One thing that everybody wants when you have Chinese food, is the Spring Rolls. Usually when you have takeout, you never get enough Spring Rolls for all the guests in the table. It is first come, first serve. With my recipe I make sure that everyone that comes to have Spring Rolls for lunch gets his fair share of 2 to 3 Spring Rolls.

Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls can have a lot of different fillings. Some people like all vegetarian rolls. Others like them with pork, chicken, or shrimp. I personally like all flavors of Spring Rolls, but the pork flavored ones are the one I enjoy the best. Here is my recipe for Pork filled Spring Rolls, and I hope you enjoy it.

For Pork filled Spring Rolls

1/2 Cup Cabbage
1/2 Pound of Ground Pork
1/4 Cup of Bean Sprouts
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Small Carrot
2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1 Teaspoon of Salt
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
10 Spring Roll Wrappers

Julian (cut in small strips) the carrots. Add the olive oil to a frying pan an bring to high heat. Add the carrots. Cut the cabbage into small match-like strips. Add cabbage to the frying pan. Finely Mince the garlic, and add to the frying pan. Add the pork, salt, and bean sprouts. Fry all the ingredientes until the meat is cooked. At the end add the soy sauce. Let it cool. Place the Spring Rolls wrappers as a diamond in front of you. Put 3 Tablespoons of fillings on 1/3 of the bottom part of the wrapper, in a line. Fold the bottom part of the wrapper to cover the filling. Fold the sides, and the continue to roll. Add some water at the end to make the dough stick. Fry at 350F for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Serve with sweet and sour sauce, or thai hot sauce.

Gyoza is a Japanese dish that originated in China. They are basically dumplings, filled with a meat and vegetable fillings. When I go to a Japanese restaurant I usually order them as a side order. They are a tasty treat that is hard to just eat one of them.

Gyoza in Dipping Sauce

The main difference between Chinese and Japanese Gyozas is that the Japanese version uses much more garlic. I love garlic, so this is fine by me. Another recommendation is to serve them hot, as they do not taste as good when you reheat them. If you serve them over rice they could be offered as a main dish. I have also added them to an udon soup.

For Gyoza

20 Gyoza Wrappers
1/2 Pound of Ground Pork
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/4 Cup Cabbage
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Teaspoon grated Ginger
2 Chopped Green Onions
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Soy Sauce
Vegetable Oil

Shred the cabbage and blanch quickly in boiling water.  Mix the cabbage, pork, sesame oil, ginger,  garlic, green onions, salt, soy sauce in a large bowl. Add about 1 Teaspoon of filling per Gyoza wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, sealing the edges. If you have trouble getting the edge to seal, add a little water to the edge. Fill all the Gyoza wrappers. Add vegetable oil to a frying pan. Place the Gyoza on one side and fry on that side only until golden brown. When golden brown, add 1/2 cup a water to the frying pan and cover. Steam the gyoza until the water is evaporated.

For dipping sauce
1/2 Cup of Water
1/2 Teaspoon of dashinomoto
3 Tablespoons of mirin
3 Soy Sauce

In hot water dissolve the dashinomoto. Add mirin and soy sauce. Can be serve on the plate with the Gyozas or on a separate dipping bowl.