Egg Rolls

I grew cabbage this year for one reason and one reason only--chicken egg rolls!  Sure, I could cheat and buy some cole slaw mix at the store and save myself some growing, harvesting, and chopping and/or shredding of veggies, but what's the fun of that!  Last night, I had my first egg rolls with all homegrown veggies (the carrots were actually homegrown by my mom, but close enough).  With the homegrown veggies, the cost of the whole meal, about 21 egg rolls in total (3 or 4 makes a nice sized meal.  Serve them with rice to make them go even farther, but my family won't eat the rice when it is competing with these egg rolls), is under $4!  I could make it even cheaper by baking them in the oven rather than frying them in the vegetable oil, but they don't taste nearly as good that way.  To do that, lightly spray egg rolls with cooking spray, place on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Nothing says these absolutely have to be chicken egg rolls.  If you want, you could easily substitute pork or shrimp...or leave out meat all together for a vegetarian version!  I use chicken though, since it is cheap, tasty, and is a great way to use the bits that might otherwise go to waste when boiling a chicken for stock.

These egg rolls reheat well in the oven.  They can be reheated in the microwave (my husband does it all the time at work), but the texture gets really wonky, so being the food snob that I am, I'll only eat them out of the oven anymore.  Hey, what's the point of being a great cook if you have to eat mediocre food, right?

Chicken Egg Rolls

Homegrown veggie mix!

1 small cabbage, chopped
3-5 carrots, shredded
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder (adjust to taste)
1 tsp ground ginger (adjust to taste)
1 cup cooked chicken piece
1 pkg egg roll wrappers
oil for frying

Combine cabbage, carrots, and onion in a large bowl.  Heat olive oil in a wok or large skillet.  Saute the vegetable combination until volume reduced by about half.  Add seasonings and chicken pieces.  Mix thoroughly then remove from heat.

Place about 2 tbsp of  mixture into the center of an egg roll wrapper. Use a spoon, basting brush, or your clean finger to moisten the corners of the egg roll wrapper with water. Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper tightly over the mixture, then fold in the sides, then the top corner. Repeat with the rest of the egg roll wrappers.  If there is leftover filling when you are out of wrappers, it can be frozen for future use (just thaw and use).

Pour vegetable oil into a deep frying pan to a depth of 3 or 4 inches or use a deep fryer. Heat to 350 degrees (or until a wooden chopstick stuck into it boils almost immediately). Carefully place egg rolls into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. When removed from oil, let drain on paper towels.