Homemade Chinese Eggrolls - WiWow!

Growing up in East Pakistan, my parents made up the majority of the welcoming committee for all new missionary families. The welcome usually involved eating out, which was a rare treat. The choice of establishments was always the same—Tai Wah; It was about the only modernized restaurant in the bustling city of Chittagong in the ‘60s.

Who would believe it? [TAI WAH (for authentic Chinese food) is still open for business today in the city of my birth, Chittagong, on CDA Avenue, Wasa Circle. 

I can still remember my favorite items on their menu. So many years have passed since I last visited Tai Wah, but my love for their signature dishes has never waned.

All these years later, I still recreate the tastes of Tai Wah and my childhood. Instead of dining out—we love dining in!
My man is not a fan of eating in restaurants. He says, “Why would we go out to eat when I married such a great cook?”
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed recreating restaurant-style dishes and making the table beautiful. Delicious food made from scratch, a beautiful tablescape, the comfort of home—what could be better?

When we have cravings for take-out, I make homemade egg rolls and fried rice.

Here is the original recipe for what I have named: WiWow Egg Rolls, made from scratch!

WiWow Egg Rolls:
Remove outer leaves from a small head of bok choy (Chinese cabbage). Chop and slice cabbage into thin strips. Set aside. Peel and rinse 2 carrots. Julienne into thin strips.
(If you want to skip all the above - and make it easy-- buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage sold as coleslaw mix and bagged matchstick carrots)

In large skillet, heat:
4 T. sesame oil
Add in:
2 T. grated fresh ginger
2 T. minced fresh garlic
prepared cabbage and carrot
1 (14 oz.) can mung bean sprouts 
1 T. cane sugar
2 t. black coarse pepper
1/3 c. soy sauce

Simmer all for 20 minutes; Drain the mixture in a colander. Note: Don't skip this step as a juicy filling will cause the egg rolls to “leak.”

Generously sprinkle corn starch on a baking sheet. Make a small bowl of cornstarch “glue” with 2 T. cornstarch and 1/3 c. water. This will be used to hold the wraps together.

Unwrap egg roll wrappers; Use one wrapper on a flat, clean surface or plate. In center of egg roll wrapper place 4 T. filling and roll up. Use cornstarch glue to hold them together. As each roll is filled, place on cornstarch tray. When all are filled, heat up a skillet with 1/2 in. of coconut oil *(not virgin that tastes like coconut; use processed coconut oil for cooking and frying). When oil is hot, drop in egg rolls, turning only once as soon as each side is browned. Drain on paper towels.

TaDa! These freeze so well! Wrap each individually in parchment after they are completely cooled, then place as many as desired in a zipper seal bag. This is enough filling for 1 pkg. of egg roll wrappers, so if I am not feeding a crowd, I fry up one batch from one pkg of wrappers and freeze the rest of the filling. Then I can fill and wrap them at a later date when I want hot, fresh egg rolls. If I have 2 pkgs. of wrappers on hand, I go ahead and fill and fry them all and cool and wrap the extras for freezing as I mentioned above. For me, these are the ultimate stay-at-home-take-out-food. I learned to love them from my childhood days, dining out at the Tai Wah!

See here for how I wrap an egg roll

HOW TO WRAP AN EGG ROLL

• Place filling in the center.
• Fold corner 4 up over the filling and press down lightly.
• Pull corner 2 and 3 each to the center.
• Roll bundle over to corner 1 and seal up with “glue.”
• Lay each roll on a sheet generously sprinkled with corn starch.
• Pan fry the rolls soon after filling or they will eventually become soggy.

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