Baked Veggie Egg Rolls

My friend Darla sent me this recipe to try and try I did. I liked that it was a meatless meal, heaven knows we eat plenty of meat around here and could use the occasional break. And I was intrigued by the baking versus frying cooking method. I always find restaurant egg rolls that are fried good but greasy. You know the kind of greasy that makes you feel yucky even while you're devouring them. And I'm no health-nut!

Anyhow, my only beef with the final product was the the wrapper's weren't quite what I hoped they'd be taste-wise. I think next time, and there will be a next time cause the filling is delicious, I might try a pot-sticker style route. Frying them in a pan with a little veggie oil to brown at least one side if not more and then adding a touch of water, putting the lid on, and letting them steam to finish.

We ate these with homemade thai sweet chili dipping sauce and baked brown rice. Both recipes forthcoming...

Baked Veggie Egg Rolls

{Adapted from For the Love of Cooking Blog}

• 1 tsp+ olive oil
• 2 cups of savoy cabbage, chopped
• 2 cups of shredded carrots (I used pre-package broccoli slaw mix instead)
• 2 cups of bean sprouts (make sure they're fresh)
• 1 can of water chestnuts, chopped
• 2-3 green onions, sliced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup chicken broth + some additional if needed
• 14 or so egg roll wraps
• Sweet chili dipping sauce or sweet and sour sauce (for dipping)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add the cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots or broccoli slaw mix, water chestnuts, grated ginger, and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring frequently for 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables just begin to wilt but still remain a little bit crisp. Feel free to douse mixture with a little bit of chicken broth if you find that it's sticking to your pan while cooking. Mix the corn starch with the 1/4 cup chicken broth and mix thoroughly. Add the corn starch mixture and soy sauce to the pan along with the green onions. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let cool a little.

Place two or so tablespoons of the barely warm mixture on the center of the egg roll wrap. Fold the bottom up over the filling. Next, fold the two sides over, making it look like an envelope, then roll it up like a burrito. Try to work quickly as the wrappers dry out pretty fast.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with silpat liner. Place the rolled up egg rolls on a baking sheet, seam side down to start. Once you have rolled them all, spray the top of each egg roll with cooking spray.

Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes then turn them over. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. I found that mine took a bit longer to get brown, more like 8-10 minutes per side. Serve with sweet chili sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or any other favorite asian dipping sauce.