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An Egg Roll Makeover

April 2, 2014   21 Comments

Egg rolls were one of those foods that I always ordered if I was getting Chinese food. Until I met my husband and he ruined everything.

Lighter Egg Roll

He doesn’t like deep fried food. I don’t know what is wrong with that guy, but he was aghast at my insistence that we order them. I didn’t want an ENTIRE order to myself so I didn’t get them.

After 13 years with my partner, I have stopped eating them. I did decide to try to make them to see if I could approximate the crispy, salty, tangy confection that is an egg roll. Of course, I wanted to do it without deep frying so I baked them.

Here are the nutrition facts for one egg roll at P.F. Chang’s:

140 calories, 5.0 g fat, 1.0 g saturated fat, 37.0 g carbohydrates, 4.5 g protein, 1.5 g fiber, 1100 mg sodium, 6 Points+

The number that should blow your mind is the sodium. That is ONE egg roll folks and is your meal going to end there? 1100 milligrams of sodium is 46% of your daily value and more than the sodium you would find in an ENTIRE Big Mac (970 mg).

My egg roll is all vegetables and is a little bit of work. First, you must make the filling and then you roll it up into egg roll wrappers. The wrappers can usually be found next to the produce section in a refrigerated case.

I use my food processor to do all the heavy chopping to save time – mince the garlic, ginger, onion, mushrooms and shred the carrot and cabbage.

The Hoisin sauce can be found in the “Asian” section of your supermarket next to the soy sauce. Do use fresh ginger for this recipe. It has a great punch of flavor that makes this work since you are using much less salt.

See here for a cute video on how to fold them:

This is a good job for someone who is sitting around trying to watch TV or read a book. Put them to work!

Have you tried to make your own egg rolls?

Baked Vegetarian Egg Rolls Recipe

1.6 from 24 reviews

Makes 20 Egg Rolls

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
4 cups cabbage, shredded
2 cups mushrooms, cleaned and minced
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
20 egg roll wrappers

Instructions

mustard for dipping (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with canola oil or olive oil.

Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté until the onion softens (3-5 minutes). Add carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, Hoisin sauce, and soy sauce and sauté for another 5 minutes until the cabbage has softened and the flavors have melded.

To assemble egg rolls, put ¼ cup filling in the center of the wrapper and follow the package directions. Basically, you make an envelope with the filling in the center. Spray finished egg rolls with canola or olive oil and bake for 12-15 minutes until browned.

Serve immediately to ensure crispiness with mustard for dipping.

Nutrition Facts

For one egg roll: 85 calories, 1.2 g fat, 0.0 g saturated fat, 16.8 g carbohydrates, 1.6 g sugar, 2.6 g protein, 1.2 g fiber, 190 mg sodium, 2 Points+

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

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21 Comments:

These look amazing!

Do you think you could use "cabbage slaw" for some of the filling-then add the mushrooms?

Do you think you can freeze them?

That is really great Snack Girl. i am going to try it.

do you have any idea if this can be also done with rice wrappers that are used for sping roles?

I bet you could even use broccoli slaw. You would have to use your food processor to make it finer, but it would be very healthy!!!

I've made these several times from a similar recipe, and the only problem I seem to have is that the wrapper gets more dense and chewy than crispy - have you figured out how to avoid that? I tried rolling them thinner with a rolling pin once, but they didn't "want" to get any thinner and ended up exactly the same! I LOVE egg and spring rolls, but cannot for the life of me figure out how to get rid of this chewy thing.

@Jolene - I LOVE Broccoli Slaw. Like that commercial for that hot sauce, "I Put that S**t on everything!

These egg Rolls sound delish, I must try them!

Sue! That's a great idea.. cabbage slaw then mushrooms. I think I will try that version of it along with SG's version (for comparison).

You can also use bok choy instead of cabbage. Use the stems too. I second using fresh ginger. My husband makes egg rolls baked instead of fried whenever we get bok choy in our CSA pickup.

I have also asked a Chinese restaurant that I know I like their egg rolls at to purchase them BEFORE they deep fry them.... They usually make them in mass 2-3x times a week and I just call or go in ahead and ask them to save me a bunch... I bake then with a little spray of olive oil and they are great! The sodium is probably still high but the fat is way less. Once cooked you can freeze them then just pop them in the microwave to defrost and toast in toaster oven.. It's a lot less work too :)

@Sue - I think cabbage slaw would work except I would chop it even smaller.

@Adi - Rice wrappers are a great idea! I haven't tried them but why not?

@Stacie - Have you tried finishing them under a broiler for a few minutes on each side? That would deliver that crunch you are looking for.

@Jen - that is BRILLIANT!

Thanks for your comments and questions!

One of your best recipe makeovers ever, can't wait to try it! Looking forward to receiving your book also.

I have never liked egg rolls so I dont have this problem :) however, I LOVE vietnamese fresh rolls!! they are rice paper rolls and so good when stuffd with fresh veggies, sometimes shrimp, dipped in sriracha.

I also make my own rolls at home with nori sheets! stuff with bell peppers, maybe cabbage/carrotes etc, drizzle with sriracha and possible almond butter or dijn mustard!

Can you bake spring roll wrappers?

I make my own potstickers (gyoza) and steam them before I fry them. Steam or briefly boiling in water will help soften the wrapper making it more susceptible to crisping up while they are baking. I would use parchment with a light smear of oil on a baking sheet before baking. These wrappers can stick sometimes.

I make a dipping sauce from tamari (or soy sauce), a couple drops of sesame oil, minced or dry ginger, a few chopped scallions (green part only) and a little water. Add a little mirin or sake if you like.

I love that you put in the video. It is really a great aid to those who have never made egg rolls. Great recipe!

I freeze leftover baked egg rolls and just bake from frozen...still good!I also spray both sides with olive oil and they get crispy, not like fried, but good enough. Bean sprouts are good added to the slaw mix too. I'm actually making these tonight and adding shrimp!

This sounds tasty, but my first thought was that I'm sad for you that just b/c your hubby doesn't like egg rolls, you've stopped eating them ever ;) Agreed that they are not exactly a health food, but a once in a while indulgence IMO is just fine; the sodium, while shockingly high, isn't going to kill me overnight. Just make me really thirsty all the rest of that night and the next day and unable to put my rings on due to swelling :)

@Christine ~ Your comment made me laugh. I too must watch sodium but sometimes the temptation is just too much. I just cut it out elsewhere. I feel your pain : )

I used to make friend egg-rolls all the time when I was younger! I will certainly try these Lisa! They sound wonderful!!

Thanks for the recipe - I love Potstickers when they are steamed. I am wondering if I could follow this recipe and steam them?

Thank you for the recipe. I plan to make these really soon!! Once they're rolled, can they be frozen before baked?

Make your own egg roll skin:

1-1/3 cups sifted enriched flour,2/3 cup cornstarch,1/2 teaspoon salt,2 unbeaten eggs

1-1/2 cups water

Sift together flour,cornstarch and salt. Blend

together with fork the eggs and 1/2 cup water. Add gradually to dry ingredient, blending thoroughly with spoon or rotary beater. Graudually add remaining 1-cup water,beat until smooth.

Reserve about 1/3 cup batter for sealing the edges of the egg roll.

spray a non-stick skillet with pam and place it over medium heat. Hold the pan at a slight angle, pour about 2 tablespoons of batter all at once into skillet. Tip quickly in all directions to make a thin 7inch pancake. cook until mixture looks dry and begins to curl around the edges. Remove froom heat. Continue to do this until you use up all the batter. (you can adjust the salt if you don't want that much).

egg roll wrappers are delicious baked. just put in a greased ramekin and add an egg. bake for 10 or 15 minutes until set. i make pot stickers and egg rolls once a year and have a few leftover so i think that any filling would be good baked. gets crisp and more bread like. a real breakfast treat.

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