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Two Chinese takeout classics come together in this epic mashup! General Tsao’s Chicken Egg Rolls only take a few ingredients & are simple to make at home.
I’m excited to share a fun opportunity with you today, as well as a fun recipe mashup of two of my favorite Chinese takeout dishes – General Tsao’s chicken and super crispy, deep-fried egg rolls.
The Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One is one of the most exciting culinary events held here in New York every year. It takes place over the course of 4 days that are jam-packed with delicious activities.
You may remember that I had an incredible experience at NYCWFF several years ago. My husband and I spent a (kid-free!!) evening on a rooftop in NYC eating burgers and enjoying some beer and wine on a gorgeous October evening.
It was so much fun to get to sample food from various chefs and restaurants, as well as getting to meet several of the celebrity chefs that we knew and loved from the Food Network & Cooking Channel.
Getting the chance to talk to them about their food was truly an experience that we will never forget. It was hands-down one of the best date nights we’ve ever had.
And this year, I’m excited to offer Big Flavors readers a chance to cook, eat, and drink at this year’s NYC Wine & Food Festival with award-winning chef and television personality Aarón Sánchez! And entering is easy – just text CHEF to 26739.*
This year’s prize is pretty epic, and I’d love it if one of my readers got to be the one to come out to enjoy this fantastically delicious New York City prize. So text-to-win now, and let me know if you end up being selected as the lucky winner!
To further celebrate the deliciousness here in New York, ShopRite challenged me to create a twist on one of their recipes – General Tsaos Glazed Chicken. Their recommended beverage pairing for the chicken recipe was Honest® Tea.
I’ve been a big fan of the Honest Tea line for several years now. My very first favorite of theirs is the Peach Oo-La-Long Tea. I like that they have unsweetened options as well as their “Just a Tad Sweet” varieties.
They actually brew their teas by steeping them, and they use a variety of organic ingredients to get that little bit of added sweetness. So for my “twist” on General Tsaos Glazed Chicken, I decided to turn it into one of my favorite Chinese food appetizers – egg rolls!
Have you ever made egg rolls at home? It’s not as intimidating as it sounds! All you need is a flavorful filling, some egg roll wrappers, and a big pot with a few inches of oil for deep frying.
Ready to rock? Let me show you where to find the ingredients at your local ShopRite store.
You can find a big selection of Honest Tea in the Bottled Tea Aisle. I caught a great sale, so I bought several different flavors.
I then headed one aisle over to grab the ShopRite Trading Company General Tsao Style Stir Fry Sauce. I checked out the label and was glad to see a simple list of ingredients that I recognized in the sauce. This recipe uses some of the sauce in the egg roll filling, as well as some on the side for dipping.
My last stop was the Organic and Natural meat section for the Wholesome Pantry boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders. They had a lot of different options for chicken, but these were easy to work with for my filling.
Feel free to use larger breasts or even thighs. You’ll be cutting them down into bite-sized pieces, so just be sure they’re boneless and skinless.
This recipe really doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. The sauce adds a ton of flavor to the chicken filling, but I did sauté a bit of garlic and the white and light green end of a green onion in the pan before I added the chicken, salt, and pepper.
I saved the dark green parts of the green onion to garnish the final platter of egg rolls.
Once your chicken is cooked through, you add 1/4 cup of the sauce along with some shredded red cabbage and carrots. I bought mine pre-shredded to make things easier, but by all means, feel free to do the shredding yourself!
I like using a deep-fry thermometer to monitor the heat of my oil when I’m frying egg rolls. For this recipe, you want your oil to be between 350°F and 375°F. As you add the egg rolls, the temperature may start to drop a bit, so adjust the knob on your stovetop accordingly.
While the oil is heating up, assemble your egg rolls. It’s easiest to start with the wrappers diagonal like a diamond, so the bottom point is facing you.
Spread your filling out horizontally toward the bottom of the wrapper. Fold the bottom point up over the filling, then carefully tuck the edge points in over the filling. Roll it up toward the top point, trying to keep the wrapper snug against the filling.
Leave some room at the top, brush a little flour/water paste mixture up at the tip (I smeared it on with a spoon), and use that “glue” to seal your egg roll closed.
Repeat with the remaining wrappers. I got 11 out of this recipe, but depending on how much filling you add to each, you may get anywhere from 8 to 12.
According to my egg roll wrapper package, you could also bake egg rolls at 400°F on a greased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown, being sure to brush a little oil on top of each egg roll before popping them into the oven.
I haven’t tried that with this recipe, but I can tell you that the texture will be MUCH better if you brave deep-frying them.
A spider is a great kitchen tool that will help you easily turn your egg rolls and get them in and out of the hot oil. Fry them in batches of 2-3 egg rolls at a time, flipping periodically until they’re evenly golden brown on both sides.
It happens quickly, so don’t leave the stove unattended!
Remove your fried egg rolls to a wire rack-lined baking sheet or paper towel-lined plate so the grease doesn’t stay on the egg rolls, making them soggy.
The best part of a freshly fried egg roll is that awesomely crispy texture!
I like to flip my egg rolls once or twice while they’re draining, too, to get even more oil away from that crispy exterior.
These General Tsao’s Chicken Egg Rolls turned out crazy good! They really didn’t take a whole lot of effort on my part, and they looked like they came out of a restaurant kitchen.
We enjoyed our egg rolls, paired with Honest Tea, as lunch last week.
I really liked the flavor of the stir-fry sauce, too. It wasn’t too spicy, but there was enough heat to give it a little kick. My whole family devoured them!
I used purple cabbage and carrots inside of the egg rolls to get some nice color, but feel free to use any shredded veggies that you have on hand. One of those broccoli slaw mixes would also be great inside here!
I want to try out homemade egg rolls with some of the other sauces from the ShopRite Trading Company line now, too! They had a lot of different options, and they’re a great way to add flavor to your meal without a ton of extra ingredients.
Egg rolls are such a versatile appetizer. The filling options are endless!
I have a whole list of things that I want to egg roll-ify in the future. I’ll definitely try out some baked options as well, but for now, let’s just embrace the frying.
What dish would you most like to see in egg roll form? Drop me a comment below to let me know!
Looking for more bite-sized favorites? Check out these 5-star recipes:
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Description
Two Chinese takeout classics come together in this epic mashup! General Tsao’s Chicken Egg Rolls only take a few ingredients & are simple to make at home.
Ingredients
- Peanut oil for frying (around 4 cups total), divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced, dark green portion separated from the white and light green
- 1 pound Wholesome Pantry boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 (11.8-ounce) bottle ShopRite Trading Company General Tsao Style Stir Fry Sauce, divided
- 2 cups shredded purple cabbage (about 4 ounces)
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons water
- 8-12 egg roll wrappers
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add garlic along with the white and light green portion of the green onion, and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes more.
- Add cabbage and carrots to the chicken and stir to combine. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, then add 1/4 cup of the General Tsao Style Stir Fry Sauce. Stir until incorporated then remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven or other deep, heavy-bottomed skillet, add peanut oil to a depth of 1 inch (around 4 cups). Place over medium heat and bring to between 350°F and 375°F.
- While the oil heating, combine flour and water in a small bowl until it forms a paste.
- On a clean work surface, lay one egg roll wrapper down diagonally like a diamond, so the bottom point is facing you. Spread around 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture horizontally toward the bottom of the wrapper.
- Fold the bottom point up over the filling, then carefully tuck the edge points in over the filling. Roll it up toward the top point, trying to keep the wrapper snug against the filling. Leave some room at the top, brush a little flour/water paste mixture up at the final corner (I smeared it on with a spoon), and use that “glue” to seal your egg roll closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers. (See post above for visual demonstration of this method)
- Once the oil is up to temperature, fry egg rolls in batches of 2-3 at a time, flipping periodically until they’re evenly golden brown on both sides. Remove fried egg rolls to a wire rack-lined baking sheet or paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Serve egg rolls with remaining sauce on the side for dipping, garnishing with the dark green portion of the green onion.
Notes
A deep-fry thermometer will help you monitor your oil temperature. As you add the egg rolls, the temperature may start to drop a bit, so adjust the knob on your stovetop accordingly.
Keywords: egg roll, General Tsao, Chinese
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Source: https://bigflavorstinykitchen.com/general-tsaos-chicken-egg-rolls/
