1 cup cheddar cheese
Adobo sauce (Chipotles in adobo)
Alright this recipe is wonderful for leftovers from taco night. However, you can make your filling fresh. Just be sure to let it cool before stuffing it into your wrappers. For my tex-mex filling, I brown half a pound of hamburger meat, breaking it up finely. Next I add in taco seasoning and a lot of veggies. Usually I do a combination of onions, peppers, corn, cilantro and a few tablespoons of tomato sauce. Sauté all of this together until your veggies are soft. Set aside to cool.
To make this process quicker, lay out everything you need. I place a stack of egg roll wrappers on a large cutting board. Have a bowl of cheese, small ramekin of water and taco filling with a spoon. These wrappers are thin and you’ll need to be gentle to not rip them.
Working one at a time, place your wrapper on the cutting board in the shape of a diamond. Add 1-2 tablespoons of taco filling, to the bottom half and top that with tablespoon or so of cheese. Using the tip of your finger, dip into water and outline the inside of the wrapper. The water will help to seal and keep your egg roll from falling apart once wrapped.
You’ll wrap these the same way you do silverware. For those of you not familiar with restaurant side work, I’ll explain. Fold the bottom tip of your diamond shape wrapper over the filling. Next tuck in one side of the diamond, then the other, and roll. Then place your egg roll seam side down to keep them from coming apart. Repeat this method until your desired amount of egg rolls are done. I can usually get 16-20 egg rolls from 1 1/2 cups of taco filling.
Now it comes time to fry these. You can pan fry these in a shallow amount of vegetable oil on your stove in a frying pan. Or if you have an air fryer you can cook these that way as well. First up, to pan fry fill a large frying pan with about a quarter to half inch of vegetable oil. You’ll want to heat the oil over medium to medium high heat while rolling your egg rolls. To fry, place the egg rolls into the oil seam side down for about 30 seconds to a minute. Then using tongs rotate the egg rolls, repeating until evenly browned on all sides. Place egg rolls on a paper towel lined plate once done. Repeat until all egg rolls are done. Enjoy warm with chipotle ranch dip.
To air fry the egg rolls, pre-heat your air fryer to 390 degrees. Spray your egg rolls generously with non-stick spray and fry for 3 minutes, then flip and fry 3 additional minutes. They won’t have the same golden brown color you get from pan frying but they will be healthier and you’ll have less of a mess to clean up.
Chipotle Ranch Dip
I find cans of Chipotles in adobo in the ethnic food aisle by refried beans and enchilada sauce. I then open the can and purée the whole thing, place in an air tight container and keep in my fridge up to 3 months. This stuff is spicy, but it’s not overpowering. It’s more of a deep smoky spice that adds a lot of depth in flavor. I keep it in my fridge to add to dips, sauces, dressings, chicken enchilada soup, tacos, chili and more. For me this ranch dip is a must with the egg rolls. It really brings the whole dish together.
