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March 10, 2010

Egg Rolls: Baked or Fried? How About Both?

The other day I had the notion to make some egg rolls. I hadn't made them in a very long time and thought about making them for Chinese New Year, but time got away from me. Alexis became intrigued with the idea and wanted to help so one day last week we set out to make some egg rolls.

I decided to take the same basic egg roll and cook it two different ways to see what would happen. I have always been curious about baking an egg roll versus frying it, so this was the perfect time to do a little experiment to see what would happen. Curious? Check out the recipe below and see how it turned out!

What You'll Need:
Oil for frying
Sesame oil
1/2 a small head of cabbage, chopped
1/2 a large bunch of bok choy, chopped
1/2 a large red onion, cut into thin strips
1 large carrot, shredded
1 leek, cut into strips
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Brown rice vinegar
Egg roll wrappers
A small bowl of cold water
A pastry or basting brush

If you want to bake your egg rolls preheat oven to 400 F.

If you want to fry your egg rolls heat oil to 375 F.

While oven or oil is heating prepare your vegetables.

Thinly slice onion:

Shred carrot:

Chop Bok Choy:

And cabbage:

And finally cut leek into strips:

In a large pot add a little sesame oil and then add all your vegetables, a sprinkle of sea salt, some freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of brown rice vinegar, stirring to coat:

Saute, stirring often, until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and set aside. I actually moved the vegetables into another dish because Lex was going to be helping me and I didn't want to risk burning her hands or fingers on the hot pot:

This step is up to you depending on whether you have a little helper.

Now you are ready to start putting together your egg rolls!

First lay your egg roll wrapper on point:

For those of you who aren't sure what on point means, it means that your square looks like a diamond.

Place a spoonful of filling in the middle of your diamond:

Bring the bottom point up to basically cover the filling:

Don't worry if every single piece of the filling is covered. It doesn't matter at this point.

Next bring in each side point and you'll end up with something that looks a lot like an envelope:

Gently brush the top of the "envelope flap" with a little water:

Lex got a little generous with her water brushing here, but hey she was having fun and it all works out in the end! ;oP

Gently roll the bottom of the "envelope" until a roll is formed:

The water helps seal the "envelope" and make the roll stay put while cooking.

Now you decided if you want to bake or fry!

For baking place your rolls on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper:

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown:

And now a look at the inside:

You'll see in a moment that insides of the fried roll look much the same.

Now if you'd rather fry!

Place egg roll in the heated oil and cook for 2-3 minutes turning often until golden brown:

Place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain:

And the insides?:

And as you can see much the same as the baked.

So the verdict of which was better?

While both were really good, the frying really does add something to the flavor over all! However the oven baked version were good as well for when you want a slightly healthier option.

Notes: You can freeze these rolls after cooking for use later. You can also add in other veggies. Mushrooms would be fabulous! Or how about some bamboo shoots? The possibilities are endless!

Posted by Dianne at March 10, 2010 9:38 AM

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Posted by: Melissa at March 10, 2010 12:55 PM