I’ll have my Egg Roll with a Schmear.

Inspired by the Pastrami egg rolls we recently sampled at FoodParc, a retro-60’s-yet-modernist-eatery situated near the office, I decided to reverse engineer this wondrous marriage of cultures at home and it came out….SPLENDILICIOUS!

Chopped cabbage, slivered carrots, diced Katz’s Pastrami, soy sauce, ginger, sugar, dash of salt and pepper — sauteed in the frying pan with vegetable oil.   In the meantime, I made my own deep fryer using my giant soup pot and an inch of vegetable oil and heated that up to 375F.   I had previously obtained egg roll wrappers from the local fish store.  So I grabbed a bit of the filling, rolled it into an egg roll shape using the wrappers, and with a set of tongs, dropped those babies one by one into the hot oil bath.

My little creations danced delightedly in their primordial ocean as the wrappers browned and bubbled.  After they were done, I put them to dry on some paper towels and collected my dipping sauces:  Thai Peanut, Chinese Plum, Hot-Sweet Mustard, and Vietnamese Fish sauce with Sweet Chilies.

Here’s how it looked:

Only one wrinkle this time: I transported the crispy treats in a sealed container.  They were still very hot so the result was that they lost their crispiness en route.  Mostly rectified by the office toaster oven but not 100%. 

Despite this one little mishap, I say this one’s a keeper.