Palm-Sized, Baked Eggrolls

I don’t know about your kids, but my oldest (2, going on 30) is constantly begging for ‘SNNNAAACCCKKKKSSSS!!!’ Particular favorites include pretzel sticks, whole-wheat cheddar bunnies and Fig NEWMAN’S (the organic version of the NEWTONS). In general, she is fascinated with all things (food and toys) that fit in the tiny palm of her moist, sticky hands.

Tiny Hands Shown to Scale

In an attempt to encourage her to eat a proper meal (nutritious and possibly warm?), I developed my own version of egg rolls that can fit in her hands. These are based on a recipe my mom created when I was a child, minus the oil and frying process.

Admittedly, my taste buds will always be partial towards fried eggrolls. Something about the flavor of all that oil seeped into the wrapper and the crunchy/crispy outside…. But for the sake of my arteries (and my children’s health), I’ve opted to bake these eggrolls. Minus the difference in texture (certainly not as crispy), they are scrumptious in their own right. The proof of their tastiness and the high likelihood that your little one will like them can be seen in the photos below. Pai demonstrates the sequence of emotional events (from left to right) as she downs an eggroll.

RECIPE:

Egg roll wraps (the large ones and the small, wonton wraps) can be found in practically any grocery store these days, someplace near the refrigeration section of the store. Egg rolls made in the wonton wrappers may fit more snuggly in a tiny, 2-year old palm; however, folding the filling into these tiny wrappers requires incredible skill and petite fingers. I have neither skill nor tiny fingers. Therefore, I use the larger eggroll wrappers.

Ingredients:

1 small head of organic cabbage

3 organic garlic cloves

3 medium-sized organic carrots

3 organic scallions (white and green parts)

1 inch of grated organic ginger

2 teaspoons of organic canola oil

¼ lb of organic rice noodles (or angel hair pasta)

½ lb of organic ground turkey (dark or white)

2 table spoons of Hoisin Sauce

2 tablespoons organic Soy Sauce

2 teaspoons mirin (sweet rice wine)

Instructions:

Pour some boiling hot water in a bowl, over the rice noodles for 5 minutes.

In a large food processor, pulse the cabbage, garlic cloves, carrots and scallions until well combined and minced (you can shred, but my little one creates less of a mess when I mince the veggies).

Grate the ginger using a microplane or box grater.

Heat a wok/deep skillet with the 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the ground turkey and break up meat, stirring on medium to high heat until completely cooked. Add the processed vegetables. Stir for 1 minute. Add the Hoisin sauce, soy sauce and mirin. Stir for another 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat.

Cut the noodles into ½ inch pieces. Add the noodles to the stir-fry. Stir until well incorporated.

Fold/fill the eggroll wrappers by following the instructions that come with the packet of wrappers. Instead of filling the wrappers to the brim, consider only adding only 2 to 3 teaspoons of the filling for some of the younger eaters. This way, your eggrolls are longer (rather than wider) and can, more easily, fit in their hands.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 16-18 minutes on the middle rack. To attain a browner complexion and ‘crispy’ texture, feel free to brush a little canola or sesame oil on the rolls.

You can serve your eggrolls with a peanut sauce or a cool Greek yogurt/lemon sauce or soy sauce/sesame oil sauce.

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