Duck Eggrolls. Fill it. Roll it. Fry it up in a pan.

Can you believe you can make eggrolls AT HOME? Just like this? Duck eggrolls? For heavens sakes.

One thing that is sorely lacking in The Flyover is good international fare. Sure you can get the best fried or broasted chicken in the world - but real Chinese food? Forget it. And no, that crap they serve in the mall isn't real Chinese food. Coming from the West Coast where you can get all the dim sum or black bean chicken you can carry... the total lack of good quality Thai, Chinese, or Japanese food just about makes me weep. Don't even get me started on sushi from the Kroger.

So basically I've been hungry for eggrolls for about 6 years. Sitting there reading my pal D's new blog - my source for 'how to' make all kinds of ethnic food - it occurred to me that an eggroll would be the best place for my pile of shredded duck meat. I went to Kroger and paid $2.99 for eggroll wrappers and branded myself as some kind of wacko by the checker.

Then I went home, cleared off the counters, prepared all my cooking implements, took a deep breath, and sat down to research the intricacies of making eggrolls at home. I was stunned. Pretty much this is it:

Fill it.

Roll it.

Fry it up in a pan.

That's it. No big ordeal, no special equipment, no 3 days of prep. That's it. I stood there slack jawed and buggy eyed. Here I've been denied the subtle flavors of eggroll goodness for six freakin' years - and that was it!?!

I got to work. I loosely used this recipe - except who would ruin a perfectly good eggroll with water chestnuts (blech!).

My list of ingredients was this:

* shredded duck (from the other nite)
* shredded cabbage
* a shredded carrot
* a little minced garlic.

I stir fried it all together until the cabbage was a little wilted. Then I slapped out one of them wrappers on my work surface, plopped a small scoop of the filling on the wrapper, and rolled as instructed on the back of the wrapper package. A quick brush of water to seal it and voila. That was it.

Of course I used tallow melted in a frying pan - just enough to cover the bottom. Then I fried 'em up a couple at a time and let them dry on paper towels.

They were heavenly. The duck added a richness that played off the snappiness of the cabbage. When the duck filling was gone we used ham. We ate them all in two sittings. And they are so quick to make! And so fun. Who wouldn't want to make eggrolls at home?

The local Kroger is gonna have to order more eggroll wrappers. We're about to march out there and get a bigger pile of duck - if you know what I mean - and then there will be eggrolls for all my friends!

Happy Saturday everyone! Now run right out and get you some eggroll wrappers! Now if I can only figure out how to make a proper pad see ew......