I’ve never been a huge fan of egg rolls mainly because I’m don’t care for mushrooms. When I thought about making them, I considered trying traditional pork egg rolls, but that didn’t sound appealing either. So … sweet potato (in large part because I had a few sitting in my fridge that I need to use.

This was definitely one of those use-what-you-have fillings although I did pick up cabbage for this dish and a soba noodle dish I wanted to make later in the week. I loosely based my version on a recipe from The Real Food Academy which looked pretty simple. My amounts differ pretty far from the original recipe, and I added a few things. I do think I want to change the sauce for the filling and add a little hoisin to it next time, but for a first attempt, it was a success. Not as pretty as some, but still not bad.

One thing I really liked about this dish was the potential for lunches. Each roll was pretty self contained and that makes packing for lunch easier. If I change the filling and use something with more of a punch inside, I could get away with no dipping sauce and a room temperature (no refrigerating at work and no heating up in the communal microwave) meal. I need to work on this.

Recipe:

• 1 medium sweet potato, cut into match sticks
• 1 handful snow peas or sugar snap peas
• 2-3 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup carrots (I used the matchstick carrots I had on hand, but shredded would be fine
• 3 scallions, chopped with green and white parts separated
• Egg roll wrappers
• 1 knob ginger, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• olive oil for pan and brushing
• sesame seeds for topping (optional)

Dipping Sauce:

• 1 scallion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce

Mix ginger, garlic, soy sauce, maple syrup and sesame oil in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Heat about 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a pan over medium high heat until hot. Add sweet potatoes and cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes. Add peas and continue cooking another two minutes. Add carrots and scallion whites and stir, then cover and cook over medium heat for about three minutes. Check the sweet potatoes and if they are mostly cooked, uncover, add cabbage and toss until wilted. If the potatoes are not cooked, continue cooking about 2 more minutes. Add sauce and stir to combine then remove from heat and add in the scallion greens.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place one wrapper on a clean surface and add about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling, making sure to drain the liquid from the filling before placing on the wrapper. Brush the edges of the wrapper with water to help seal the roll. Fold the bottom corner up over the filling, then fold each side towards the middle. Roll the wrapped portion of the egg roll towards the top and place on a lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have used all the filling (I made ten).

Brush the top of each roll with a little olive oil, then sprinkle sesame seeds on top for a little visual interest. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve hot or room temperature.

While the rolls are baking, combine the ingredients for the dipping sauce into a bowl and mix well.