Chinese Egg Rolls

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks again to Rosemary Zwick of Cape Town, South Africa for
sharing this with us:

My Italian-American friend is very self-conscious about his height,
or lack thereof, so I always steer clear of the subject. One day he
and I went to lunch at a Sub shop. "I'll take the Italian," he said to
the guy behind the counter. "Salami, Provolone, and peppers."

"Do you want a full hero or half one?" came the reply.

"Ah... gimme a half," my friend says.

After placing our orders, we took our seats. A few minutes later,
my friend grimaced when we heard, "Small Italian, your order is up!"

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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I was shocked to realize that I haven't published a Chinese menu
in more than three years. What's the matter with me? Why didn't
anyone say anything? I'll try to make amends with the following
lineup:

(Recipes in brackets are in the PLUS Edition only.)

Monday's Starter
Egg Rolls
[Steamed Pork Dumplings]

Tuesday's Soup or Salad
Wonton Soup
[Basic Chinese Chicken Stock]

Wednesday's Side Dish
Creamed Cabbage
[Watercress with Water Chestnuts]

Thursday's Entree
Shrimp in Pepper Sauce
[Chicken Livers with Snow Peas]

Friday's Dessert
Orange Pudding
[Chinese Tea]

You can change this recipe to make spring rolls simply by substituting
the more delicate spring roll wrappers for the egg roll wrappers.

Egg Rolls

For the filling:
3 Tbs (45 ml) peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 lb (225 g) ground pork
1/2 lb (225 g) shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped
1/2 lb (225 g) fresh bean sprouts
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 Tbs (15 ml) soy sauce
1 Tbs (15 ml) rice wine
1/2 tsp (2 ml) sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbs (15 ml) cornstarch (cornflour) mixed with
2 Tbs (30 ml) cold water

1 lb (450 g) egg roll wrappers
3 cups (750 ml) peanut of vegetable oil for deep-frying

Heat the oil in a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat. Saute the
pork just until it looses its color. Add the remaining ingredients
except the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until
the shrimp have turned pink and the liquid boils. Stir in the cornstarch
mixture and cook until the cornstarch becomes clear and the liquid
has thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room
temperature. Shape about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the cool filling mixture
into an oblong "sausage" shape and place diagonally on one of the
egg roll wrappers. Fold one corner of the egg roll wrapper over the
filling, and fold the adjacent corners towards the center. Moisten
the remaining corner of the wrapper with a finger dipped in water and
roll the filling to form a tight bundle. Repeat with the remaining filling
and wrappers. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet until the surface
shimmers, about 375F (190C) on a deep-frying thermometer. Fry
the egg rolls 5 or 6 at a time until golden brown on all sides, about
3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining
egg rolls. Serve as soon as possible, or keep warm in a 250F (120C)
oven until ready to serve. Makes about 16 egg rolls.
Received on Mon Nov 14 07:33:20 2005