Lychee Sweet Cigar Roll-ups Recipe

Bring lychees, juice, water, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil in a large saucepan. Boil 1 minute. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand at least one hour. Drain lychees (reserving liquid) and finely chop the fruit. Return chopped lychees, reserved liquid, and tapioca to the saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let rest for 20 minutes, then add walnuts and coconut, stirring to combine.

To make roll-ups, place about 2 tablespoons of lychee filling in a line 1 inch from the bottom edge of the egg-roll wrapper. Dip your finger into a bowl of water and moisten the left and right edges of the wrapper. Bring bottom edge up to cover the filling, then fold each side inward about 1/2 inch. Roll up like a jelly-roll. Moisten top edge to seal. Repeat with remaining egg roll wrappers and filling.

In a heavy skillet, pour vegetable oil to a depth of 2 inches and heat to 370 degrees F. Place about 4 lychee sweet cigars in the pan, seam-side down. Do not crowd them. Fry until golden brown, turning to cook both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Let cool. Sprinkle with powdered confectioner's sugar or drizzle with melted chocolate.

Note: Lychees are also known as litchis. Lychees are available in most large market and Oriental food stores.

Yield: 20 to 26 lychee sweet cigar roll-ups