Spring Rolls

I have not made spring rolls in ages, but here they are on the menu again.  And they are better than ever!  I spotted an interesting recipe in my cookbook, and though that it looked like a good way to use up some rice noodles that M and I got for a prize a while back when we spent $20 at the Asian Market.  Odd, I think, to win free noodles, but there you have it.  Anyway, I loved these spirng rolls, and they came in handy for my lunch and dinner.  The egg on the outside really gave them a nice coat, and baking them really created a nice cruncy outside.  The really amazing thing, though, was that they are about 35 calories each.  That's what I call low calorie, especially if you think about all the oil that goes into other spring rolls.

Thai Spring Rolls

Makes about 20

Adapted from Low-Fat No-Fat Thai

About 2 oz cellophane noodles

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 carrot, shredded

1 small bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 small can bamboo shoots, drained

4 oz frozen tofu, thawed and chopped

2 tbsp vegetarian oyster flavoured soy sauce

2 tsp agave nectar

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

20 spring roll wrappers

2 tbsp flour mixed with water to form a thick paste

1 egg white

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the noodles.  Remove from heat, and let sit for 20 minutes.  Drain, and roughly chop.

Meanwhile, for the filling, heat a wok over medium high heat.  Add a bit of water, and then the garlic.  Stir for a couple seconds, and toss in the bell pepper and cabbage.  After those are tender, about 3 minutes, add the carrot, green onions, bamboo, and tofu.  Heat through, and remove from heat.  Add in the cooked noodles, soy sauce, agave, and cilantro, and mix through.

Heat the oven to 425. 

To make the wraps:  Place about 2 tbsp of the filling in a line in the middle of a wrapper, horizontal to you.  Fold the edge farthest away from you over the filling to cover it, and then fold in the two sides.  With your finger, add a bit of the flour paste to the edge closest to you.  Roll the edge closest to you up to create a roll (it should seal with the flour paste).  Brush with the egg white, and place on a baking sheet coated with nonstick spray.  Repeat with remaining filling.

Bake for 10 minutes, until heated through.  Serve with a dipping sauce.

Saag Tofu and Baked Spring Rolls

Tonight I did something that I have never done before: I made dinner at one of my friend's houses for her family.  It was interesting, to say the least!  Three hours striaght of working in the kitchen... which was alright, but I got just a bit tired, as I know my friend did too!  She actually abandoned me several times, but she doesn't have a passion for cooking like me, so I guess that's ok.

Anyway, the food turned out to be amazing!  We made Easy Baked Spring Rolls from Fat Free Vegan's blog, only we used purple in place of napa cabbage out of personal preference.  They came to the exactly right crispyness, the filling was just perfect, and my friend's little sis' even enjoyed them, and she's rather picky.  Quite tasty, and easy, like the recipe says.  And I have found that they only need to be baked once for about 10 minutes, and not flipped, especially if you don't get the rolls soaking wet.  One thing to note though- the rolls might be really stubborn, and stik together.  All I can say is good luck.

We also created an adaptation of Saag Tofu from Eating Well.  Personally, I absolutely  L-O-V-E this dish, but it really seems that some do and some don't.  But I have yet to see a person who won't eat it, and you could always reduce the amout of onions, because there are quite a few. 

I though the Saag turned out quite photogenic, but not so much for the Spring Rolls.  I think I could have done a better job with them, but... taste matter more right?

One more thing to add about the Saag.  The original recipe calls for spinach as the only green veggie, but in this recipe I added cabbage and bok choy.  I have also used swiss chard, and you could get away with pretty much any similar leafy green.

Saag Tofu

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon canola oil

• 1 12 ounces firm tofu, pressed and cut into ½ inch cubes

• 6 oz fat free vanilla yogurt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 large onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 teaspoon grated ginger

• 2 ½ cups red cabbage

• 1/2 pound spinach, washed and de-stemmed

• 3 baby bok choy

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick wok over high heat. Fry tofu for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until nicely browned. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, curry, mustard, and cumin.

3. Saute onion, garlic, ginger until the onion begins to get translucent, 4 to 6 minutes. Add cabbage, continue cooking until onions are almost done to your liking. Add in the spinach, tofu and bok choy, and cook until the spinach is wilted and all veggies are tender and

4. Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt.