Category: Egg Rolls

Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I have mentioned this in the past, but my wife is a total fan of crab rangoon, and now my middle son is as well. What’s not to love about a crab rangoon? A little wonton purse loaded with cream cheese, crab, scallions, and simple seasonings, all bursting into your mouth in a couple of bites. I’ll admit, I love them to, and it is something we commonly default to as an appetizer if going out for American-Chinese food. Lately I had a real hankering for some crab rangoon, but I did not feel like making a bunch of wontons. It can be time consuming, so after I gave it a couple of seconds of thought, I decided I would come up with the crab rangoon egg roll.

Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls Recipe
Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls Recipe

These crab rangoon egg rolls take a lot less time to make, and yield one whopper of an egg roll. It’s a one and done type of egg roll due to the richness of the cream cheese, but that one is so darn good.

Let’s get started. Keep in mind that you can half this recipe for about 8 egg rolls, however I doubled as I knew I would reuse the mixture for an upcoming holiday get together.

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz of cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 6 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 4 sticks of imitation crab, chopped
  • 7 oz claw crab meat, drained
  • 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 1 package of egg roll wrappers
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 cups of canola oil
  • sweet and sour sauce, hot mustard sauce, or your favorite dipping sauce

Start by getting a medium sized mixing bowl ready. Add the bars of cream cheese, add the worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, crab meats, and scallions. Using a form or spoon, mix thoroughly. Just make sure everything is nicely incorporated before putting into your egg roll wrapper.

Ingredients for Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls
Ingredients for Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls

Next it is time to wrap your egg rolls. Get a couple of plates out.

One one plate, add the egg roll wrapper, diamond style, meaning the points facing you. Add a heaping tablespoon into the lower center of the wrapper. DO NOT over stuff these babies. Next, take the point nearest you and fold over the mixture, gently pulling back to you. Roll one time, then fold over the side points. Continue to roll just until about done, leaving about an inch or so, then brush on some of the beaten egg onto that point. Continue to roll, sealing the egg roll.

Repeat with however many egg rolls you desire.

To a medium size pot, enough to house a few egg rolls to cook, add the canola oil, and bring to a medium heat, just until about 350 degrees.

Add a few egg rolls, being careful not to overcrowd, and cook until golden brown. This only takes a matter of minutes. Once golden, remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate, and repeat. Let these cool for a few minutes before biting into them. They are piping hot.

Once you are ready to dig in, give a dunk into your favorite dipping sauce, and prepare yourself to an unreal crab rangoon experience. Creamy, rich, crunchy, and just down right delicious. This one really lives up to its name, but in egg roll form. My wife and I joked and said ‘this egg roll probably equates to 4 regular crab rangoons, right?’. If you are looking for something neat, and a one and done, give this one a shot. It’s a great appetizer, and perfect this holiday season.

Keep in mind that any leftover mixture can be stored or frozen and used in other things such as a crab rangoon grilled cheese, or a cranberry crab rangoon, you get the idea. Hope you enjoy!

 

Vietnamese Green Nuoc Cham

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I have bee tinkering with Vietnamese nuoc cham for some time now, tinkering with both a red version and a green version. The subtle difference between the two is the red uses sambal (which I totally love), and the green one does not. Both versions can be used in many different ways, but my preference for either one is to be used as a dressing, or dipping sauce for grilled meats, or spring rolls. There is something so addicting in both that when no one is looking, I will simply eat it by the spoonful.

Packed full of tart, sweet, and spicy ingredients, this sauce is one of my favorites. Hands down.

Vietnamese Green Nuoc Cham Recipe
Vietnamese Green Nuoc Cham Recipe

As with any nuoc cham, it uses fish sauce, so if you have never tried either, this is a great chance to stock up on some good fish sauce, a super ingredient for umami goodness.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of quality fish sauce (I like 3 crabs brand or Red Boat)
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 3 green Thai chili peppers, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp lemongrass, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 tbsp shallot, minced

Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl, and mix until you get that sugar dissolved. Give a taste. See? Flavor bomb!

You can keep this out at room temperature until you are ready to serve. This was used in fresh lettuce wraps, along with vermicelli noodles, and egg rolls, all wrapped in lettuce and drizzled with that sauce. My boys, and wife do not care for the sauce as it is a bit too spicy for them, but my daughter and I simply love it. This can be stored in the refrigerator, cover, for a few weeks, but my guess is that if you fall in love with this sauce, that it will not last that long. Hope you enjoy!

Jalapeno Stuffed Lumpia

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Gosh, I do love jalapeno poppers, don’t you? I love the actual surprise, not only with the piping hot cheese but the uncertainty if the jalapeno is going to be on the mild side, or the hot side. I prefer the hot side. With that said, Filipinos are notorious for making really awesome egg rolls, what they call lumpia, or lumpia shanghai.  My wife introduced me, or should I say her family introduced me to these styles of egg rolls. Their wrappers are crispy, and inside is an array of things such as ground pork, potatoes, small shrimps, and green beans.  This is how my in laws make them, and one that I often make for my family, only with this exception. The exception being the fact that I had four large fresh jalapeno peppers on my cutting board, just staring at me and wanting me to do something with them. That’s when I figured I would try out some new egg roll, or lumpia wrappers, and instead of going the classic lumpia way, I decided to stuff some and fry them up. Were they excellent? You bet your butt they were.

Jalapeno Stuffed Lumpia Recipe
Jalapeno Stuffed Lumpia Recipe

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of egg roll wrappers
  • 1 lb ground pork, cooked and cooled
  • 4 jalapenos, stems removed, cored and seeds removed
  • 1 russet potato, skins removed, cubed and cooked until just tender
  • 2 cups of cooking oil (I use canola)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt, to taste

Gently fold the cooked, cubed potatoes into the cooled pork mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and give a gentle stir.

Take one cored jalapeno pepper, and using a small spoon, stuff the meat mixture, gently packing it in, into the jalapeno. Fill it to the top, and repeat with the remaining peppers.

Reserve the remaining meat mixture for making more lumpia, or use more jalapenos and repeat the process with however many you would like. Again, I only went with four as I knew I would be the only one eating the ones with peppers.

Next, take one egg roll wrapper and lay out with the point in front of you, can towards you.

Place the stuffed jalapeno pepper, about a quarter way, in the middle, closest to you. Fold the sides over, take the point closest to you, and begin to roll, bringing in the sides if necessary. Refer to this image if needed. Roll just about 90% to the top, then brush the point with the beaten egg. Roll and seal.

How to make Jalapeno Stuffed Lumpia
How to make Jalapeno Stuffed Lumpia

Do the same with any remaining pork mixture, using about 1/2 cup per lumpia.

Heat the oil in a small pan, and bring to a medium heat. Once heated, add a few of the lumpia and cook until the wrappers are a golden brown.

Remove the lumpia with some tongs or chopsticks, and place them onto a paper towel lined plate to remove any excess oil.

Continue cooking the remaining lumpia.

Let these cool for a few minutes before digging in. I plated mine on a bed of lettuce, sliced in half to expose the delicious pork, and showered the plate with some roasted peanuts.

Grab a cold beer or glass of wine, and dig into these jalapeno stuffed lumpia. I hope you enjoy!

Loaded Baked Potato Egg Rolls

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

I came up with a genius idea the other day, well at least to me I thought it was genius. There were a couple of things that steered me this to making this awesome batch of egg rolls; one being I was totally in the mood for egg rolls, and the other is that I had a package of Nueske’s bacon calling my name as I was looking at some potatoes I needed to use up on the counter. It’s funny how that works, but it’s also funny how flipping amazing these were. As my wife and kids were running errands this past weekend, I decided to make a batch of these and see if there were any takers when they returned. Let’s just say there were takers, and I had wished I had made double the egg rolls.

Loaded Baked Potato Egg Rolls Recipe
Loaded Baked Potato Egg Rolls Recipe

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • Your favorite egg roll wrappers
  • 2 whole russet potatoes, cubed and cooked until fork tender, drained
  • 6 slices of your favorite bacon, cooked, and chopped
  • 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup of chives, finely diced
  • Sour cream, optional
  • 3 cups of canola oil
  • 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water

These made 6 egg rolls, so increase everything if you are needing more. I highly recommend more.

Start by having everything prepared. When you are ready to build your egg rolls, heat your oil in a sauce pan, large enough to fit a few egg rolls, to medium heat. You will want the oil to come up to around 350 degrees. During this time, make the egg rolls.

I used two sheets of egg roll wrappers per egg roll. Why, I have no idea, but they worked out. I think I had a fear that the potatoes were still a bit wet after I drained them and I thought they may tear or open in the oil. Regardless, feel it out and use 1 or 2 should you desire.

How to make loaded baked potato egg rolls
How to make loaded baked potato egg rolls

If you are not familiar with how to roll an egg roll, refer to the following instructions. Take about a quarter cup of the potatoes, and lay them along the middle. Top with a bit of cheese and bacon crumbles, fold over the sides, and continue to roll. When you have a bit of the point left, brush on some of the egg wash, and finish to seal. If you are using a second wrapper, lay the egg roll on top, and fold, and seal. Repeat with the remaining egg rolls.

Once the oil is ready, carefully add a few egg rolls at a time, and cook, turning carefully until the wrappers are a nice, golden brown. Remove and place them on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining egg rolls.

These are ready to eat as is, but I took mine and placed them on a fajita skillet, covered with a bit more cheese, and bacon, and placed them in the oven until the cheese was melted.

Loaded Baked Potato Egg Rolls
Loaded Baked Potato Egg Rolls

Drizzle with sour cream and chives, and get to it. I’ll be honest, I took down two of these, and when my wife and kids came home, not only were they excited by the idea (they love egg rolls), they tore into them like it was nobody’s business. My kid even requested to warm one up the following morning for breakfast. So if you love loaded potato skins, you are going to loved these loaded baked potato egg rolls! Hope you enjoy.

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Loaded Baked Potato Egg Rolls
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizers
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • Your favorite egg roll wrappers
  • 2 whole russet potatoes, cubed and cooked until fork tender, drained
  • 6 slices of your favorite bacon, cooked, and chopped
  • 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup of chives, finely diced
  • Sour cream, optional
  • 3 cups of canola oil
  • 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water
Instructions
  1. These made 6 egg rolls, so increase everything if you are needing more. I highly recommend more.
  2. Start by having everything prepared. When you are ready to build your egg rolls, heat your oil in a sauce pan, large enough to fit a few egg rolls, to medium heat. You will want the oil to come up to around 350 degrees. During this time, make the egg rolls.
  3. I used two sheets of egg roll wrappers per egg roll. Why, I have no idea, but they worked out. I think I had a fear that the potatoes were still a bit wet after I drained them and I thought they may tear or open in the oil. Regardless, feel it out and use 1 or 2 should you desire.
  4. If you are not familiar with how to roll an egg roll, refer to the following instructions. Take about a quarter cup of the potatoes, and lay them along the middle. Top with a bit of cheese and bacon crumbles, fold over the sides, and continue to roll. When you have a bit of the point left, brush on some of the egg wash, and finish to seal. If you are using a second wrapper, lay the egg roll on top, and fold, and seal. Repeat with the remaining egg rolls.
  5. Once the oil is ready, carefully add a few egg rolls at a time, and cook, turning carefully until the wrappers are a nice, golden brown. Remove and place them on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining egg rolls.
  6. These are ready to eat as is, but I took mine and placed them on a fajita skillet, covered with a bit more cheese, and bacon, and placed them in the oven until the cheese was melted.