Egg Roll

Ingredients

• For the filling
• 300 g green cabbage, finely shredded
• 200 g ground pork
• 100 g carrot, shredded
• 100 g bean sprouts, optional
• 60 g celery, finely sliced; optional
• 60 g mushrooms, finely sliced; optional
• For the wrapper and sealing
• 8 large egg roll wrappers, thick wheat-flour type, 12–15 cm
• 30 g plain flour, mixed with water to form a thick paste for sealing
• 30 ml water, mixed with flour to form sealing paste
• For frying
• 1 litre neutral oil, for deep-frying
• To serve
• Chinese-American hot mustard, sharp, nasal-clearing style
• sweet-and-sour sauce or duck sauce

Method

1. 1
   Cook the ground pork in a dry pan over medium heat, breaking it fine, until no pink remains. Add the shredded cabbage, carrot, and any optional vegetables — bean sprouts, celery, mushrooms. Stir and cook until the cabbage is wilted and the pan is dry. The filling is ready when no liquid pools at the bottom of the pan.
2. 2
   Spread the cooked filling on a tray and allow it to cool completely to room temperature. This step is where the dish lives or dies: a warm or hot filling generates steam inside the wrapper during frying, making it irreversibly soggy. The filling must be cold and dry before it touches the wrapper.
3. 3
   Mix the flour and water to a thick, smooth paste. Lay a wrapper on a clean surface in a diamond orientation. Place a compact log of filling across the lower third. Fold the bottom corner up over the filling, fold in the sides firmly, then roll upward into a tight cylinder 12–15 cm long. Seal the final flap with a generous smear of flour paste and press to close. Inspect every seam: any gap will admit oil and allow filling to escape.
4. 4
   Heat the oil in a deep, heavy vessel to 175°C. Lower the egg rolls in carefully, seam side down, without crowding. Fry for 3–4 minutes, turning once. The egg rolls are done when the wrapper is deeply golden-brown, blistered, and bubbly across its surface.
5. 5
   Lift the egg rolls onto a rack. They are ready to serve when the wrapper sounds hollow and crisp on a light tap and no oil weeps from the seams.