pork and add it to the filling. You can add other vegetables like carrots if you want as long as you soften them in the microwave before you add it to the filling.

Print recipe

How to wrap an egg roll:

Place an egg roll wrapper on a plate. Turn the plate so it looks like a diamond. Put two tablespoons in the bottom corner.



Fold over the corner. Take your hand and pull the filling towards you to tighten the bundle.


Fold over again.


Fold the sides in.


Fold over again.


Beat an egg and add 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Brush egg wash over the last corner.


Fold over again to seal the egg roll.