Crispy egg roll cups

A fun twist on a classic favourite!

Inspired by my extremely popular egg roll bowl recipe, this fun appetizer has proven to be a huge hit at cocktail parties. Don’t be daunted by the list of ingredients the egg roll filling – they are all easy to find and, best of all, you can make the filling ahead of time and freeze some or all of it if you wish, for later use. There is more filling than needed to fill 24 wonton cups, by the way (so you can make a larger batch of these cups, or freeze filling for future use). Wonton wrappers can be found at specialty Asian stores and often in the refrigerated produce or deli sections of conventional supermarkets. If you enjoy this recipe, you might also like my bacon, lettuce and tomato wonton cups. Note that leftover wonton wrappers can be tightly wrapped and refrigerated for up to a week; you could also cut and bake them to make delicious chips for dipping.

Ingredients

Wonton cups

• 24 small wonton wrappers (approximately 3.25 inches / 8.25 cm square)
• Vegetable oil

Egg roll filling:

• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) soya sauce (or tamari, for a gluten-free version)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 pound (454 grams) ground pork
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) canola or olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup (50 g) diced cooking onion
• 4 green onions, whites and green separated, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 tablespoon (8 g) minced fresh gingerroot
• few grinds freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (Asian chili-garlic paste) or Sriracha sauce, or more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 4 cups (400 g) finely shredded cabbage
• 2 cups (220 g) finely grated carrots
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) soy sauce or tamari
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) white sugar
• Plum sauce, to serve

Method

• Make the wonton cups up to 4 days in advance. Preheat oven to 375F. Working one at a time, very lightly brush both sides of 24 wonton wrappers with vegetable oil then press gently into the compartments of mini muffin tins. Pleat the sides of the wonton wrappers as you go and be sure to press them well into the bottom of the muffin cups so they will sit flat on your serving platters. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Place cooled wonton cups in an airtight storage container until ready to fill.
• Make the egg roll filling. In a medium bowl, combine ground pork, 1 tablespoon (15 mL) soya sauce and cornstarch. Stir to blend well (or mix with your very clean hands) and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Heat sesame oil and canola or olive oil in a very large skillet over medium high heat.
• Add seasoned pork and cook, stirring often, until no longer pink, about 6 – 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic, cooking onion, white portion of the green onions and fresh ginger. Sauté until the onions are translucent and the garlic and ginger are fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Add ground ginger and allspice plus black pepper and Sambal Oelek or Sriracha. Sauté until the pork is cooked through, about 3 more minutes.
• When pork is cooked, add the cabbage and carrot to the pan, along with the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar. Sauté for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are tender.
• Using a small spoon, pack the egg roll filling into the wonton cups. Garnish with slivered green onion tops and serve warm, with plum sauce on the side for drizzling.

Makes 24 cups.