So one day while wandering my local small town natural foods store I stumbled across some Tapioca sheets. They are just like rice papers/sheets but made from tapioca starch. Now some people have some cross reactivity to tapioca and can not do tapioca but for those of you that can, dig in! Now the tapioca version of these papers can be hard to find online. Most Asian markets carry them so keep that in mind when looking for them! I made these for breakfast because I was so excited to try them once I had the tapioca sheets in my hot little hands. I could not wait for dinner. My husband is used to my enthusiasm for trying new things, he fully expected egg rolls for breakfast LOL.
On a side note these did soften after sitting and so I am not sure how far in advance you could make these. Another thing I did not do was wait a little while after rolling the egg rolls, before frying. I just fried them right away, and because you wet the papers with water to soften them, they are wet. Which led to lots of oil piping and crackling and I believe the reason mine softened after sitting a little. After some research I discovered that many people recommend letting them sit after being rolled and dry out a little.
On a side note these did soften after sitting and so I am not sure how far in advance you could make these. Another thing I did not do was wait a little while after rolling the egg rolls, before frying. I just fried them right away, and because you wet the papers with water to soften them, they are wet. Which led to lots of oil piping and crackling and I believe the reason mine softened after sitting a little. After some research I discovered that many people recommend letting them sit after being rolled and dry out a little.
Ingredients
Tapioca Sheets (See photo above)
Filling:
1lb High Quality Pork Sausage
3 cups fresh spinach - not packed in
1 cup shredded carrots
1 bag of pre shredded cabbage - about 2 cups
1 large onion diced
1 tbs fresh ginger
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tbs honey
Coconut or Avocado Oil for pan frying
Filling:
1lb High Quality Pork Sausage
3 cups fresh spinach - not packed in
1 cup shredded carrots
1 bag of pre shredded cabbage - about 2 cups
1 large onion diced
1 tbs fresh ginger
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tbs honey
Coconut or Avocado Oil for pan frying
Directions
Begin by pan frying your pork sausage until brown. Now add in diced onion and shredded carrots, pan fry on med/high heat until tender. Add remaining ingredients pan fry for several minutes until all are softened and tender.
Turn your heat off and allow the filling to completely cool to room temperature. This really makes it much easier to roll and handle. After your filling is cool, take out one sheet. It will feel like firm plastic. Lay it on a kitchen plate and brush with water. turn over brush the other side. Continue doing this until it starts to soften. You can play with one you don't intend on using to get a better idea of how this is going to work. If water starts to pool up in the plate just pour off any excess.
Once it is soft enough to roll, add some filling to the center. roll the back edge towards you, covering the filling, now roll the sides in over the filling, now roll the entire roll towards you until it is sealed and closed. The sheets work a lot like plastic wrap, it sticks to itself, so you can pull it a little tighter and then stick it over on itself. See photos below:
Turn your heat off and allow the filling to completely cool to room temperature. This really makes it much easier to roll and handle. After your filling is cool, take out one sheet. It will feel like firm plastic. Lay it on a kitchen plate and brush with water. turn over brush the other side. Continue doing this until it starts to soften. You can play with one you don't intend on using to get a better idea of how this is going to work. If water starts to pool up in the plate just pour off any excess.
Once it is soft enough to roll, add some filling to the center. roll the back edge towards you, covering the filling, now roll the sides in over the filling, now roll the entire roll towards you until it is sealed and closed. The sheets work a lot like plastic wrap, it sticks to itself, so you can pull it a little tighter and then stick it over on itself. See photos below:
After you roll each one place them on a cooling rack to dry out. Let them dry until they are dry to the touch. You don't want water in your hot pan of frying oil..;( and you don't want all that moisture effecting your end result and leaving you with soft not to crunchy egg rolls. Now it is time to fry these puppies up.
Heat a skillet with some coconut or avocado oil. You are not deep frying these but you do want enough oil for a few of them to fry up nicely in the pan.
Heat a skillet with some coconut or avocado oil. You are not deep frying these but you do want enough oil for a few of them to fry up nicely in the pan.
After they are fried on each side place them back onto the cooling rack to cool. Be careful these are very hot! Once cooled I dipped mine in coconut aminos and the simple flavor was fantastic! I am thinking of creating some tasty sauce for these though...I will keep you posted! Enjoy!