Odd heading, I know. Many years ago, having fallen in love with the cooking of my Vietnamese aunt, I taught myself how to make egg rolls. Yes, yes. Egg rolls tend to be Chinese, but I’ve tried and failed badly at making Vietnamese spring rolls. So, I make egg rolls. They’re ugly as sin, but boy, do they taste good!
Over time, it became a beloved activity that my daughter and I enjoyed together. Over time, she also acquired a life of her own, and making egg rolls turned into once a year when she could get around to it. I realized last month that it’s been 2 or 3 years since we made egg rolls, and her schedule’s so busy right now that it’s unknown when I’ll see her next. I want egg rolls!
So I bought the ingredients, put them in the fridge…and then wondered what in the world I was thinking. Making egg rolls takes several hours. What made me think I had the manual dexterity and hand strength to wrap them? That I could use a pan of hot oil without brain fog causing me to check the temperature with my fingers? That I could stand at the counter and stove for the length of time it would take to cook the filling, roll them up, and fry them? The supplies sat in the fridge for days as I debated just chucking them all in the trash. After all, there’s no way I could do this on my own.
Guess what? I made 2 platters of egg rolls today. All by myself. And I was still functional, albeit slightly tired, when I was done. I am quite proud of myself (as well as being quite stuffed with egg rolls and duck sauce) and am now plotting my next Yes-I-can-do-it-myself project!
I also used a mother's prerogative to send photos of them to my daughter with the caption "Ha ha. You don't get any."
Written by
NorasMom
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Great! Love it. Glad to hear you went ahead and made them and then sent your daughter bragging rights. Nice read. It's a coincidence I just read this because today I also made plans to make sushi and went and bought the small grain rice and rice vinegar. When my sons were younger we made sushi. I still have my rolling mat. Next time my granddaughters come over I'll have them help me make it. It's one of their favorite foods.
i love it so proud of you for getting them done and able to eat them for they turned out ....great tasting is a great job well done ...so proud of you and pat yourself on the back for a job well done ...yes we can and you did...so good ...great job ...wow ...so funny sending message saying you don't get any ..ahahhahaha,...
I made them too! BUT.... I used the frozen egg roll wrappers, and I couldn't fry they them, my healthy side wouldn't allow me to, so I baked them in a convection oven, sprayed lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Took my time, got all the ingredients prepped in their little glass bowls, stored in the fridge until assembly time. So what if it took me many hours? Clean and chop this and that, take a rest. Then this and that, take a rest. Can't remember all the details, but they included shrimp I diced, lots of veggies..... Result? Lots of great looking egg rolls, that did not even begin to compare to those heart stoppers from the local Chinese take away. Should have left it to them, because although we had a freezer full of gorgeous looking egg rolls, after dinner, all lightly sprayed not drowned in blazing hot mystery oil, yeah, the veggies and all were good, but unless you're willing to kill yourself with oil....well it's just not the same. I read that our favorite (used them 4 - 5 times since we lived here 32 yrs.), closed recently. Rest in peace. Your egg rolls will never be forgotten local hole in the wall!But see, mine didn't kill me? Boy I miss those egg rolls? Why? I need to taste them one more time before I die!
Anyway, the trick to getting them made with M.S. is lots of little glass bowls, saran wrap, and room in the refrigerator for your prepping. Prepping is always 90% of the effort. So you need either one of those really big refrigerators, or an second for prepping, neither of which I have, but always wished I did, so you can survive the work needed to do anything in the kitchen with M.S. Congrats on your success! I'll be there if you are willing to do it again some day. I'm longing for one of those heart stopping egg rolls.
I tried some many years ago with puff pastry sheets baked in the oven. A family member couldn't have all the oil, and I thought they'd just be like weird little turnovers. They were so nasty that even the dog wouldn't eat them!
An air fryer is a mini convection oven. Have both. I use the air fryer to warm up leftover egg rolls, oe pre-made frozen. Big batches need a BIG air fryer, hence the convection oven. Still not the same as DEEP FRYING I guess.
Congratulations! Though I believe that Vietnamese cuisine is one of the best in the world, I don't attempt its subtleties. However, I feel about tamales the way you do about egg rolls and have done as you have making them...and made so many that I had to borrow space in a friend's freezer when done. Egg rolls, tamales: you can't make just one! And if you have MS, the hours long process is flat out exhausting.
I had to wait and see if I had any that didn't show how badly the kitchen needs cleaned! This is the first few I did. As you can see from the ones at the front, the oil wasn't quite at the right temperature yet.
I think I'm going to have to try freezing some, because even if I eat them for every meal I'm never going to get through them all before they go bad.
Your egg rolls look great! They're tightly rolled and the ends are closed (the few times I've tried rolling sushi and eggrolls, I've made a mess of the rolling (too loose and contents spilling out)). In what seems a lifetime ago, I taught English to Vietnamese refugees, many of whom were ethnic Chinese.. I also lived near the high school where I taught and often walked to school. Inevitably, students discovered where I lived. They frequently would arrive on a weekend day with everything they needed to take over my kitchen. One student had discovered a unique way of making egg rolls: take slices of white Wonder bread, remove the crusts, compress/flatten the bread with a rolling pin, and voila, instant wrappers. They held together around the filling and were very tasty after frying. I haven't fried anything for decades as it makes too much mess but if I did, I might try this inauthentic shortcut.
It's so much better when you make them yourself, NorasMom , and do pat yourself on your back for this accomplishment! I bet that they were delicious! I have some duck sauce if you want to come over...🤣🤣🤣
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