The Hungryman has been really miserable at work lately. If somehow his never-ending complaints and constant frustration didn’t give it away, the permanent wrinkles in his forehead from constant frowning and the thinning of his face (I promise I’m feeding him) certainly would have. I listen with an empathizing ear wishing there was more I could do. While Saturday is usually a race to see how many errands we can manage to squeeze in, this time I tucked away my to-do list for another day. Allowing him rest and feeding him nourishing food was what this day called for.
We rolled around the house in our PJs all day. The Hungryman caught up with all his favorite YouTube singer-songwriters (and he follows MANY), played his precious Elia, sent troops into battle in “Clash of Clans” (he forgets his age)…while I worked on recipes and improving my photography. Days like these are so rare, which makes me wonder if we need to reprioritize. Perhaps we are taking on too much…
As time was all we had on this lazy day, we made egg rolls. The Hungryman doesn’t cook, but he sure can wrap like nobody’s business. His monstrous pudgy fingers never cease to amaze me with their incredible dexterity and precision.
The recipe comes from one of his closest college buddies, LeeAnn. I may have been slightly…just a tiny bit jealous of her in the beginning as she is beautiful, smart, sweet, and has shared many wonderful memories with my husband that I wasn’t a part of. Now, I adore her. Apparently, she is notorious for her Vietnamese egg rolls, and she graciously shared the recipe with me. I’ve been guarding it with my life and still have the original handwritten recipe from 7 years ago. The only change I made was substituting ground pork with lean ground turkey. 
Contrary to what it seems, egg rolls are super simple to make. It is a bit time-consuming, I admit, so it’s best if you recruit an extra pair(s) of hands. Gathered around a table to wrap, this could be wonderful bonding time.
For the filling: First pulse mushrooms and carrots then shrimp in a food processor until finely chopped. As for the noodles – boil and when done, quickly transfer to an ice bath. Mix these and the additional ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
There are 2 ways you can choose to fold your egg roll. But first be sure to have a warm water bath on hand to make your wrappers pliable. Option 1: You can lay out the wrapper as we’ve done with the edges parallel to the chopping board (i.e., edges parallel to you). Place filling. Fold left and right edges toward the center and roll tightly. Brush egg yolk on the final edge to seal the roll.
Option 2: You can lay out the wrapper with a corner pointed toward you. Place filling and repeat as above. I don’t think it makes a difference either way, but you may prefer one over the other for aesthetic reasons.
I know egg rolls are traditionally deep-fried. LeeAnn practices this method as well. But if you don’t know me by now, I don’t deep fry anything! Not to mention, I wouldn’t be able to handle the greasy mess. Therefore, we pan-fried. Now you don’t get that crunchy, chip-like shell. However, you will experience a slightly crispy exterior and a perfectly steamed interior.
First, pan-fry the egg rolls under med-high heat in a pan coated with canola oil. Once browned, flip. When both sides are golden and blistered, pour in some water. Make sure to have a lid ready to cover as soon as the water hits the pan (oil + water = a very volatile frying environment). This will allow for the filling to get nicely steamed. Remove cooked egg rolls, wipe the pan, and repeat.
Of course, you can’t forget the dipping sauce. This one was a Hungryman original (he gets a creative spark every now and then :)). We liked it for its bright, clean flavor.
Sounds like a lot of work, but the whole process was rather therapeutic, especially for Hungryman (He enjoyed this almost as much as making dumplings around holiday time). We really enjoyed the time together, and I’m sure you will too with whomever you choose to make this!
Ingredients
- 1 package spring roll wrappers
Filling
- 1 pound lean ground turkey I used 93%
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 pound shrimp
- 1 carrot
- 4 long green onions chopped
- 5-6 dried shitake mushrooms soaked in hot water
- 1 bean thread vermicelli
- 3 Tbs fish sauce look for the 3 crabs on the label
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbs sesame oil
- 1/2 Tbs of ground ginger
- 2 egg whites leave yolk for closing the wrappers
Dipping sauce
- 1 Tbs fish sauce
- 4 Tbs water
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp sriracha
- Juice of 1/2 lime
Instructions
Filling:
- Soak noodles in boiling water until cooked. Be ready to quickly add to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Soak dried mushrooms in hot water for about 15 min or until softened. Squeeze both noodles and mushrooms dry. Cut vermicelli into shorter strands.
- In a food processor, pulse mushroom and carrot until finely chopped. Add to large mixing bowl. In same food processor, add shrimp and pulse until coarsely ground (do not overprocess or it will become pasty). Add all the ingredients to the large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
Assembly
- Place 2-3 Tablespoons of filling in center of wrapper. Roll corner/edge closest to you over filling. Fold in sides of wrapper and continue rolling. Lightly brush remaining corner/edge with egg yolk and tightly roll. Gently press to seal. Repeat.
Cooking
- Add about 2 tsp of oil in a frying pan. Fry egg rolls on both sides until browned (approx 3-4 minutes per side). Add about 3 Tbs of water to pan and quickly cover with a lid. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes to steam the filling.
i have been baking spring rolls recently now these pan-fried egg rolls are next 🙂 thank you Min. Also, I was wondering what do you use to make a collage of your pictures? I really like it esp to show step by step method.
I’ve tried baking these as well, but we prefer the pan-fried method as the exterior gets crispier. I use PicMonkey to make the collages. Super easy to use and it’s free..well certain ones you have to pay, but I just stay away from those..plenty of options to choose from ;).
thank you so much. PS. I am making these eggrolls tonight. Will report you soon <3
You’re very welcome! Ooh and I can’t wait to hear how it turned out!!
loved the idea of pan-frying these yummy rolls…would make them so perfect in texture 🙂
Ha! I never fry anything, either, simply because I despise having to clean up the greasy mess from my stove! These look fabulous. Wonder if my kids will give me a hand with them…
Yay, another non-fryer ;). I think this would be soo fun to make with your children! Plenty of studies have shown that they are more likely to enjoy the food they helped make. I wish I had children of my own to recruit hehe
Oh I want one now!
Min!!! You are so cute! Love how you said you used to be jealous of LeeAnn, it’s just so transparent and honest of you! 🙂 And, these egg rolls look amazing. OMG. I want to find some spring roll wrappers now. the only thing that’s keeping me back from doing that is that I have to travel all the way to Chinatown to get them, which is kinda out of the way…!
BIG HUG TO YOU my dearest blogging friend!
xoxox
I think these egg rolls are def worth the trip to Chinatown 😉 How far is it? While you are there, you can load up the cart w/lots of goodies hehe. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Absolutely gorgeous egg rolls Min-your food photography is fabulous 🙂 I’ve never made egg rolls before, but I’d love to make a gluten-free version, and I love the tutorial that you provide along with the recipe. This looks like a very lazy, PJ day fun kind of project!
Aww thank you! Now a gluten-free egg roll I’ve yet to try..As much as I love being at home in my pjs all day, I wouldn’t mind soaking up the sun in Hawaii!! Hope you are having a wonderful time! I have a slight feeling you are 😉
These look wonderful!
This goes on my “must make” list. Found this over at Showcase your Talent. I am co-hosting Tasty Tuesdays this week and would love for you to link up this recipe.
https://www.lorisculinarycreations.com/2013/07/TastyTuesdays2.html
Lori
Lori’s Culinary Creations
Thank you for the invite! I’m heading over right now 😉
These would be great for a party! I saw this on Tasty Tuesdays on Anyonita Nibbles.
Mmmm vietnamese mandoo! haha, this looks yummilicious without the stomach pain inducing oil. 😀
Those look so yummy. Now I want some..like right now. I think we could all do with a little reprioritizing once in awhile. Get back to basics, and easy going days.
Thank you for sharing on Foodie Friday
These look delicious! Stopping over from WCFS
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about Hungryman. I can definitely relate, this week was a hard one for my hubbie too. Late nights and loads of work, not fun! These egg rolls look absolutely delicious, I love all the veggies you used. Beautiful pictures! Pinning.
These look delicious! I could eat up a batch of these!
Also, nice plate! I have the same ones! 🙂
These are beautiful and sound delicious! Love your photos. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday.
I love these so much, I wish I had some now! Thanks for linking to Marvelous Mondays, shared on my fb and twitter! Have a great week!
These sound so delicious! Pinning it! Thanks so much for sharing at All My Bloggy Friends last week 🙂
You’re being featured today 🙂 https://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2013/08/all-my-bloggy-friends-58.html
Yay!! I saw!! Thank you so much for the feature ;).
In the PAN?! Shut the front door, MJ! I’m about to be all OVER these egg rolls, girl, you don’t even know! lol. Thank you so much for sharing them with us at Tasty Tuesdays! They’ve been featured because they’re fab and were my Number One favorite post of the week! I’m following you on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Fb, G+ & Pinterest too! 🙂
Hehe I love your enthusiasm, Anyonita ;). Thank you so much for the feature and for following!
I have been looking for a recipe for Spring Rolls for years! I worked with a lovely lady, who brought spring rolls into work once a month. We all made darn sure we worked that day:) She moved away a few years ago, and I never got her recipe. I never had spring rolls again that compared….I think this recipe might be the one:) Thanks for sharing~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
Hi Lynn! Hehe I would do the same thing if my co-worker brought me spring rolls ;). I hope this is the recipe you are looking for..If not, I promise it’s a good one too :).
Need to make these in the future. Looks so tasty!
Thank you,
Ellya
I am never tried Vietnamese cooking, and I would love to try some rolls.
I have some doubts.
What kind of wrapper did you use? I have rice rice papers, and can I use it for your recipe.
Does the meat get fully cooked. I like meat to be fully done, so how can I can do that?
Thanks!
Hello! Yup, you can certainly use rice paper. As for the meat, if you follow the instructions, you won’t have to worry about the doneness of the meat. Our egg rolls were steamed and perfectly cooked through! Hope this helps. Good luck and have fun! 😉
I cannot WAIT to try these! I am always looking for healthy and tasty ways to cook.