Matt and I love dumplings, primarily because they are one food that are wonderful when cooked using one of our favorite methods: steaming. I also love to make my own dumplings with fresh dough, but we were feeling lazy one Sunday, and stood in the aisle looking down at pre-made thin wonton wrappers. But in one guilty moment, the idea of frying our normally healthy dumplings simultaneously popped into both of our minds. We looked up at eachother, and tossed some eggroll wrappers in our cart. What can I say? Sometimes fried is just better.

Crispy Pork Eggrolls

Makes about 20 eggrolls
Leftover Potential: We assembled all of the eggrolls one day but only cooked half. We kept the others tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge until the next day when we fried some more.

1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup water chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tbsp ginger, finely minced
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 package (20 each) eggroll wrappers
oil, as needed for frying

1. In a large bowl, combine the pork, water chestnuts, scallions, garlic, ginger, soy, Worcestershire, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and cayenne.
2. Place a few spoonfuls of the pork filling into the center of an eggroll wrapper. Use your hands to form the meat into a log. Fold the bottom of the eggroll wrapper over the filling, fold both sides in, then continue to roll away from you until the filling is completely encased and the wrapper is neatly folded under. Set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot until it shimmers and is hot enough for frying. Add the eggrolls a few at a time, and fry until they are golden brown (turn halfway through) on both sides, about 5-7 minutes. Drain on absorbant paper towels, let cool slightly, and serve with soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, or sriracha!

***Alternatively, you can pan fry the eggrolls in a small amount of oil until they are crisp and brown on both sides, then finish them in a 375 degree oven until they are cooked through.

 Print This Post Filed under: Past Articles