You Really CAN Make Delish **Baked** Egg Rolls

One of my guilty indulgences is egg rolls. I readily admit I love them with a capital L-O-V-E. I *could* eat egg rolls every day. Great egg rolls are crispy, crunchy, and slightly chewy, never greasy, and plump with lots of seasoned veggie and meat filling.

Doing some quick research, I realized the egg roll concept, meat and veggies rolled in dough and fried, is prepared and eaten around the globe. Of course, there’s the skinnier cousin, the non-fried spring roll, found in Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisines. In Mexico, it’s a chimichanga, burrito, or taquito, familiar to most Americans. In India, it’s kolkata, a fried egg cooked with and rolled into unleavened flat bread, paratha, and served with onions, chilis, and sometimes ketchup. In other English speaking countries, an egg roll refers to an egg, either fried or hard-boiled, in a mayo-spread bread roll. No thanks, not quite so appealing.

Until this weekend, I never imagined a home cook could make a reasonable facsimile, especially without frying. And that kind of frying does not happen in our home. Craig gave me a doubtful look but nonetheless jumped in and undertook the job of folding them. We were both surprised how great they turned out. Really surprised. I meant to eat only one, but since they easily met my criteria for a great egg roll, I ended up eating a second. Oops. Imagine the calories saved since these golden beauties are baked. Other than chopping the veggies, these are extremely easy to put together, and from what I’ve researched, unbaked egg rolls freeze very well. I’m seeing us taking a few hours and making a big batch of these for future indulging. Maybe I really can eat egg rolls every day.

The original recipe is from Being Mrs. Jones - Not Your Average Housewife. The recipe below reflects the changes I made. We ate them Vietnamese style, wrapped in lettuce with cucumber slices, sliced green onions, and shredded carrots, and Nuoc Cham, a spiiiiiiiiiiiiicy dipping sauce. Enjoy.

Baked Shrimp and Veggie Egg Rolls

Makes approximately 8 egg rolls

1 pound finely chopped, cooked shrimp

1 T finely minced garlic

2 t grated fresh ginger

2-3 cups finely chopped green cabbage, Napa Cabbage, or coleslaw mixture

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup diced bell pepper

1/3 cup minced carrot

2 t sesame seeds

1 t freshly ground black pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

1/4 cup of soy sauce, preferably low sodium

2 T sesame oil

7-inch square egg roll wrappers

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 and add sesame seed. Add cooked shrimp and combine.

Once the shrimp is 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.

To assemble, lay out an egg roll wrapper on the counter. Place about 1/3 to 1/4 cup of the shrimp and veggie mixture onto the wrapper. Fold in the left and right side corners towards the center, and then fold up the bottom corner. Roll from the bottom up, so that the filling is contained. Brush the remaining (top) corner with a little water and roll.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Spritz with oil and continue baking until slightly browned, another five minutes.

Nuoc Cham
USE WITH CAUTION: Craig said this numbs your tongue and lips. It is hot, but in a good addictive way.  

1/4 C sugar
1/2 C water
1/4 C fish sauce
Juice from 1/2 a lime
1/4 C rice wine vinegar
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
Thai chili or jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced, seeds removed to tone down the heat - or not

Combine first five ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add garlic and pepper.

This keeps well refrigerated for some time.

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