Cook it Fresh

Baked Veggie Egg rolls with Orange Dipping Sauce

Our family eats at Chinese restaurants quite frequently and especially enjoyed the many delicious Asian restaurants on our recent vacation. No matter what restaurant we are at, my daughter always loves the egg rolls or spring rolls. It seems that she will eat anything that is encased in a crispy, fried wrapper, and who can blame her? I decided to turn this predilection to my advantage by making egg rolls filled with crispy veggies and baking them in the oven to cut down on fat. I served these with the Orange Ginger Dipping Sauce from my Rainbow Fruit Platter post instead of a traditional sweet and sour sauce. Served with some fresh fruit and brown rice, these made a whole meal for my daughter and I last night and, for once, she actually ate a whole serving of vegetables! I won’t claim that this is an easy or fast dish to make since it can be quite time consuming. However, it is fun to put together and kids of all ages will enjoy helping with the filling and rolling.

A few years ago I came across a stir fry recipe that used broccoli coleslaw mix as one of the vegetables. This bagged mix of julienned broccoli, purple cabbage, and carrots can be found near the bagged salad in most grocery stores and I’ve found it to be a great time saver in many recipes. It can be added to stir fries, tossed with vinaigrette for a simple coleslaw, or even used as a filling for sandwiches and wraps. By using the broccoli slaw as the main filling for these egg rolls, I cut down on the time spent chopping and prepping veggies. Plus, it’s a good way to get kids to eat broccoli which can sometimes be a daunting vegetable when presented in floret form.

Baked Veggie Egg Rolls

Makes about 10 egg rolls

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 12-ounce bag broccoli slaw mix

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin 1-inch strips

salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tablespoon apple juice

a drizzle of sesame oil

2 cups baby spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped

10 egg roll wrappers

1 egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon water

Cooking spray

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, but not smoking, add the broccoli mix, garlic, and bell pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the broccoli begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Whisk together the soy sauce, apple juice and sesame oil and add this mixture to the pan along with the spinach. Continue to stir and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes longer. Remove vegetables from the heat and transfer to a colander set over a bowl.

3. Let the vegetables cool for about 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle comfortably. Press the vegetable mixture several times with a spatula or wooden spoon to remove as much excess liquid as possible.

4.  (There are pictures illustrating this step at the end of the post). Lay the egg roll wrappers on a counter and over them with a damp towel until ready to use. Lay one wrapper in front of you and spread a scant 1/4 cup of vegetable mixture down the center of the square. Wet each corner of the wrapper with a dab of the egg/water mixture and fold the side that is furthest from you over the filling. Now, fold the side closest to you over the filling and, finally, roll the left side of the wrapper around the filling until it is all enclosed. Wet the seam of the egg roll with the egg mixture and press firmly to the roll so that it adheres well.

5. Spray and large sheet pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray and lay the filled egg rolls on it, seam side down. Spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray and cook in the preheated oven for about 8 minutes, or until the bottoms of the rolls are browned and crispy. Turn the egg rolls over and bake for another 5 to 8 minutes or until all sides of the egg rolls are crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes, or longer, before serving to young children, as these are very hot straight from the oven.

Filling spread on wrapper

Folding sides over filling

Rolling the long side over the filling

You're done!