Elle's New England Kitchen

Ingredient Wars!  This time around, again, was a very fun challenge for me. I went back and forth for a while about what to make (which is why I’d never cut it as a challenger on the actual show, Chopped.) and finally decided on egg rolls.

Making egg rolls used to scare the heck out of me, but thanks to my good friend Canarygirl, who walked me through it a few years back, I realized it wasn’t hard at all. A little time consuming, maybe, but still—pretty easy.

The ingredients this time around were :

1. Cod Fillets (or some other white fish)

2. 1 orange

3. Ricotta Cheese

4. Egg Roll Wrappers

5. Ritz Crackers (or another butter cracker)

I decided I’d pan fry the fish, after dipping it in egg white and the Ritz crumbs. Than adding things from the pantry and fridge, I’d make an egg roll filling to put inside the egg roll wrappers. The ricotta cheese became an Asian Style dipping sauce for the egg rolls.

The Ingredient Wars Judge, aka my husband, asked if we could make a few open-faced egg rolls. Sure, why not? So a few egg roll wrappers were just tossed into the hot oil—man are those delicious as is! But we held back some of the filling to just scoop over the top of the flat fried egg roll wrappers, and you know? That turned out to be my favorite of the two. Who knew? The filling hadn’t been heated up, so it was like a cool, crunchy salad on top. Good stuff!

Recipes:

To print these recipes, click here!

Fried Fish Egg Rolls with Asian Style Ricotta Dipping Sauce

Fish:

1 pound cod, or other white fish
4 egg whites, beaten
1 1/2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs

Egg Roll Filling:

5-6 green onions, chopped
1 head Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced
6 oz bag matchstick carrots
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
3 minced garlic cloves
1/3 cup soy sauce
13 cup rice vinegar
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp or so of orange zest
fresh cracked black pepper
the cooked fish from earlier, flaked
1 package egg roll wrappers
oil for frying

Asian Style Ricotta Dipping Sauce

7 oz ricotta cheese
juice of half an orange
1 tsp or so of orange zest
1 TBSP cilantro, minced
1 TBSP soy sauce
a few drops of sesame oil
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Prepare the fish:

Dip fish in egg whites, then in Ritz crumbs.
Heat a bit of oil in a pan, cook fish for 3-5 minutes per side, or until done.
Set aside to cool.

Prepare the sauce:

Mix all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl, set side in the fridge.

Prepare the egg rolls:

In a large bowl, mix all of the filling ingredients, except the wrappers. Season to taste.
Fill each wrapper with 1/3 cup of filling in the center. Wet edges of the wrapper, and roll up
egg roll style, sealing the edges well.
Heat oil to at least 350°, and fry about 4 egg rolls at a time--3-4 minutes on one side, and 3 minutes on second

side.
Let the oil come back to temp between each batch--this is extremely important so the hot oil sears the egg roll, and oil doesn't seep inside.
Remove to a rack placed over paper towels to drain.
Serve with dipping sauce.

For an open faced egg roll, fry an unrolled wrapper till golden brown on each side, then drain on the same rack over paper towels.

i hope any of you that decided to participate are having fun with the ingredients! Stay tuned for the next Ingredient Wars. I hear from “The Judge” that something sweet may be on the horizon.

Check out what Caleb did with the ingredients this time around! Looks fantastic, doesn’t it?

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