Baked Egg Rolls

Menu Monday is going to be a series that I repeat every Monday.  I'm going to showcase whatever recipe is on my menu for the current Monday.

Today just happens to be: Egg Rolls and Rice (no veggie because there is veggie enough in the egg roll)



These are fairly easy rolls to make.  I buy the egg roll wrappers in the refrigerated section of the produce  area.  Each package costs me about $2 for roughly 20 wrappers.  That's not bad.  I also double this recipe because we like it and this time of year it is really easy to make because of the seasonal veggies.  Just remember, you can do your own substitutions if you don't like Chickpeas (pork, chicken, a different bean, etc.). The chickpeas can be either canned or dried that you then must cook.


 Before starting, decide whether you are going to cut up a head of cabbage, or use bag coleslaw mix.  Frankly, I like the fresh cabbage (and I'm not a cabbage person).  It just tastes better.  There are 2 different ways to cut cabbage.

Using saw Knife to cut finely.

Using cheese grater to grate.

 If you decide to use the cheese grater, it turns out the consistency of KFC's coleslaw.

If you have never seen egg roll wrappers, here is a photo of the one's available at my grocery store.  I am not specifically endorsing this company.  Picture just taken to show you a sample.

Let's get started!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups finely chopped, cooked chickpeas
• 1 tablespoons finely minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 2.5 cups shredded Cabbage or bag of Coleslaw mixture w/carrots
• 0.75 cups shredded carrots (omit if using bag mixture)
• 0.5 cups finely chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• to taste Crushed red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
• 0.25 cups soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• egg roll wrappers

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees In a large skillet, sauté the onion until it turns translucent, but do not allow it to brown. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 30 seconds. Add remaining vegetables and cook until softened. Season with black and red peppers (optional) and add sesame seed. Add chickpeas and combine. Once the chickpeas are hot, add in soy sauce and cabbage, a handful at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once the cabbage has wilted, remove the skillet from the heat.
 

 Here is what the combination looks like:

mmm...Yum!!

Next, these were my tools for assembly.  Have your cookie sheet, or whatever you will cook them on, nearby. In the small bowl is water for dipping your finger into when sealing the wrappers.

To assemble, lay out an egg roll wrapper on the counter.

Place about 2-4 Tbsp of the chickpea and veggie mixture onto the wrapper.

Fold up the bottom corner. and then fold in the left and right side corners towards the center.

Using your finger, brush the remaining (top) corner with a little water and roll.

Roll from the bottom up, so that the filling is contained. .

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Spritz with oil and continue baking until slightly browned, and bake another five minutes.When they are done, they look so scrumptious!!

 We served them with rice flavored with teriyaki sauce.

Now, since I doubled this recipe, I got a lot more eggrolls then just the 8 I did for dinner.  I got a total of 29, including what we ate tonight.  That left me with 2 more meals of 8 and one meal of 5.  If you double the recipe, that is roughly one head of cabbage and 1 fat carrot shredded.  VERY cost effective for 4 meals.

Freezing Directions:

Prepare rolls WITHOUT BAKING. Flash freeze on cookie sheet (this means put them in the freezer on cookie sheet for 30 min to an hour; they should be solid when you check them). Divide among gallon freezer bags and freeze. To serve: Thaw. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Spritz with oil and bake another 5 minutes.

Two 8 count bags and one 5 count bag!!

Happy cooking!!

Amanda