Crispy Fried Goodness: Egg Rolls!

I was craving some good, crispy egg rolls the other day, but I remember what a production making them was from watching my mom when I was little.  It was a lot easier to just watch someone make the egg rolls and then eat them!  However, since my mom wasn't here to make some for me and I didn't have any classes for a few weeks, I relished the opportunity to spend a few hours making egg rolls.

We have a deep fryer, but the husband (a.k.a. the person who has to clean up after my cooking escapades) requested that I just deep fry on the stove top instead. I agree that was easier for this recipe since the egg rolls fry up so quickly. I can't really see in the window of our deep fryer, and the egg rolls really do require frequent monitoring. It was pretty fun flipping them while they were floating in oil and seeing them get darker!

A few recipe notes:

• If you don't have a whole afternoon to prep and cook, I would recommend making the filling the day before. It's a lot of chopping!  
• The original recipe called for celery, but I didn't have any and didn't miss it.  
• My mom used to serve egg rolls with a vinegar sauce, but I opted for a 50-50 mix of water and soy sauce heated in the microwave.  
• If having a dinner party, I probably would use wonton wrappers and make mini egg rolls!

Chinese Egg Rolls
adapted from epicurious.com

2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 4 cups peanut or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 bunches scallions (about 10), white and pale green parts cut into 2-inch lengths, then cut lengthwise into very thin matchsticks (2 1/2 cups)
1 medium carrot, cut into very thin matchsticks (1 cup)
8 large fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced 1/4 inch thick (3 cups)
1 lb medium shrimp in shell, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/4 lb ground pork
1 (1-lb) package Asian egg roll or spring roll wrappers
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Make filling

1. Stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a small bowl until sugar and salt are dissolved.
2. Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add 2 tablespoons peanut oil, swirling skillet to coat. 
3. Stir-fry ginger, garlic, and scallions until scallions are wilted, about 1 minute. 
4. Add carrots and mushrooms and stir-fry until vegetables are softened, 4 to 6 minutes. 
5. Push vegetables toward edge of skillet, then add shrimp and pork to center and stir-fry until shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. 
6. Add oyster sauce mixture and stir together all ingredients in skillet until combined. 
7. Season with salt and transfer to a large shallow bowl. 
8. Cool, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Make egg rolls

1. Put 1 wrapper on a work surface, arranging wrapper with a corner nearest you and keeping remaining wrappers covered with plastic wrap. 
2. Spread a scant 1/4 cup filling horizontally across center of wrapper to form a 4-inch log. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners. Brush top corner with egg and roll up wrapper tightly to enclose filling, sealing roll closed with top corner. Transfer roll, seam side down, to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Make more egg rolls in same manner, transferring to baking sheet as formed (you may have some filling left over).
3. Heat 1 to 2 inches of peanut oil in a wide heavy pot (at least a 4-quart pot) until it registers 350°F on an instant thermometer
4. Fry 2 egg rolls (don't crowd pot), turning with a slotted spoon, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel-lined colander and drain rolls upright 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Fry remaining egg rolls in batches, transferring to colander.
6. Serve immediately.

Yield: 12 to 14

Total time: About 2.5 to 3 hours

Dim Sum at Home: Shu Mai

First blog pic with our new camera!

We bought a new camera last night to replace the one that died after the soup incident.  My husband has been jabbering on about all the wonderful new features our Canon PowerShot S95 has. I'm sure the myriad of settings will come in useful eventually, but all I care about is that I don't have to take food pictures with my camera phone anymore!  Woohoo!

Anyway, I knew when I changed my blog name to incorporate dumplings as a nod to my Chinese heritage I would probably have to make some dumplings at some point.  So, this is my first stab at steamed dumplings (shu mai), which is probably one of the most popular dim sum dishes.

When I told my sister I was going to start with a Cook's Illustrated (CI) shu mai recipe, she balked.  "You're not going to use a Chinese recipe?" she asked.  Well, to be fair, I didn't have a family shu mai recipe handed down to me, and none of my current Chinese cookbooks had a recipe for shu mai.  Plus, I like that the CI team tries many different variations on a recipe to optimize flavor, and I trust that they would try to make their recipes taste as authentic as possible.

My husband and I agreed that the flavors were pretty much spot on in this CI version of shu mai. I only left out their recommendation of cilantro due to my husband's severe aversion to the herb and my feeling that it didn't quite belong in shu mai to begin with. I admire the other things the CI team did to tweak the recipe.  They used gelatin to try to recreate the succulent texture lard usually lends to the dish, and instead of MSG they used a combination of soy sauce, cooking wine, and rice vinegar to add flavor to the filling.  The pork ribs I got were pretty lean, and while my shu mai weren't dry, maybe next time I'll use some fattier pork for a juicier dumpling with better mouthfeel.

Shu Mai (Steamed Chinese Dumplings)
adapted from Cook's Illustrated September 2010

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
1 pound boneless country-style pork ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, tails removed and halved lengthwise
1/4 cup water chestnuts, chopped
3/4 ounces dried shitake mushroom caps (about 5 large or 10 small), soaked in hot water 30 minutes, squeezed dry, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine (Shaoxing) or dry sherry
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 package yellow, round wonton/dumpling skins
1/4 cup carrot , finely grated (optional)

1. Combine soy sauce and gelatin in small bowl. Set aside to allow gelatin to bloom, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place half of pork in food processor and pulse until coarsely ground into approximate 1/8-inch pieces, about ten 1-second pulses; transfer to large bowl. Add shrimp and remaining pork to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped into approximate ¼-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses. Transfer to bowl with more finely ground pork. Stir in soy sauce mixture, water chestnuts, mushrooms, cornstarch, sesame oil, wine, vinegar, sugar, ginger, salt, and pepper.

3. Working with 6 rounds at a time, brush edges of each round lightly with water. Cover remaining rounds with wet paper towel to prevent drying out. Place heaping tablespoon of filling into center of each round. Pinch wrapper creating a fold on opposite sides of filling.  Rotate wrapper 1/2 turn and pinch wrapper again.  Make a total of 8 pinches and then squeeze sides against filling, shaping dumpling so that top of filling is exposed. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with damp kitchen towel, and repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Top center of each dumpling with pinch of grated carrot, if using.

4. Cut piece of parchment paper slightly smaller than diameter of steamer basket and place in basket. Poke about 20 small holes in parchment and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Place batches of dumplings on parchment liner, making sure they are not touching. Set steamer over simmering water and cook, covered, until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yields 35 to 45 pieces

Active time: About 90 minutes (maybe I'll be faster next time)

Total time: About 100 minutes