With Nine You Get Eggrolls

Call it a hankering for female bonding, plus an urge to broaden culinary horizons.  I've joined a cooking club. It's a loosely organized bunch of women who settle every winter in their getaway casas with their husbands who are (check one or more) 1) avid golfers, 2) fishermen, 3) boaters, all living the Golden Age retirement dream.


Yesterday was our second session, the first being devoted to authentic Sicilian spaghetti and meatballs, from a real Sicilian grandma's recipe. This time it was shrimp, shiitake and pork eggrolls, with wrapping variations. We tried storebought wrappers from the States, homemade wrappers and very thin flour tortillas. The commercial ones turned out as good as expected, the homemade were just a touch too "bready" and the tortillas were surprisingly good.


Making eggrolls is definitely a labor of love, we decided. Making wrappers from scratch is time-consuming in itself and then there's a lot of work involved in the fine chopping of shrimp, pork, jicama and green onions (which we did by hand), and then the painstaking wrapping, making sure no air pockets are hiding in the roll, which could cause the whole thing to explode in the deep fat fryer.


"Just remember," warned our instructor and host Diana, "air is your enemy."


I normally don't eat anything deep-fried, but I made an exception yesterday and felt like a stuffed eggroll myself when I finally went home. It's clear that on cooking club day I shouldn't make any other plans, because once I get there at 11am, I'm not going to want to leave until the afternoon is pretty well spent.


We have yet to come up with a name for our club, though a few ideas were tossed around. We go public on February 28, when we compete at the SBPA Chili Cookoff (benefitting the animal rescue organization that funds free neutering and spaying of feral dogs and cats and pets in low-income families.)  We'll be wearing matching red aprons and we'll call our entry "Luna Llena Chili" after the full moon.

 6 Chinese black mushrooms, finely chopped
3 Tbl. peanut oil
1 Tbl. sesame oil (optional)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger root, finely chopped (or grated)
8 oz. ground lean pork
8 oz. shrimp or chicken, finely chopped
2 cups Bok Choy cabbage, sliced very thin, white part only
1 small can of water chestnuts (or jicama)
1 cup bean sprouts, chopped
6 spring onions, finely chopped
1 ½ Tbl. soy sauce
1 Tbl. oyster sauce (optional, but good)
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. corn starch
2 pkgs. egg roll wrappers
oil for deep frying (about 3 cups)


Over medium heat, sauté ginger and garlic in peanut oil (and sesame oil, if using). Add meat; cook until meat changes color and blends with the ginger and garlic flavors. Raise the heat to medium high or high and add the prepared vegetables all at once with the soy and oyster sauce, if using. Combine thoroughly and cook until you get the juice from the veggies. Put mixture to one side of the pan and tilt the pan to gather the liquid. Stir in the corn starch (mixed with a little cold water to make a smooth paste) and cook until the juice thickens. When juice is thickened, mix with the rest of the veggie/meat mixture. Cook until entire mixture is thick. Remove from heat and thoroughly cool mixture.


When cool, place approximately 1-1/2 Tbl. of meat/veggie mixture on each egg roll wrapper and wrap like making an envelope. Seal the final edges with a mixture of egg and water and set aside while heating the oil. Fry a few at a time in hot oil (about 375 degrees), being careful not to let any of them explode in the oil or you will have a mess. Drain on paper towels or paper bags. Serve with sweet and sour sauce and hot mustard.