I miss many things from back when I could eat gluten or didn't know that I couldn't be more accurate. Egg Rolls are near the top of that list. Crisp pastry wrapped around a delicious filling, deep-fried and dipped in plum sauce. What's better than that? In all honesty, it never even occurred to me to try and make my own gluten-free egg roll wrappers.
Today, I'm going to share my recipe for Homemade Gluten-Free Egg Rolls and Homemade Plum Sauce. You can make these with regular flour. They don't have to be gluten-free. But if you're like me and have to avoid gluten at all costs, this is probably something you've been waiting for for a long time. And that's just about enough chit chat. Let's get to it.
How To Make Plum Sauce
This plum sauce recipe does not taste like bottled plum sauce. I would argue that it tastes much better, but when you know something as one thing, it's hard to wrap your head around it being different. So, if you can eat gluten and want to use regular plum sauce, that's perfectly fine. However, if you want to try something different or need it to be gluten-free, try this.
Plum Sauce Ingredients
My plum sauce ingredients are onion, garlic, ginger, plums, Chinese 5 Spice (recipe at the end of the blog or you can use store-bought), pumpkin purée, sugar, salt, Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), vinegar, and water. You can find the full measurement in the recipe at the end of this section.
Directions
To make the plum sauce, start by dicing and sauteéing the onions in a bit of oil on medium-high heat. After about three minutes or when the onions turn translucent, add in the garlic and ginger, then cook for another minute or two or until slightly browned. Remove the pit from the plums, dice them, and then add them along with the five-spice to the pot. Cook for four to five minutes, then add in the remaining ingredients. Bring the pot to a boil, turn the heat to low, and simmer the sauce for twenty minutes. Let the sauce cool slightly, then purée it with an immersion blender and pass it through a fine-mesh sieve for a smooth sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Diced Onion
- 2 tablespoon Minced Ginger
- 2 tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 4 cups Diced Plums, pitted and diced
- 1 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- ⅓ cup Pumpkin Puree
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 cup Hot Water
- 2 teaspoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Canola Oil
Instructions
- Heat a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add in the canola oil and the onion. Cook the onion for 3 to 4 minutes or until the onions start to turn translucent.
- Add the ginger and garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes or just until they start to brown.
- Add the plums and Chinese 5 Spice into the pot and cook, stirring until the plums start to break down, about 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients into the pot, bring to a boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer the sauce for 20 miuntes.
- Let the sauce cool for 10 minutes, then purée using a blender or immersion blender.
- For a very smooth sauce, pass the puréed sauce through a fine mesh sieve. Cool the plum sauce and serve or keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Egg Roll Filling
I like to keep my Egg Roll filling pretty basic, opting for onion, carrot, celery, cabbage, bean sprouts, garlic, soy sauce, and salt. You can add a bit of ginger, chilli, chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, or just about anything else you want. These are your Egg Rolls, after all. Do with them what you will.
Cooking The Filling
To cook the Egg Roll filling, heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add in a tablespoon of oil, then the carrot, onion and celery. Cook for four to five minutes or until the vegetables start to brown. Add in the garlic, and cook for one minute, then the washed and drained bean sprouts. Cook for one to two minutes before adding the cabbage. Cook until the cabbage has wilted, then season with soy sauce and salt. Transfer the cooked vegetables from the wok to the strainer set over a large bowl and let the mixture sit for twenty minutes. This will help prevent the Egg Rolls from becoming soggy and exploding.
Making Egg Roll Wrappers
Egg Roll wrappers are essentially pasta dough. And they are made the same way. To make the dough combine egg yolks with flour and salt, add just enough water to bring the dough together. If you are using regular flour, knead the dough for ten minutes. Kneading for more than a minute or two isn't needed if you are using gluten-free flour.
*Note: My batch of dough is half of what is written in the recipe below. I ended up having a bunch of leftover filling, so I doubled the recipe for you. So, if you are looking at my picture and wondering why it looks like I have less dough than you do, that is why.
Rolling The Dough
Put the dough on a floured work surface and roll it with a rolling pin to one to two millimetres thick. Trim the edges of the dough to make a large rectangle, then cut the dough into eight-centimeter by ten-centimeter rectangles. If you are using gluten-free flour, the excess dough can be re-rolled. I'm not sure how it will hold up to re-rolling if you are using regular flour.
*Note: When using regular flour, it is best to make the dough a day before you want to use it, then store it in the fridge overnight. Take the dough out of the fridge an hour before you want to start rolling it. If you try and make the dough using regular flour, it will be way too tough and springy to roll by hand without allowing it that day to rest.
Hand Rolling Egg Rolls
Take one of the dough rectangles and brush the edges with beaten egg white. Place two heaping tablespoons of the filling in the wrapper's center, then spread it out, leaving a two-centimetre lip on both ends. Roll the wrapper's bottom up and over the filling, pulling back to tighten, then roll forward to seal. Pinch the ends shut. Repeat until all of the egg rolls are made.
Deep-fry the Egg Rolls in 365°f oil for about five to six minutes or until they turn golden brown. Before you ask, I don't know how these would stand up to an air fryer or to being baked. I only made them once, and I deep-fried them. Drain the fried egg rolls on a wire rack and serve with homemade plum sauce.
*Note: I did notice that when deep-fried a second time, after cooling, the egg rolls became much crispier. After the initial fry, you can cool the egg rolls and store them in the fridge for up to two days or freeze them.
Ingredients
Egg Roll Filling
- ½ cup Carrot
- ½ cup Celery
- 1 cup Sliced Onion
- 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 2 cups Bean Sprouts
- 2 cups Sliced Nappa Cabbage or regular cabbage
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Canola Oil
Egg Roll Wrappers
- 6 Egg Yolks
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 cups All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
- ½ cup Water or as needed
- 2 Egg Whites, beaten
Instructions
Egg Roll Filling
- Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add in the oil and swirl it around the pan. Put the carrot, onion, and celery in the wok and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the vegetables are slightly browned.
- Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Then add in the bean sprouts, cook for another two minutes, then the cabbage, cook for another 2-3 minutes, season with the soy sauce and salt, toss the vegetables and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
- Transfer the vegetables from the wok to a strainer set over a large mixing bowl. Let the vegetables sit and drain for about 20 minutes.
Egg Roll Wrappers
- Put the egg yolks into a large bowl along with the salt and flour. Mix well. Then add just enough water to bring the dough together. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a lightly floured counter. Flatten the dough with your hands then use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 2 to 3 mm thick.
- Cut the dough into 8 cm x 10 cm rectangle. Any excess dough can be re-rolled and formed.
Making The Egg Rolls
- Brush the edges of one egg roll wrapper with beaten egg white.
- Place two tablespoons of the egg roll filling in the centre of the wrapper and spread the filling the length of the dough, leaving a 2 cm lip on both ends.
- Roll the edge closest to you up and over the filling. Pull back gently to tighten then roll forward to seal.
- Pinch the ends togehter to finish.
- Place the rolled egg rolls on a lightly floured tea towel until all of the egg rolls have been rolled.
- Deep Fry the egg rolls at 365°f for five minutes or until the egg rolls are crisp and golden brown. Serve with homemade plum sauce.
Conclusion
It was really something special for me to have Egg Rolls, let alone homemade ones. Of all the items I have made in this series so far, I think these are my favourites if for no other reason than becasue I never thought I would ever eat an egg roll again. Whether you have to eat gluten-free or not, I suggest you make this. It is a great project for a rainy Sunday afternoon, and it is well worth the effort.
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Ingredients
- 4 Star anise
- 3 cloves
- 4 teaspoon Szechwan peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- ¼ cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Combine the spices in a spice grinder and grind to a powder.
- Store in an airtight container.
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