Chinese Chicken Spring Rolls Part 2

I ended up making these springs rolls two different ways.  Thanks to the advice of my good friend, Joan, I tried baking these spring rolls instead of deep frying them.  A few suggestions-- finely shred your ingredients and don't sauté your cabbage mix before putting the mixture in the wrappers.  The extra moisture will make your spring roll wrappers too soggy.  I brushed the tops with olive oil and baked them at 375 for 20-25 minutes.  I would have liked these to come out a little more crispy-- maybe I need to brush them with a different type of oil to achieve the crispiness that I would like.  Overall, I really liked the taste.  I will definitely try the baking method again.  I just need to figure out how to make them more crispy.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to do this, please comment below. 

Cabbage mixture

 

 Getting ready to roll the wrappers

 

 

All ready for the oven

 

The second way I made these rolls is by wrapping them in egg roll wrappers instead of spring roll wrappers and frying them in a pan. I put more filling in these wrappers which is why they don't have a round shape to them.  If you decide to use this method make sure to sauté the mixture.  I think I like these better in the egg roll wrappers and fried.  I'm not ready to give up on the baking method.  I just need a little more practice.

Egg roll version

The homemade sweet & sour sauce turned out to be delicious!  The only changes I made to the recipe is adding some red Chile pepper, shredded carrots, and fresh garlic. I also used Splenda instead of sugar.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

  Sauce simmering on the stove 

On the side, I served rice and spinach soup.  I got this delicious yet easy soup recipe from my sister-in-law, Nanako. Bring water to a boil, add a chicken bouillon cube, a small bag of organic spinach, and desired amount of soy sauce.  I used just a couple shakes of low-sodium soy sauce.  Let boil for one minute, remove from heat, and serve.  

Baked spring rolls with sweet & sour sauce sauce, and a side of rice

Spinach soup