Last week spring rolls, this week gluten-free egg rolls. I have yet to see ready-made, gluten-free egg roll wrappers but I found a great substitute! Gluten-free plain tortillas are perfect for the job. I have used Rudi’s Gluten-Free tortillas and Siete Foods Cassava (grain-free) tortillas. They both have a good neutral flavor and fry up perfectly crispy.
I have provided a recipe for a dipping sauce that resembles Chinese restaurant duck sauce (for those east-coasters) but you can use gluten-free hoisin sauce or any prepared gluten-free Asian sauce.
Egg Roll Filling
These gluten-free egg rolls can be made with any kind of ground meat, vegan meat crumbles or very firm ground tofu. If using tofu, it is best to press it to remove some of the moisture. My preference is for a combination of dark meat ground turkey and ground pork but ground beef or chicken will work well.
This egg roll filling is predominantly meat but you can change the proportion of meat to vegetables. And add whichever vegetables you have on hand. Just cut them small enough to mix in with the rest of the ingredients.
The full recipe is below, but here is a quick visual on how to assemble these gluten-free egg rolls.
How to Assemble Egg Rolls
Take out one tortilla and place 1/4 cup of filling in the top third.
Roll it halfway down, then fold the sides in towards the middle and roll the rest of the way. Brush a little egg on the inner flap to help seal, then poke a toothpick through the roll. A cooked tortilla is not sticky enough to hold closed so the toothpick will keep it shut until it sets in the oil. Set it aside and form the rest of the rolls. Cook as instructed in the recipe card.
Gluten-Free Egg Rolls
These gluten-free egg rolls have a meat filling and use gluten-free tortillas as the egg roll wrappers.
Ingredients
- 8 plain tortillas
- toothpicks
- 1 egg, beaten
- vegetable oil for frying, any high heat oil - I use avocado oil
Filling
- 1/2 lb ground meat, pork, turkey, beef, vegetarian crumbles or any combination, I use 1/2 turkey, 1/2 pork
- 2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane
- 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped green onion
- 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger, use a microplane to grate
- 2 Tbsp coconut or brown sugar or 1 1/2 Tbsp agave
- 1 Tbsp wheat free-tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup finely shredded Napa cabbage
Dipping Sauce
- 1/4 c peach or apricot jam
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (you can substitute any other vinegar if you don’t have rice)
- 2 tsps coconut aminos or 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 pinches salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 250° and line a baking sheet with paper towels and fit with a wire rack.
- Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place all the filling ingredients, except the cabbage, in a mixing bowl and mix with a fork or even better with your fingers. If using vegetarian crumbles, leave them out and stir them into the pan after adding the cabbage.
- Heat a non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the meat mixture and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spatula. Once it is almost fully cooked and broken into small pieces add the shredded cabbage. Cook for another 2 minutes, until the cabbage is softened.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Blot some of the excess moisture from the bottom of the pan with a paper towel. Too much moisture in the egg roll will make it soggy.
- Dampen 2 paper towels and squeeze out any excess water. Place the stack of 8 tortillas in between the paper towels and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Leave them wrapped in the paper towels. This will make them pliable for rolling. You may need to re-heat for 5 seconds if they start to crack when rolling.
- Take out one tortilla and place 1/4 cup of filling about 1/3 of the way from the top.
- Roll it halfway down, then fold the sides in towards the middle and roll the rest of the way. Brush a little egg on the inner flap to help seal, then poke a toothpick through the roll. This will keep it closed until it sets in the oil. Unlike an egg roll wrapper, a cooked tortilla doesn't have enough moisture to stay closed on it's own. Set it aside and form the rest of the rolls.
- Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a heavy sauce pan or skillet. I like to use a large, 9″ sauce pan as it means less oil splattering all over the cook top and counter.
- Use a pair of tongs to place a roll into the oil, seam side down, and hold onto it for a few seconds until it sets closed. I cooked 3 at a time so as not to crowd the pan and cool down the oil too much.
- When the bottom is golden brown use the tongs to roll. Cook until it is evenly browned all the way around. Drain on the wire rack and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining rolls.
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