Baby Spring Rolls

We took these to a friends house for a get-together and they were a huge hit! They were absolutely delicious, vegan, healthy and totally fun to make! Perfect, if you are craving an egg roll but not the extra calories and sketchy ingredients. Kids have a fun time helping to mix the ingredients and wet the corners of the won tons (you will see what I mean...read on...)

I first decided to make these because I saw pre-shredded cabbage/carrot mixture was on sale for $1.30 and right next to it- won ton wrappers (60). substitute rice wraps for a gluten free option.

To make the filling, Combine, 

•  Half the bag of cabbage (purple and green with carrots) 
• A quarter of a red onion, diced or finely chopped 
• A small handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• green pepper Tabasco to taste (for kick!) 

I sauteed (barely) this mixture in my frying pan just so they were not completely raw- but still crunchy and fresh, then mixed it in with:

• 1/3 bag of rice noodles, cooked
• 1/4 cup of hoisin sauce, (to taste)

this makes enough filling for about 30 rolls (notice you'll have exactly enough extra ingredients to make all 60!) 

To make the rolls, arrange the won ton wrapper into a diamond in front of you.

• Use a fork to plop about 1T of filling into the center and fold the bottom corner of the wrapper to the center (as shown above). 
• Next, dip your finger into a small bowl of water and wet the three remaining corners.
• Fold the side corners into the center to make a small pocket that looks like an envelope, using the water like glue to secure. 
• From the bottom, roll the pocket all the way up and secure the top corner with water. (you might have to use your fingers to push the filling back into the roll as you roll it up)

This image is not mine but I thought you would find it helpful in visualizing this process. 

Have fun with it- think of (or look up) other ways you could roll your spring roll!

The final step is to cook them. I lightly sprayed the rolls with canola cooking spray to get them extra crispy- but this step is not totally necessary. I then plopped the rolls into the frying pan on med heat and allowed them brown on both sides (I know they are round, just look at the pictures) remember, all of the ingredients are cooked and safe to consume, so its really just a preference at this point, on how well you want them done. 

The rolls are so flavorful that you don't necessarily NEED a sauce- but I highly recommend mixing up a bowl of dipping sauce of Grant's creation:

• 1 cup of hoisin sauce
• minced garlic
• finely chopped ginger (ours was pickled from a previous sushi endeavor)
• finely chopped cilantro
• splash balsamic vinegar
• a small spoonful of sour cream for creaminess and thickness (oops there goes our vegan status)

Sorry, but this is all to taste, as this dip was entirely experimental so exact measurements have not been determined yet! but all of these flavors are pretty bold so a little goes a long way! 

We found these rolls were delicious served warm or cold (trust me, you can't eat just one).

If you have one of the nifty tupperwares as shown above you will find these rolls are perfect to bring for lunch at school or work. The left over filling is great for lunch too! Think of it as cold, Asian pasta salad!

And moms: this recipe is kid tested and approved! just look at them! they are just the right size for little hands and secretly contain orange, purple, green and white veggies! 

The best part about this recipe is the cost effectiveness (okay the best part is eating these cuties)

• cabbage mixture $1.30
• won tons (60) $2.00
• hoisin sauce $3.00 (30c)
• Onion $1.00 (50c)
• Rice noodles $2.00 (65c)
• Cilantro $2.00 (20c)

for 60 spring rolls this should cost about $4.95

which puts the rolls at about 8 cents each! You just can't go wrong with that! We got two lunches and appetizers for 6 out of this recipe (plus a few in between that didn't make it to the plate).

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!