Egg Roll or Wonton Wrappers

Egg Roll and Wonton wrappers are made with a wheat flour and egg dough, basically an egg-noodle dough. Egg Roll wrappers are usually 6 inches square. Wonton wrappers, however, will only be about 3 1/2 inches (9 cm) across, about 1/4 the size of an Eggroll Wrapper. Many people in the West use store-bought egg roll and wonton wrappers instead of making them from scratch.

Though the term "egg roll" and "spring roll" are occasionally used interchangeably, at least in the Chinese-American lexicon, the difference comes down to skin thickness and size. Egg rolls use thicker wrappers made with eggs that blister with bubbles, and are generally stuffed to the brim. Spring rolls feature a paper-thin wrapper made without egg that's less doughy, and are minimal when it comes to filling, maintaining a more slender shape. Store-bought spring roll wrappers are made only with wheat flour, water, oil and salt.

Some people use these wrappers for quick ravioli wrappers, though Italian purists faint at the thought of it. The difference between wonton wrapper dough and ravioli dough is largely in the amount of egg used. A typical wonton wrapper dough recipe uses 1 egg per 2 cups (10 oz / 250g) of flour; a typical ravioli dough recipe uses about 2 1/4 eggs per 2 cups (10 oz / 250g) of flour.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ice water
Cornstarch

Sift the flour into a large bowl.

Lightly beat the egg with the salt. Stir in 1/4 cup of water. Add the egg and as much of the remaining 1/4 cup of water as needed to form a sticky batter.

Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Cover the dough and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Knead the dough briefly, then cut in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 16 pieces for egg roll wrappers and 24 for wonton wrappers. Roll out each egg roll wrapper into a 6-inch square and wonton wrappers into a 3 1/2-inch square.

Stack the wrappers while you are preparing the remainder, covering with a damp cloth so that they don't dry out. If necessary, lightly dust the wrappers with flour or cornstarch to prevent them from sticking together.

Use immediately, or refrigerate or freeze in a plastic bag until ready to use.

Yield: 16 egg roll wrappers or 24 wonton wrappers

Recipes:

How to Roll Egg Rolls and Spring Rolls
Egg Rolls (Pork & Chinese cabbage stuffed rolls, deep-fried & served w/ Duck & Hot Mustard sauces)
Chinese Spring Rolls (deep-fried)
Wonton Soup