Impromptu Eggrolls

Sometimes I take photos of something I'm making, but then get busy with other posts and forget (or neglect) to post some of the older recipes and photos. Like with these eggrolls. I made them in...early June. Okay, so that's only about 5 weeks ago. Could be worse, I suppose.

Anyway, in an attempt to rectify this, I'm trying to focus on some older recipes and process photos, just so I can put them to bed, so to speak.

I made these eggrolls in early June, with some leftover Farmers' Market produce and other odds and ends in the fridge. If I remember correctly, I was originally going to make some kind of pasta dish with the vegetables...and then I thought pan seared dumplings would be fun. And then I ended up making eggrolls. I had the eggroll wrappers in the fridge, and a package of tofu, so I guess it was fated.

And because this was a "clean out the fridge" sort of creation, I can't give you exact amounts for the filling. So this post isn't so much a recipe to follow as it is inspirational (I hope). So let's go.

The whole thing started with the rest of the mizuna and mibuna I'd bought at the Farmers' Market the previous Friday. I'd used most of each bunch, but there was still a significant enough amount left that I felt I should DO SOMETHING with it. I figured I could chop it up and saute it or something....

I had a package of firm tofu...I had those eggroll wrappers...I had some black beans from a can - must have used some for something and these were what was left...I had onion and garlic...some mung bean sprouts...and part of a serrano pepper that was turning red and begging to be used. Oh, yeah, and I had some mushrooms.

I sauteed the onion and garlic and mushrooms in some oil, and added the cubed tofu and continued to cook til most of the liquid was either absorbed or cooked off, and the tofu was just starting to turn golden. I scraped all that into a large bowl, and then steamed the chopped greens in the same pan til they wilted nicely and gave up most of their liquid. I added them, along with the black beans, chopped serrano, and sprouts to the bowl and mixed the whole mess together really well.

I know. "Mess" is a pretty appropriate term, isn't it.

Next, I got out my package of eggroll wrappers and started the assembly.

Ta-da! You just need to remember to dip your finger in some water and run it around the perimeter of the wrapper so that you can seal the edges as you roll them up.

I put about an inch of oil in a pan and started heating it, and while the temperature climbed, I made some dipping sauces.

And yes, I admit it, I made three sauces just so I could make use of this nifty little plate I bought at Pier One that same day.

The first one I made was a blend of soy sauce and wasabi paste with some chopped chives on top.

Second sauce was simply a blend of sesame oil and rice vinegar with some roughly chopped cilantro leaves on top.

(Chives and cilantro came from our garden, by the way.)

And the third sauce - well, I wanted something thicker and creamier (clearly), so I blended nonfat yogurt with some hot pepper jelly - that orangey red blob on top is some of the jelly.

I must say, the set of sauces in their snazzy little platter was fun to photograph.

Yep, that was fun. Back to work.

Once the oil had reached a temp of between 350-360 F, I started frying the eggrolls a few at a time.

As they came out of the oil, I kept them dry in the warming drawer of my oven until all the eggrolls were cooked.

And then I assembled them around the sauces and brought them downstairs to share with Bill.

They were really good - with an occasional blast of heat from the chopped serranos that kept things exciting. (It's important, in a marriage, to throw an occasional culinary curveball, you know. Serrano peppers make the heart grow fonder. Or something like that.)

So next time you have a variety of potential ingredients all hanging out in your fridge, and you know you could make some sort of pasta dish or a salad with them, but you just don't really feel like going those routes, get out your eggroll wrappers and stir up a few dipping sauces and...(get ready for it)