Four Ingredient Recipes- Filipino Egg Rolls

*** Warning- you will become addicted to this recipe. So much so, that it may consume your life to the point of not getting anything else done. Which then will force you to go to the doctor to get a prescription for Chantix or something like it for addictions to things which you cannot possibly live without. Don't say I didn't warn you. ***

So I blogged about these wonderful morsels of deliciousness last February here.
It is a funny story about how egg rolls have become a huge part of my life.
Its a love story really.....

Let me give you the Cliff's notes version of the history behind this recipe:


- I met my bestie Rebecca at Kohl's...we both toiled, sweat, dreaded every waking minute worked there in the late 80's and early 90's...the best time to work there in my opinion 'cuz that is when we had Levi Bendover pants......if you have to ask, you don't need to know. Anyhoo, we met in 1994 while working in the same department together with said Bendover Pants and through our mutual hatred of such pants, we became true blue friends. Oh and she also smelled so good because she wore CK One....she has always been so awesomely stylish and trendy and is to this day.

- In December of 1996, we got invited to a Christmas party at her house. Ever been to a Filipino party? YOU HAVE NEVER LIVED. The best way for me to describe their cuisine is a mix between Mexican food and Chinese food....the two best cuisines out there in my humble opinion. Well it was a feast for the senses, I have never met so many friendly people in my entire life (and to this day I consider these peeps my Filipino family.  I even think we are starting to look alike) but the hit of this party, for us Caucasians at least, was the Filipino egg roll. Not at all like a Chinese egg roll but more like a tacquito.

- Ever since this party, I have been requesting the egg roll for occasions such as but not limited to :birthday parties, baby showers (mine and friends of mine, oh and family showers as well), summer get togethers, random Fridays in the spring.....you get the hint. So one day in 2005, Rebecca sat my mom and I down to teach us how to make them ourselves. We ate all of them, I never made them again and I kept pestering her about making more for above events.

-Then last year, I made them and found out that as labor intensive as they can be, they aren't as scary to make as I made them out to be. And then this year I made them again for the Super Bowl and thought....hmm, these could be made into a four ingredient recipe.

So with permission from Rebecca, here is my four ingredient take on Filipino Egg Rolls. And I will also share her original recipe as well along side it.

Enjoy!!

Rebecca's Egg Rolls

 

1- egg roll wrappers (aka spring roll shells) I used only one package and I used two pounds of pork so do the math accordingly! I get mine at the Asian store down the street. If you don't have one near you, you can try the international section at your local grocery store but I will tell you, they will not have these at the Piggly Wiggly or small stores like it. I know from experience. :)

2- ground pork ( here is my math: one pound for a family of 2-3; two pounds for a family of 4-6; anything larger get 3-4 pounds)

3- 1 large onion, diced very small


4- oyster sauce and garlic powder ( you can find oyster sauce in the Asian section at your local grocery store. I bet you never even noticed it there before. :) I didn't until I made this recipe! )


The only thing extra the Rebecca would add would be sweet potato, if you would like to.
Her friend Yvette told me that you could also make this a veggie recipe omitting the meat and using potatoes, green beans, garlic and onions. That sounds wonderful too!!!

OK, here we go!!

You will need to thaw the egg roll wrappers until you use them (at least that is how my wrappers come from my store) for 30 minutes so bring them out before you start browning the pork. OR you could brown your pork the day before, put it in Tupperware in the fridge and assemble the egg rolls the next day. I have done both and I think it works better for me to make the pork ahead of time.

OK so assuming you browned the pork first, add the onion when the pork is completely browned then add a dash of garlic powder and 2 tbsp. of the oyster sauce. Mix together and let cook a little longer to let the flavor set in. Put aside to cool then put in Tupperware in the fridge overnight.

After the wrappers have thawed for 30 minutes, get out a sharp knife, a cutting board, dampen two paper towels, and get your pork out. I also have a plate ready so you can put the egg rolls you already made on them. Your setup will look like this:

See the damp paper towel?

It is covering the wrappers so they don't stick together or get too stiff.

So you cut the wrappers on the diagonal, like above.

Then you will have two triangle pieces of wrappers.

You take the meat mixture:

Then take about a tablespoon of it and place it in a line parallel to the bottom line of the egg roll wrapper.

When looking at your wrapper, it will look just like a triangle with the point at the top.

Tuck in the right and left sides and roll upwards.

Take some water ( I keep a little in a dish next to me) and wet the edges to seal.

Place on a plate, like I have above and keep doing this until you are done.

Then I put all of them in a Ziploc bag to place in the freezer.

I just taught Anna how to make them this year too!

Then freeze them until you are ready to fry them up!

Add some veggie oil (only veggie oil, I was completely out and used olive oil. BIG MISTAKE. Tasted like licorice so ran out last minute to get the veggie oil)

Put about three cups of oil or so in the bottom of a fry pan ( this is not a fat free meal....get over it!) and heat until ready to fry. Place about five to seven egg rolls in the pan and fry until golden and crispy!!!

Now you can eat these plain but we love to dip them in vinegar thanks to the tip from Bernie, Rebecca's hubs.

Here is Rebcca with her family.
Or as we like to call them.....

Our family. :)

Love these four people so much.

I know this recipe looks like a lot of work but trust me, it is soooo worth it.

Happy Weekend and since the kids don't have school on Monday, I will be taking the day off as well so see you on Tuesday!