Step 1

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken pieces with the garlic, sugar, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, salt, molasses, sesame oil, five spice powder, white pepper, and optional red food coloring, if using. Marinate overnight or for at least 2 hours.

Step 2

Heat your wok until just smoking, and add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil around the perimeter of the wok. Add the marinated chicken, and spread it out in one layer around the wok. Let it sear for 2 minutes on each side. Then stir-fry the chicken until it is evenly cooked and you begin to see some light charred marks. Remove the chicken from the wok, and cool completely.

Step 3

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Put the cabbage, carrots, and celery into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes (you may have to do this in a couple batches depending on the size of your pot). Use a Chinese spider strainer to transfer the veggies to the ice bath and drain.

Step 4

Thoroughly squeeze out all the excess water from the vegetables by hand or put the drained veggies on a clean kitchen towel to squeeze out the water. This is a very important step. If the filling is too wet, you’ll have soggy egg rolls!

Step 5

Once dry, transfer the veggies to a large mixing bowl. Add the scallions, sesame oil, salt, sugar, white pepper, and cooked chicken. Toss everything together. The filling is ready to be wrapped!

Step 6

Take a small fistful of filling. Squeeze it gently in your hand until it is compressed together. With a corner of the wrapper facing you, place the filling on the wrapper. The wrapping method is similar to making a burrito. Add a thin layer of beaten egg to seal. Line them up on a lightly floured surface, and continue assembling until you run out of ingredients.

Step 7

Fill a small, deep pot about halfway to ⅔ full with neutral oil and heat to 325°F/160°C. You need just enough oil to submerge the egg rolls.

Step 8

Carefully place a few egg rolls into the oil, and fry them for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Keep them moving in the oil to make sure they fry evenly. Cool for a few minutes and serve!