This week has finally felt like summer. It’s been a bit too sticky hot for my tastes, but the relaxation I’ve been enjoying has been pretty outstanding. I finished up a summer class I was taking, and I’ve just been living. Lots of reading, lots of berries, lots of playtime with the kitties. Some intense workouts here and there. What I’m really enjoying is not feeling pressured to work out. Before, I used to keep a very set schedule with what workout I would do on each day. Now, I just sort of take it as it goes and do a workout that I’m feeling at that moment in time. The workouts on my Pinterest board have been heavy in my rotation – lots of jumping rope and kettlebells, all about 20-30 minutes in length. Interval circuits with those kinds of things about 3 times a week. Some yoga or dancing one day when I’m feeling something lighter. Nothing with really high impact that hurts my foot (that still gets sore every once in a while after breaking it in the fall). All super fun, and I really feel in control of my health for once. So I ate a huge ice cream cone last night? Okay, kettlebell and jump rope circuit today. It’s all just working. And it feels great.
I made these egg rolls this week, and I’ve been really enjoying them after a hard (but super quick) workout. It just makes things taste that much better, you know? 😉 But really, these are great anytime. And they’re pretty easy to make, especially once you get the egg roll wrapping down.
These don’t really need any fancy ingredients – soy sauce, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar (easily substituted with any other vinegar), chicken, cabbage, carrots, sugar, salt, pepper. The only thing that you may not have on hand would be the egg roll wrappers, and they’re pretty easy to find. I got mine from Walmart in the refrigerated section where they have salad dressings and such right next to the fresh produce. The package comes with tons of them, so you can have fun stuffing them with all sorts of things once you get started! Alex is pretty excited about that – we’ll probably share a few of our other combinations, soon.
These egg rolls are a lot more flavorful than what you’ll find at most Chinese restaurants these days, and they’re way better for you since they’re not deep fried. Just brush with olive oil before baking, and they still get nice and crisp. Alex made a sort of sweet and sour spicy dipping sauce to go with them that’s more liquid-y than most things you’d consider a “sauce,” but I really liked that I could just dip and it soaked right into the roll. It was super quick to stir together.
These are a perfect side dish, but I usually end up just eating 2 of these as the main part of my lunch with a ton of berries and a salad. These are great to make when guests are coming – it’s one of those foods that will impress just because you don’t generally think of egg rolls as a food you can make yourself (or at least, that’s how it is in this household). It’s really fun to roll them up, too! So yummy.
Have you ever tried making something that’s generally a take-out item at home? How did it turn out?
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, etc.)
- 2 tsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups cabbage, shredded
- 2 cups carrots, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 tsp dried minced onion
- 16 egg roll wrappers
- water, for sealing
- olive oil, for brushing
- sweet and sour sauce, for dipping (makeshift recipe below)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sriracha (hot chile sauce)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch (can omit, as it doesn't thicken it too much)
Stir the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar together in a small bowl, and set aside.
Heat the 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the cabbage, carrots, garlic, and ginger. Cook for about 5 minutes, until cabbage is tender.
Add the soy mixture and chicken, and raise the heat to high. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until chicken is no longer pink, and liquid is evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the minced onion. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil (I like to cover it with aluminum foil first and then coat to ease cleanup), and preheat the oven to 400ºF.
On a clean work surface, place one egg roll wrapper down flat with a corner facing you. Brush each corner with water, and scoop 1/3 cup of filling onto the center of the wrapper. Fold the corner nearest you over the filling, and then fold the two side corners towards the center (it will look like an open envelope). Roll tightly away from you so that the top corner closes the roll, and press to seal.
Place the roll on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat the rolling with the remaining rolls (you can do four at a time as you get used to rolling). Brush each of the rolls on the sheet with olive oil.
Bake at 400ºF for 10-12 minutes, until brown and bubbly looking. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve with sweet and sour sauce (store bought or homemade).
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat by baking at 350ºF for about 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir together all of the ingredients. Serve with egg rolls for dipping. If you would like it to be thicker, heat it in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until it thickens up, about 5 minutes.
adapted from Ezra Poundcake