Spring Rolls

Yesterday night we ended up having an impromptu dinner party. Our original plans to go to Toronto dashed due to this miserable Michigan weather, we had a few people drop by and Shankar decided to redeem himself from the Mexican fiasco with an Asian feast. And an impeccable feast it was. We started off with spring rolls, followed up with a thai green curry with rice, and ended up with a yummy apple fritter with fruit topping. Everyone had fun watching him 'throw' his creations together, and of course oohed and aahed at his presentation for my pictures. To my dear friends in Toronto whom I really missed seeing this weekend, I hope we can have you all over to our place at some point in the future and I will get Shankar to make us this stuff again!

Spring Rolls
1 1/2 cups of cabbage and carrot julienned, a little red onion thinly sliced, 1 tsp chopped ginger, 1 tsp soy sauce, egg roll wraps
Dipping Sauce
1tsp sriracha chili garlic sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp szhechuan sauce, a few drops sesame oil, a few drops of red wine vinegar, salt

1. Flash the carrot, cabbage, ginger, and onion in hot sesame oil.
2. Take this off the heat, add salt, and mix with soy sauce.
3. Brush the edges of the wrapper with water, or an egg wash. Place 1 heaping tbsp of the mixture in the centre of the egg wrapper.
4. Fold over from the bottom, fold over the sides, and roll up (similar to making a burrito). See pictures below.
5. Spray with cooking spray all over and broil in a hot oven at 450 degrees, for 5-7 minutes. Watch them carefully, and turn them over halfway through. This is an alternative to the traditional deep fry method.
6. Serve with dipping sauce (just whisk together all the ingredients), or a hoisin sauce, or even Maggie Masala.

Below: Shankar's buddy Mark from the Business School was an expert at rolling up spring rolls.



Verdict: This were simple and fast to make. In my opinion a fantastic alternative to deep frying. The peanut gallery did comment that deep frying would taste better, but all the spring rolls were still eaten up very quickly!