This year our Thanksgiving will look a little different. Usually, we take a trip to California to visit family and friends and attend Hmong New Years’ in Sacramento. But with all the craziness going on we are planning to spend Thanksgiving here in Washington.
Just a little background: My parents, my in-laws, and my sister Kalia & her family all live in California. My other sister, Kashia, and her husband live in Pennsylvania. Our youngest brother and his wife live in Utah. And I and my family live in Washington. As you can see, we’re all scattered throughout the country, so when we come together it’s a special time for all of us.
The one thing that I will definitely miss besides family and friends, will be the delicious food prepared during Thanksgiving. If you haven’t been to a Hmong Thanksgiving gathering, you’re missing out. The food is always so good and every Hmong Thanksgiving party must have Hmong egg rolls. Egg rolls are everyone’s favorite. I mean, who doesn’t love them? Seriously, you can’t go wrong with a crispy, savory egg roll.
This recipe that I am sharing today is my mom’s go-to recipe. My sisters and I have helped my mom make this recipe for church parties, family gatherings, church fundraisers, and family dinners. We made it so many times we can probably make them in our sleep.
As I prepare my family Thanksgiving dinner eggrolls will be on our menu. And you bet, my kiddos are going to help. It will be a great time to pass on this tradition.
This Thanksgiving as you’re gathering safely with your family and friends I hope you will give our Hmong egg roll recipe a try, and maybe it can become your tradition to make egg rolls with the special people in your life.
List of ingredients for Hmong egg rolls:
- Egg roll wrapper: If you want to have amazing egg rolls you really need to get proper egg roll wrappers. The only wrapper that has been true to me for all these years is the All Purpose Menlo Wrappers. They come in a red package in the frozen section at most Asian grocery stores. I don’t recommend the eggroll wrapper in the refrigerated section. In this recipe, you will need two packages of wrappers. You will not use all of the wrappers, so the extra wrappers can be put in a freezer bag and they will last about 3-5 months.
- Noodles: You want to buy bean thread noodles aka cellophane noodles or glass noodles.
- The picture to the left is glass noodles from the package; once it’s soaked, it will look like the picture on the right.
- Meat: Growing up my mom always used ground pork; however, over the years I have switched to ground turkey and I cannot even tell the difference. You can also use ground chicken or even leave out the meat if you prefer.
- Vegetables: Peel and wash the carrots and shred them using a cheese grater. Dice the onions into small pieces so that the kids cannot find them and throw them out. Thinly slice your cabbage. If the cabbage is too big, it will tear the egg roll wrappers.
- Seasoning: Don’t be afraid to use Oyster sauce, it won’t make your food taste like fish. Oyster sauce has a slightly sweet but salty taste and is used in many Asian recipes. You’ll also need salt and black pepper.
- 2 eggs.
How to roll egg rolls:
- Lay the wrapper in front of you in a diamond shape.
- Add about 2-3 TBSP of filling towards the bottom of the wrapper.
- Now fold over the corner that is closest to you and tuck in the filling.
- Fold in the two corners on the left and right.
- Now tightly roll the egg roll and make sure to tuck in the corners.
- Stop right before you get to the top corner, add a dab of egg yolk, and finish rolling the egg roll.
- At this point when you have finished rolling all your egg rolls, you can cook them, or cook half and freeze the rest. If you want to freeze your egg rolls place them individually on a cookie sheet and freeze them in the freezer for about 3-4 hours or until they are frozen. Once the egg rolls are frozen, place them in a freezer bag and freeze them up for about 3-6 months. Whenever you want eggrolls just take them out and cook them. Don’t defrost them and cook the egg rolls about 3-4 minutes longer than fresh egg rolls.
How to cook eggrolls:
In my opinion, egg rolls should always be fried. I have tried baking them in an oven and an air fryer, but you just cannot get the same results. Some food just has to be fried, and egg rolls are one of them. Just deep fry them, enjoy them in all their glory, and then work out for the next week. Enjoy!
Hmong Egg Rolls
(5 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5)
Loading...Crunchy and delicious! Made with simple ingredients, but all the right ones. You will never get take out egg rolls again.
Ingredients
- Egg Rolls
- 2 packages of Egg roll wrappers (preferably All Purpose Menlo Wrappers found at most Asian stores in the frozen section)
- 1 package bean thread noodles 10.5 oz (as known as cellophane or glass noodles)
- 1 lb. of ground turkey ( ground pork or ground chicken will work too)
- 2 heaping cups of thinly sliced cabbage
- 2 heaping cups of shredded carrots (2-3 medium-size carrots)
- 1 ½ cups chopped onion (1 medium-size onion)
- 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon of fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 eggs
- Vegetable oil for frying eggrolls
- Sauce
- Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce, for dipping
Instructions
Remove egg roll wrapper from the freezer and allow it to defrost at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes. Usually, when you are done prepping the other ingredients the wrappers should be defrosted.
Soak the bean thread noodles in hot water for about 5-7 minutes or until soft. Don’t use boiling water. That will cause the noodles to become soggy. Once the noodles have softened, drain, and cut into 1 inch long pieces.
Take egg #1 and separate the yolk from the white. Put the yolk in a small bowl and set aside. Add the egg white to step #4.
In a large bowl add your ground turkey, noodles, shredded carrots, chopped onions, thinly sliced cabbage, oyster sauce, salt, black pepper, and egg #2 along with the whites from egg #1. Mix all the ingredients until well combined.
By this time, your egg roll wrapper should be defrosted and ready to use. If the wrappers are still frozen put them in the microwave and check every 10 seconds to see if they are fully defrosted.
Once the egg roll wrappers are defrosted, take it out of the package and peel them so you have individual wrappers. Cover them with a kitchen towel, so they do not dry up.
Now it's time to roll the egg rolls. **Please refer to the picture on your blog post on how to roll egg rolls.
In a large pot add enough peanut or vegetable oil to fill 2-3 inches. Heat oil over medium heat until it reaches 350°F (177°C), this temperature should be maintained throughout frying.
Gently add egg rolls in batches to the pot, so they are not overcrowded and become soggy.
Cooked until the egg rolls are a nice golden brown, turning them over a few times so the egg rolls cook evenly. Once the egg rolls are cooked take them out with a tong and stand them up in a strainer lined with paper towels with a plate underneath to catch any oil dripping.
Let egg rolls cool down for 10-15 minutes and then enjoy with our favorite dipping sauce, Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce.
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