Egg Rolls

Method

1. sear8 min
   pork browned, vegetables wilted hard, seasoned
   pork broken and browned, then cabbage + carrot + garlic + ginger tossed through on high until the cabbage collapses and its water COOKS OFF — soy + sesame + scallions at the end; the pan must end dry, because every drop of moisture in the filling is a future steam burst in the fryer
2. rest15 min
   filling spread on a sheet to cool completely
   fully cooled before any wrapper is touched — hot filling steams the skin from within and softens it before the oil can set it; the sheet-pan spread cools it in minutes and drains what the pan missed
3. prep20 min
   diamond orientation, tight roll, corners in, egg-sealed
   each wrapper a diamond, three tablespoons of filling low-center, bottom corner up and over and TUCKED under the filling, sides folded in, rolled to the top corner painted with egg — the tuck is the tightness and the tightness is the structure; a loose egg roll fries into a greasy envelope
4. fry12 min
   350°F, four at a time, turned, until blistered deep gold
   seam down first, turned as they float, until the skin bubbles and blisters — the blister is the egg-roll signature the smooth spring roll doesn't have, and it comes from honest heat and a dry filling; racked, rested two minutes (the interior is lava), and cut on the bias or handed over whole with the mustard and sweet chili