Gluten Free Egg Rolls

I have been craving these the last few weeks, and decided to give it a go. I looked everywhere and could not find a ready-made wonton wrapper. Surprisingly they are very easy to make yourself. Even making them gluten free is a piece of cake! Depending on how long you want it to take to prepare your food, it helps to have an extra person to keep things moving... Since you have to do the wrappers and filling, luckily I was able to recruit the hubby to do the filling.

Start by cooking your meat in a large skillet. I bought the pre-cut beef (used for stews) in the meat section. You could use chicken or even go meatless.

Now, start on your Wonton Wrappers recipe. The key to these wrappers is the egg whites. When it comes to gluten free cooking, egg whites really hold it all together and keep it from getting dry and flakey.

Ingredients

• 1 cup high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour or bread mix. 

• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

• 1 extra-large egg and 1 extra-large egg white, beaten together

• 2 to 4 tablespoons warm water

Instructions

1. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour and xanthan gum. Add the eggs (one whole egg and one egg white) and 2 tablespoons water to the flour mixture and beat together to combine.
2. Press the mixture together with wet hands. It should stick together when pressed, and should have a smooth but stiff consistency. Add more water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the proper consistency. If your dough is slimy texture, add more flour and less water next time. 
3. Separate the dough into two disks. Sprinkle each disk with more flour, and knead it in to form a smooth dough. Roll out the first disk a bit on a floured surface. Sprinkle again with flour, and roll a bit more. Keep sprinkling and rolling until the dough is no more than ⅛ inch thick. Slice into desired shapes with a sharp knife or pastry cutter (pizza cutter works fine too). Repeat with the other disk of dough. For the wrappers, they should be about 4inches square, on the larger side, and when you think they are thin enough, keep rolling they should be paper thin, but just thick enough to stay together. If too thick, they will not fry all of the way through and they will have a pie crust consistency. Like the pies you would get at McDonalds. :) We want crunchy egg rolls. 
4. When you’re using the wrappers, moisten the edges with a bit of warm water to help them stick together when cinched closed.

I did not have a general all-purpose flour, but I did have a red mills bread mix available that worked great! I also found that if you use this recipe and double it a couple of times, it makes amazing pie crust!

Ones your wrappers are ready, set them aside and start on your filler. The recipe calls for cabbage and shaved carrots, but I saved some time by buying ready made slaw mix. dry. Just the veggies pre-shredded.  

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons tamari (or more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or more to taste)
• 2 tablespoons honey (or more to taste)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 
• 1 pound 90% lean ground and chopped beef
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil or coconut oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 10 ounces shredded cabbage (I used preshredded slaw)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Gluten-free Wonton Wrappers 
• oil, for frying

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, place the tamari, rice vinegar, honey and 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and whisk to combine well. Pour half the sauce into a separate, small bowl. To the remaining sauce in the large bowl, add the ground meat, and mix to combine. Allow to sit at room temperature for a few minutes to allow the beef to absorb the sauce.
2. In a large skillet, cook the garlic in the sesame oil over medium high heat until the garlic becomes fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add the cabbage and carrots, and then the sauce you set aside from earlier, and toss to combine. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover the skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until the cabbage is wilted and the carrots are beginning to soften (about 5 minutes). Uncover the skillet, add the beef mixture and the remaining tablespoon cornstarch, and toss to combine. Allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes. Tilt the skillet to separate any remaining liquid, and pour off the liquid.
3. Arrange the first wonton wrapper square with a corner facing you. Place a bit of filling about 1 inch from the corner of the wrapper. Fold over the corner and roll one turn away from yourself (see photo), making sure to roll as tightly as possible and to prevent any trapped air bubbles. Fold in the sides securely, and continue to roll until the eggroll is completely sealed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
4. Fry, about 1 minute per side, in 375 degrees F oil. Drain on paper towels and keep in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.
5. Serve the remaining filling tossed with rice noodles