Korean Egg Rolls or Yokimondo

Korean Egg Rolls or Yokimondo

Now, I'll admit that I make any traditional Korean cook cringe with my western ways, but honestly, there are days that I don’t have time to prepare dishes without using short cuts. So, I am going to give you the recipe, including my short cuts. In this recipe, I give the amounts as if you were using a 1 pound Japanese cabbage. Just note the weight of your cabbage when you buy it and multiply the amount listed below for each pound of cabbage. So if you have a 2 pound cabbage, just multiply everything by 2.

• ·        1 pound of chopped Japanese cabbage 
• ·        1 pound of ground beef
• ·        ½ cup of shredded carrots
• ·        ½ cup of chopped onions or 3 TBS of dried onions. NOTE: using dried onions will absorb liquid and reduce grease splatter. 1 tablespoon of dried onion flakes equals 1/3 of a cup of fresh chopped onions, but the specifics of your brand of onion flakes should be on the spice container.
• ·        4 cloves of garlic chopped or ½ tsp of powdered garlic
• ·        2 TBS of chopped ginger or ½ tsp of powdered ginger
• ·        ¼ of a cup of soy sauce
• ·        1 package of egg roll wrappers (spring roll wrappers will give a crispier end result)
• ·        1 egg lightly beaten with a 1 TBS of water
• ·        Oil for frying. NOTE: a neutral tasting oil usually works better for a recipe like this. I use canola oil.

In a hot skillet, add the soy sauce, ground beef, shredded carrots, and fresh onions until the beef is browned. If using dried onions, do not add that at this time. Remove from heat.

In this next step, I wanted to share that coleslaw mix (without the dressing) can be substituted for the Japanese cabbage. It is sold in packages of 16 ounces which equals one pound and is already chopped.

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, garlic, ginger, and the dried onions at this time. If you are using fresh onions, you already added them to the beef when browning.  Add the browned beef. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. This is your filling.

Start with the egg roll wrapper on a plate or cutting board positioned so that it is angled like a diamond instead of a square. Add 1 TBL of filling to the center of the egg roll square. Place a coating of the beaten egg mixture on the outer ½ inch edge of all sides of the diamond. Fold the bottom corner up and over the filling. Do not match to the top edge. Leave about ½ to 1 inch of the top so you can still see the egg coated edge. Press to seal. Fold the sides in pressing the egg coated edge to seal. Then roll the egg roll away from you. Press the edge down to seal.

Place the rolled egg rolls into your hot oil. Make sure your oil is hot enough to fry the egg roll. Fry for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Then turn the egg roll over for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oil and place on a cooling rack or paper towels for 2 to 5 minutes to allow to cool enough to eat. Enjoy with rice, your favorite Asian food, or as a snack.