Chicken Egg Rolls with Sweet & Sour Sauce Recipe

Egg Rolls

• Start with prepping all produce for this recipe. Grate ginger and garlic separately and set aside in small bowls.  Shred cabbage as you would for coleslaw, then give it a few rough chops lengthwise so the cabbage strands aren’t too long. Place into a large mixing bowl. Repeat with the shredded carrots and bean sprouts, roughly chopping so they aren’t too long. Combine with the cabbage. Dice the water chestnuts and green onions and add into same bowl.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add a heaping teaspoon of ginger and garlic and allow them to warm in the pan for 30 seconds. Add ground chicken and cook until no more pink. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
• Add a few more tablespoons of olive oil + 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to the skillet over medium heat. Add remaining ginger and garlic, then add the chopped veggies into the skillet. Stir and toss cabbage mixture to ensure even cooking.
• Once the cabbage mixture cooks down a bit (about 5 minutes), add the teriyaki sauce and soy sauce. Add chicken (and it’s juices) back into the skillet and continue to toss all ingredients until they are combined and cooked down. Add salt and pepper and taste mixture to see if any additional sauce is needed. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
• While cabbage is cooling, set up a workstation for rolling the egg rolls. I rolled on my cutting board and placed the finished rolls on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Mix together the water and flour in a small bowl and set at workstation. Begin to heat the oil in a heavy duty pot to 375 degrees. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the heat throughout the process.
• Strain out the access juices from the cabbage mixture by straining through a cheesecloth of layers of paper towels. If there is too much moisture, it will ruin the egg rolls.
•  Assemble the egg rolls:
  • Lay out one egg roll wrapper with a corner pointed toward you.
  • Place a 1/4 cup of the cabbage mixture in the middle.
  • Use your finger to spread a little bit of the flour mixture along the edge.
  • Fold in half, then fold the two opposite corners together to make a triangle, fold the sides in and then roll tightly.
  • Seal the edges with the water/flour mixture.
• Work in batches wrapping a few at a time then frying them. If the egg rolls sit too long the wrap will begin to get wet and translucent.
• Fry egg rolls until lightly browned and crispy, turning occasionally.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

• To make the sweet and sour sauce, put a small saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, vinegar and water to the pan. Stir and allow to cook until the sugar is dissolved.
• In a bowl, whisk together the ketchup and cornstarch until combined and mostly smooth. Add this to the sugar mixture. Whisk well to combine, bring to a boil. Keep whisking as needed to create a smooth, thickened sauce. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. I like to serve the sauce while it’s still warm.