On my last trip to Alaska I was treated to a wonderful home-cooked meal by Wasana and Larry Tower. Wasana prepared a delicious beef curry served over rice and Thai-styled chicken stir fry seasoned with Thai basil. The star of the show was her pork egg rolls. She gave me her recipe which guided me in making this batch of pork egg rolls in the style of Wasana.

• 1 pound raw ground pork
• 1 pound shredded carrots
• 2 medium sized sweet onions chopped into very small pieces
• 2 teaspoons instant chicken boullion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1 head green cabbage shredded (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Egg roll wrappers

1. Assemble all of your ingredients. Coarsely grate or chop the cabbage and set aside. Finely grated cabbage will make a dense egg roll and require more cooking time. Too coarse and there will be air pockets in the filling making a lumpy egg roll.

   

2. Grate the carrots and set aside. Carrots take longer to cook than the cabbage and can be grated finer than the cabbage. Finely grate the onion and set aside.

   

3. Wet filling can make an egg roll soggy and fall apart. Place the grated cabbage, carrot and onion on kitchen towels and set on the counter for two to three hours to soften and wick away excess moisture.

   

4. Place all of the filling ingredients and seasonings in a large bowl. Let’s face it folks; you can poke and stir this with a big spoon for a long, long time to mix it. Bite the bullet as they say and wash your hands well, put on a clean glove if you have one, and reach in with your hand and mix it until homogenous – just a couple of minutes is all that is needed.
5. Wasana suggests that you roll one egg roll and fry it to check the seasoning. Adjust seasonings if needed and remix. Then start the filling process.

   

6. In this batch of egg rolls I used a ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) scoop to fill the egg rolls. That makes a large egg roll. Wasana makes smaller, daintier egg rolls using 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling. Remember; this recipe uses raw ground pork and a larger egg roll will require more cooking time to fully cook the pork.
7. Beat one egg in a small bowl and set near your work area. Lay an egg roll wrapper on a flat, clean surface, turned so it looks like a diamond. Place the desired amount of filling across the center of the wrapper, starting about an inch and a half from one corner and ending about an inch and a half from the opposite corner.
8. Roll the egg roll by folding the bottom flap up to cover the filling and tucking the side flaps over to make an envelope. With a brush or fingertip sparingly wet the edge of the top flap with the beaten egg. Continue rolling from the bottom to the top, and seal the egg roll firmly without squeezing out the filling. Once the egg roll is fully rolled, press the egg wash sealed edges lightly together so it will not open when frying.
9. Heat your cooking oil to 350°F. Cook the egg rolls in small batches to avoid cooling the oil too much. Cook the egg rolls until a nice golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Use an instant read thermometer on the first batch to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked and adjust cooking time for the remaining egg rolls.

   

10. Place the cooked egg rolls on a rack to drain any clinging oil. Serve as an appetizer with a sweet chili sauce or as an accompaniment to other dishes. Pictured are Wasana cooked egg rolls with her beef curry over rice and Thai-style stir fried chicken with Thai basil.