Egg rolls are both loved and loathed, so before anyone poo-poos on them, let me be the first to say that a great egg roll is something spectacular. I've eaten a countless number of egg rolls in my lifetime, and unfortunately, many have been pretty gross and disappointing - filled with bland, soggy, shrivelled up vegetables and just a touch of meat that fry up to reveal a giant empty cavity as soon as you take a bite. Sound familiar? In an effort to save the world from bland egg rolls, I've decided to share some of my best tips: 1) Salt the cabbage beforehand to draw out any extra water. This also adds flavour and gives the cabbage a very nice texture. (Bonus: this also dramatically reduces that unpleasant cabbage smell that most egg rolls seem to have). 2) Use a combination of lean ground pork and pure pork sausage to get a good balance of pork flavour and fat. I like pure pork sausage because it doesn't have any overpowering flavours and you can usually find it in tubes in the meat section. 3) Poke the egg rolls with a toothpick before frying, so the air has somewhere to escape and you're not left with a giant empty cavity when you bite into your egg roll. Here's what you need: (Makes about 30 mini egg rolls) 3 cups finely chopped cabbage (Tip: pulse your cabbage in a food processor to speed things up) 225 g each lean ground pork and pure pork sausage  1-1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup peeled, grated carrot 1-1/2 tsp granulated sugar 1 tsp grated fresh ginger 1 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder 3/4 tsp dry mustard powder Pinch white pepper (or black pepper) about 30 square wonton wrappers 1 egg, beaten In colander, toss together cabbage and 1 tsp of the salt; let stand for about 1-1/2 hours. Using cheesecloth, squeeze dry; set aside. In bowl, combine pork, sausage, cabbage, carrot, sugar, ginger, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, remaining salt and white pepper. Spoon a heaping teaspoon along the middle of wonton wrapper. Spread a thin border of beaten egg around edges of wonton (I like to use my fingers - see picture below for reference). Fold over and pinch edges to seal. Using toothpick, poke several holes on both sides of egg roll. Repeat with remaining pork mixture, wonton wrappers and egg.   Pour enough oil into large Dutch or heavy-bottomed pot oven to come 2 inches (5 cm) up side. Heat until deep-fryer thermometer reads 375 °F (190 °C) or 1-inch (2.5 cm) cube of white bread turns golden brown in 40 seconds. Fry egg rolls, in batches and turning occasionally, until golden brown and filling is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Serve with plum sauce for dipping. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days and reheat, turning once, in a 375°F (190°C) oven until crisp, about 10 minutes) Photography by Irene Fong (top) and Jennifer Bartoli (bottom)