Mary's Very Authentic Egg Rolls

I don't know Mary, but someone does! So, if you want to hear the cool story behind this recipe, head over to Mel's Kitchen Cafe and have a read!

I was very excited to try these out because 1: I love Asian food, and 2: I am intimidated by it so I love recipes that are authentic, but easy to follow and execute with ingredients you can actually find!

A couple things: It says to not use egg roll wrappers, but I did, and we still thought they were delicious. I also did not use the vermicelli. I could not find it, and I didn't miss it either!

Also, when I was putting together the rolls I wasn't sure if I was supposed to cook the meat before frying or not, so I didn't. However, I did measure the temp of the meat after it was done frying, to make sure it was hot enough to be considered "fully cooked". So, you are safe, you do not have to cook the meat beforehand, but you can if you want.

So, even with my changes, these were awesome! It made a lot of filling, so I just threw the filling in a freezer bag for later. If you want you can also make all the egg rolls, fry them, then freeze the ones you do not eat. From there you can reheat in the oven or microwave.

Mary's Very Authentic Egg Rolls
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe 

This recipe will make 50-100 egg rolls, you can half the recipe and even then freeze what you don't use. 

Filling:
2 packages vermicelli (or Muong Bean Thread noodles) noodles (6 ounces total)
2-3 pounds meat (I use a combination of ground pork and ground turkey)
1 head of cabbage, shredded finely (or use 1 10-ounce package of pre-cut cabbage)
4 whole eggs
3 egg whites (save the egg yolks for sealing the egg rolls)
1/2 pound carrots, shredded finely (or use the 10-ounce bag of shredded matchstick carrots)
2 onions, finely chopped

Sauce:
3 tablespoons salt
8-10 tablespoons oyster sauce
4-5 tablespoons black soy sauce ( I just use normal soy sauce)
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 tablespoons fish sauce

Put the vermicelli noodles in a large bowl and pour hot water over noodles and let soak for 15-20 minutes (if using boiling water, soak for 10 minutes). Once soaked, drain very well and chop noodles up a bit into 2-3 inch pieces (not too short).
Mix all the filling ingredients (noodles, meat, cabbage, whole eggs, egg whites, carrots and onions) in a large bowl. Hand mixing works best. Then add the sauce ingredients.
Mix together.
Pull apart spring roll pastry wraps. Leave main stack of wraps covered with a damp towel while rolling egg rolls. Lay the wrap so it is a diagonal in front of you. Put a large spoonful of filling about an inch above the bottom diagonal. Fold up the bottom triangle and tuck under the filling then proceed to roll up the egg roll, folding in the sides and tucking them in. Moisten the top triangle with the remaining egg yolks and roll/press to seal.
Heat canola or vegetable oil (I always use canola oil) 1/3 full in pot. Heat the oil to about 375 degrees. Fry egg rolls until golden brown and cooked through. Constantly turn the egg rolls so they don’t overcook on one side. Drain on crumpled paper towels and serve with sweet chili sauce.