One of the things I miss terribly about New York, America for that matter, is good Chinese takeout. I am not saying that the Chinese food in Israel is bad – but when you grow up next to Chinatown and you are surrounded by hoards of immigrants and children of immigrants who know what the food is supposed to be like, you cannot compare. The fact is, many of the Chinese establishments in Israel are not Chinese food – it is food based on a what the owners consider to be authentic based on their treks to the Orient. There is a real difference between food cooked by a Chinese person and food cooked by someone who has visited China.

Even in the Chinese themed kosher restaurants in New York you could walk into the kitchen and see Chinese cooks. Here, it is rare to see that – and when you do, it is usually a person who knows nothing about cooking – someone who came here on a working visa to build a building or to tend to a farm and eventually found themselves in the kitchen of some restaurant with no real cooking experience. What I have found is that it is not too difficult to cook good Chinese food. A Wok is a necessity and proper ingredients are common here – it’s just a matter of knowing how to put it together - and get rid of the MSG and powdered chicken soup.

Anyway, this thought about Chinese food came up at home and a discussion ensued about a good eggroll, I mean a really good eggroll not dripping with oil and with a really good flavor inside. So, after Shabbat, I gathered the kids together for a fun evening of making a tasty, edible, crunchy on the outside and soft and flavorful on the inside eggroll. It was not difficult and proved to be a task that the whole family could join in – even my six year old got into it.

This is a fun activity for kids – the only thing I would suggest is preparing the mixture beforehand as it does take time to make the filling. Let the kids help make the skins and let them help fill it. Also, make sure you control the frying part – kids and hot oil are not a good match.

Ingredients

Egg Roll Wrappers

3 cups flour
1 egg + 1 egg yolk - whisked
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
Potato or Corn starch for dusting

Combine the salt and flour and sift (if you have a dry whisk, you can accomplish the same thing as sifting by mixing the flour with a whisk)

Combine the egg and the water, mix well (until you see some bubbling on top) and then add to the flour.

Mix well until you get a sticky kind of batter. Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and stretchy. It can take about about 3-5 minutes depending on how well you knead.

Cover the dough and let rest in the refrigerator for About an hour.

Now, take the dough and cut it in to thirds. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.Roll each half into a cylinder. Lightly score so that you have 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into 3 1/2 - 4 inch squares.

Stack the wrappers while you are preparing the remainder, covering with a damp cloth so that they don’t dry out. If necessary, lightly dust the wrappers with the starch to prevent them from sticking.

Use immediately - DO NOT FREEZE!!

Filling

½ small cabbage shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1 onion ½ mooned and sliced thin (julienne)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp canola oil
(optional – whatever else you want, like pre-cooked meats, tofu, seitan etc)

In a really hot pan, add the canola and sesame oil - now sauté the cabbage, carrot and onion mixing every minute or so until the cabbage looks like it is 1/2 cooked (some bite to it, but soft - about 7 minutes) - now add the garlic, shut the flame off and cover for ten minutes.

Egg Rolls

Take a wrapper and lay it out on a flat surface, take about 2 TBSP of filling and put it inside (if you are using meat, now would be the time to add it as well). From both sides, fold in about 1/2 an inch (the purpose mof this is to seal in the ends) - now from bottom to top, roll the dough over the stuffing (making sure the stuffing stays inside) and complete the roll until the top end meets the rest of the roll. You can seal the top end tightly with a little water.

To fry it, fill a small sauce pan 1/2 way up with canola oil - get it really hot using a low flame (let it sit for about 7-10 minutes on the flame without touching it - now slowly add in the eggroll - turn the roll every minute or so until the entire roll is golden (about 3-4 minutes). Once you feel comfortable enough, you can cook three-four at a time.

This is a really fun project and a tasty one for the kids to do - its a great family activity.

BatayAvon!