Gingered Beef Eggrolls
Growing up, there was a Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood that served as the "fancy" restaurant of choice. It was called Shang Chai and it was the stuff of legends. If you got married at least one of your sheva brachot was there, if you graduated that's where your celebration dinner was, and if you needed to meet the new in-laws you took them to Shang Chai. If you were lucky (and as we got older we were) your parents got take out from there for special occasions but the ultimate treat was getting to go to the all you can eat buffet- a stuff your face extravaganza of the most delicious Chinese dishes. Legend has it that one of my relatives (who shall remain nameless) was actually kicked out of the all you can eat buffet- apparently, in my family, all you can eat means leave none for anyone else. What made Shang Chai so great at the end of the day though, was their food. Succulent veal spare ribs, the crunchiest, freshest Chow Mein noodles, a General Tso's that was unparalleled, a simple iceberg lettuce salad served to every table that I still am trying to recreate and one of my faves, their beef egg rolls. My husband recently asked me to make him some egg rolls and the memories of Shang Chai all came back. These are my version and I have to say, though they definitely taste different they are supremely delicious. As an aside, one American product that has not made its way to Israel yet are Egg roll wrappers but after some trial and error I found that Morrocan Cigar wrappers, easily found in the freezer section are a perfect substitute. Enjoy!
2 tsp oil
1/2 pound ground beef
2 Tbl teriyaki sauce
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic
4 cups shredded green cabbage
2 carrots, shredded
6 mushrooms (shitake, baby bella, or button), chopped
5 scallions, chopped
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbl soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1 Tbl teriyaki sauce
1 package Egg roll wrappers OR Morrocan cigar wrappers
Oil, for frying
Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add the beef and break it up into pieces, mixing it so it does not burn. Add the teriyaki sauce, ginger and garlic, stir until fully cooked and remove from pan. To the pan add the cabbage, carrots and mushrooms and season with teh ginger, soy, garlic and teriyaki. Saute for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted but still crisp. Add to the beef, mix in the scallions and let the mixture cool. Once cool lay out a wrapper and add a heaping tablespoon of filling to the bottom corner. Roll up tightly until the middle of the wrapper and then fold each side in and continue rolling till all the dough is used up. Use a little water to seal the dough. In a heavy bottomed pan heat up about an inch of oil to about 350 degrees. Fry the egg roll until golden brown.
2 tsp oil
1/2 pound ground beef
2 Tbl teriyaki sauce
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic
4 cups shredded green cabbage
2 carrots, shredded
6 mushrooms (shitake, baby bella, or button), chopped
5 scallions, chopped
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbl soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1 Tbl teriyaki sauce
1 package Egg roll wrappers OR Morrocan cigar wrappers
Oil, for frying
Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add the beef and break it up into pieces, mixing it so it does not burn. Add the teriyaki sauce, ginger and garlic, stir until fully cooked and remove from pan. To the pan add the cabbage, carrots and mushrooms and season with teh ginger, soy, garlic and teriyaki. Saute for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted but still crisp. Add to the beef, mix in the scallions and let the mixture cool. Once cool lay out a wrapper and add a heaping tablespoon of filling to the bottom corner. Roll up tightly until the middle of the wrapper and then fold each side in and continue rolling till all the dough is used up. Use a little water to seal the dough. In a heavy bottomed pan heat up about an inch of oil to about 350 degrees. Fry the egg roll until golden brown.
These look great! Where can you buy eggroll wrappers in Israel, or what would you suggest as a substitute?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm going to disagree with you on Moroccan cigar wrappers being a perfect substitute for egg roll wrappers. The egg rolls I remember (from Shang Chai and Chap-a-Nosh) had a dough that was a wonderful blend of crispy yet chewy. Cigar wrappers just get crispy.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the company Ma'adanot, which makes ready to bake bourekas, malawach, kubbeh, and 'egg rolls', recently came out with frozen pasta dough. Roll it out a little thinner, cut into squares, fill however you wish, roll, and fry... and WOW, the crispy yet chewy texture of a 'real' egg roll.
Thanks Pesky- I will try to find that dough next time!
ReplyDeleteYou wrote 1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger and again 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger. Is that a typo, or does the recipe call for two one-half teaspoons of ginger?
ReplyDeleteNot a typo- 1/2 tsp for the beef mixture, 1/2 tsp for the vegetable mixture- if you don't want as much of a pronounced ginger flavor you can use just 1/4 tsp.
ReplyDelete