Gluten-Free Egg Rolls

I love Asian takeout food. I’ve been lucky that we have 2 takeout places close to us that have gluten-free menus. I can get all of my favorites – General’s Chicken, Singapore rice noodles, kung pao, and pad thai. The only thing missing is egg rolls. I can’t find takeout (or even frozen) GF egg rolls anywhere.

Finally, my dear wife suggested that we try and make our own using the rice paper wrappers that are typically used for spring rolls.

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
2-4 carrots, grated
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce (gluten free)
2-3 Tien Tsin peppers
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground Szechuan or black  pepper
1/4 teaspoon 5-Spice Powder

1 package round rice paper wrappers (about 30 wraps)

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok until it’s hot and starts to shimmer. Add the Tien Tsin peppers and fry 2-3 minutes until very dark brown, but not burnt. Remove peppers and reduce heat to medium.

Add pork, garlic, and onion. Cook until the pork is evenly browned.

Add the cabbage and carrots. Mix well and cook until the carrots start to soften and the cabbage is a bright green.

Remove pan from heat and add Hoisin sauce, salt, pepper, and 5-Spice powder. Mix well to combine. Let filling cool for 30 minutes.

Assembling the egg rolls goes a lot faster if you have 1 person soaking the wrappers and 1 rolling the egg rolls. Dip wrappers one at a time into pan of hot water to soften – 30 seconds or so. You want them pliable, but not so soft that they tear.

Lay the wrapper on a tea towel. Spoon about a 1/4  cup of the filling onto the lower half of the wrapper. Fold the bottom edge of the  wrapper over filling, fold over both sides, and continue rolling. Place seam side down on a sheet of parchment paper.

We baked our egg rolls for about 10 minutes at 350°F. You can also deep-fry them in small batches, cooking until they are golden brown and crispy (about 3 minutes).

%d bloggers like this: