I’ve actually seen them frozen and ready to fry at several grocery stores. They’re marketed as the “original” Chili’s or Cheesecake Factory Egg Rolls. They also carry a hefty price tag which I’m not willing to pay for something I still have to fry!
Now there are 2 versions of this Egg Roll, one uses actual Egg Roll wrapper usually found at any Asian Market, and the other rolls the filling in flour tortillas. The former makes for a delicate crispy egg roll as the wrapper is a thin pastry just like the egg rolls you’ll find at most Asian restaurants. The latter has a different look and crunch as the tortilla is a much thicker wrapper. Either way they’re delicious!
I use the frozen grilled chicken strips to make my egg rolls, but you can make your one cooked chicken to use in this recipe. This recipe makes a large pot, whatever I don’t roll into egg rolls I make into bowls by serving it over a bowl of Mexican Rice and Refried Beans.
To freeze roll the filling in egg roll wrapper or tortillas and place in freezer bags. Label and freeze for up to 3 months.
These egg rolls are delicious dipped in a Creamy Avocado Sauce or topped with Pico De Gallo. The recipe for the sauce is included at the bottom of the egg roll recipe.
1 Tsp. Olive Oil
1 Pkg. Frozen Grilled Chicken Strips, thawed and diced
1/2 Onion, diced
2 Tbs. Minced Garlic
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1 Tomato, diced and patted dry with paper towel.
1 Can Black Beans, drained
1 Can Corn Kernels, drained
1 – 2 Tbs. Cumin, adjust to taste
1 – 2 Tbs. Chili Powder, adjust to taste
1 Tbs. Salt
1 Bunch Fresh Cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar/Jack Cheese
1 Pkg. Frozen Egg Roll Wrappers or 8″ Flour Tortillas
Oil for frying
Heat Olive Oil in large pan.
Saute onions about 1 minute or until they start to turn translucent.
Add garlic and continue to saute.
Add peppers and cook until peppers start to get a bit soft.
Add Chicken, beans, and corn.
Add in Cumin, Chili Powder, and Salt. Mix until well combined.
Add Tomatoes and cook until any liquid in the pan starts to thicken.
Add Cilantro and cook until it starts to wilt.
Remove from heat and stir in cheese until it melts.
Set aside and prepare your wrappers.
Place a heaping tablespoon in the center of your wrapper and spread into a line across.
Roll the filling in the wrapper burrito style.
Heat about 2″ of oil in a frying pan or use a deep fryer if you have one.
Fry rolls in oil until golden brown.
Cut each roll in half diagonally and serve hot with Avocado Dipping Sauce.
1 Cup Whipped Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 Bunch Fresh Cilantro finely chopped
1 Ripe Avocado mashed
1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 Tsp. Chili Powder
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Baos or whatever you call them originated in Northern China where wheat instead of rice is widely grown. They’ve been around for hundreds of years. Legend has it that Baos originated during the Three Kingdom Period when a Chinese general needed to cross a raging river with his army. To ensure safe crossing the people on the other side of the river demanded that the general sever the head of 50 men; instead the general used large meat filled dough balls which satisfied the demand.
Baos can be shaped into balls, as they were in the legend, or they can be folded like taco shells. They can be filled with your favorite savory meats such as char siu or sweet roast pork, pork belly, and chicken curry; or they can be filled with sweets such as black bean paste, taro, or custard.
One of my favorite bao fillings is Korean Fried Chicken, crispy fried chicken bites dipped in a sweet and spicy sauce garnished with fresh chopped cilantro, sliced onions, and cucumbers.Click here for the Korean Fried Chicken recipe!
Another favorite filling is Boneless Kalbi Short Ribs, thin slices of beef short ribs marinated in a sweet and salty sauce. Then grilled and garnished with fresh green onions and sesame seeds.Click here for the Boneless Kalbi Short Ribs recipe!
But first things first, before you can fill steamed buns you must make them. To make homemade buns you will need a steamer, I use bamboo steamer baskets, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Other than that making steamed buns are pretty easy using ingredients that are readily available if you don’t already have them in your kitchen.
So let’s make bao buns, then you can fill them with just about anything you desire.
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3 3/4 Cups flour
2 Tbs. Sugar
2 Tsp. Instant Yeast
3 Tbs. Milk
3/4 Warm water
3 Tbs. Butter – softened
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
Mix together flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of your standing mixer or a large bowl if kneading by hand.
Place warm water and milk in a separate bowl, stir in butter until it melts.
Using the dough hook of your mixer gradually stir liquid into flour mixtures.
Knead for 10 minutes either in your mixer or by hand.
Turn dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or towel. Leave in a warm spot until dough doubles in size, about 2 hours.
Once dough has doubled in size turn out onto a floured surface. Gently knead dough for a couple of minutes then cut into 20 pieces which you will roll into balls.
Roll each ball with a rolling pin into an oval shape about 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″.
Place on parchment paper while you roll the rest of the balls.
Brush dough ovals with olive oil.
Place a chopstick in the middle of the dough oval and fold over. It should now be shaped like a taco shell with a space in the fold where the chopstick is. The oiled surface should be inside of the fold.
Slip chopstick out, place on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper, and fold the rest of the ovals.
Cover pan with plastic wrap or towel making sure plastic doesn’t touch the dough as it will stick.
Leave to rise for another hour.
When dough has risen bring water in large pot or wok to a boil. Place about 3-4 buns into a steamer basket and steam for 10 minutes.
Remove steamed buns from steamer basket and keep it on a plate in the oven to keep warm.
Fill and serve!
2 1/2 pounds ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for the grill grates and buns
6 slices American or Cheddar cheese
6 seeded hamburger buns, split
Lettuce leaves, tomato slices, red onion slices, ketchup and mustard, for serving
1. Prepare a grill for medium heat. Divide the ground beef into 6 even pieces and shape each into a 1-inch-thick patty. Press in the center of each patty so it is slightly thinner than the edges. Sprinkle generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly oil the grill grates.
2. Grill the burgers, flipping once, until well browned and medium rare, 6 to 7 minutes per side, topping with a slice of cheese in the last few minutes of grilling. Lightly brush the buns with oil and grill until lightly toasted. Put the burgers on the bottom buns and top with the lettuce, tomato, onions and top buns. Serve with ketchup and mustard on the side.
Before I continue you might be wondering what is the difference between Pigs in Blankets and Pretzel Dogs. The answer is quite simple Pigs in Blankets are wrapped in refrigerated Crescent Dough and Pretzel Dogs are wrapped in pretzel dough. Now which is better you ask, they’re both good. It just depends on how much time you want to invest into making them and also the taste you’re trying to achieve. For parties when you need to make a lot Pigs in Blankets are much easier to make.
Since I started making homemade pretzels, first the easy no dipping pretzels I made before graduating to the “real” pretzels, I thought why not make my own Pretzel Dogs. These Pretzel Dogs are pretty easy to make, they use my Pretzel Bites recipe which is modified to wrap around hot dogs.
To make these Pretzel Dogs you will need to make a batch of the dough I use in the Pretzel Bites, it’s the exact same dough but shaped a bit differently. Here’s my recipe!
Pretzel Bites Dough click here for the recipe
10 Hot Dogs (I use all beef hot dogs like Hebrew National or Nathan’s)
Follow the directions for Pretzel Bites until you get to the step where you roll the dough into 10 ropes, which you do as you wait for the Baking Soda Bath to boil. Proceed as directed below.
Make 10 dough ropes – each one should be at least 2-3 times as long as your hot dog.
Wrap each rope on a hot dog. Leave the ends of the hot dogs unwrapped. Refer to the picture above. Tuck dough ends and pinch the seams to keep them from unraveling.
Drop each wrapped hot dog into the Baking Soda Bath.
Allow them to boil in the bath until they float, about 30-45 seconds.
Remove from bath and place on prepared baking sheet.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake in 450 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.
Remove from oven and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
There is Lumpiang Sariwa or “Fresh Lumpia” that are very thin crepe like wrappers that are filled with stir fried vegetables, shrimp, meats, or a combination of them. Lumpiang Shanghai are meat filled deep fried egg rolls that are tightly wrapped to look like thin cigars or are cut into smaller pieces when served as appetizers, they are usually served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Then there are fried lumpia that closely resemble spring rolls. Fried Lumpia can be filled with just about anything including ripe bananas which are actually called Turon or Banana Lumpia.
Today I’ll share my version of Fried Lumpia. I’ll list ingredients just remember they’re all pretty much optional and you can toss in whatever you prefer; but use at least 3 of the optional items in your filling. You can buy frozen egg roll wrappers at any Asian Market, most packages contain 25 wrappers.
1 or 2 Package Egg Roll Wrapper – thawed
1 Lb. Ground Beef – but you can use pork, chicken, turkey, or shrimp instead
1 Small Onion Chopped
1 Tbs. Garlic Minced
2-3 Potatoes – Cooked and cubed (optional)
2 Cups Bean Sprouts (optional)
1 Package Firm Tofu – cut into small cubes
1 Cup Shredded Carrots (optional)
1 Cup Fresh String Beans – Thinly sliced (optional)
1 Cup Shredded Cabbage (optional)
1/8 Cup Soy Sauce
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1 Egg slightly beaten (to seal wrappers)
Oil for frying
1/2 Cup White or Rice Vinegar
1/2 Tsp. Garlic Minced
1/4 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp. Chili Pepper Flakes (optional)
Heat about 1 Tbl. of oil in a wok or large skillet.
Saute chopped onions until they start to turn translucent.
Add minced garlic and saute for about 1 minute, be careful not to burn the garlic.
Add ground beef or whatever meat you are using. If you are using shrimp add them later after veggies have cooked as shrimp cook quickly and will over cook if you have to cook veggies.
Add salt and pepper. Cook until meat is well done and crumbly.
Add beans, carrots, cabbage if you are using them. Cook until soft.
Add Bean Sprouts and cook until soft.
Gently stir in Tofu and soy sauce.
Remove from heat, drain liquid from pan, and set aside.
Thaw egg roll wrappers and remove from package.
Separate wrappers being careful not to tear. Place on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. You will be using one wrapper at a time so keep the others under the damp paper towel to keep them from drying out.
Take one wrapper and place on flat surface.
Place about 1 to 1 1/2 heaping tbl. of filling along one side of the wrapper.
Fold over both ends and roll like a burrito.
Brush some beaten egg on the wrapper to seal.
Place on a plate if you will be frying the same day or place in freezer bag if you plan on freezing them for later.
Repeat until you use all the wrappers.
When you’re ready to fry heat about 2″ of oil in a pan or use your deep fryer.
If you are frying the ones you just made, fry them in hot oil until they turn dark golden brown.
Place them on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Serve hot.
If you are frying frozen lumpia, carefully place FROZEN lumpia in the heated oil. Do not thaw them as they will get too soft and fall apart. Fry them until dark golden brown.
To make the sauce just add all the sauce ingredients into a bowl and stir.
Other options for the fillings include shredding sweet potatoes, chopped water chestnuts, sliced bamboo shoots,and pretty much anything you like.
