Fried Rice and Oven Baked Egg Rolls

Chinese food...YUM!  I try to reserve saying "love" for things like my husband and daughter, you know, things that really matter.  I try to be conscious about my word choices and not use terms like "love" too often for inanimate things. But I love Chinese food!  When I was little my dad used to take us out to eat a fair amount.  My favorite place was a little Chinese restaurant called "Roses" and I always ordered fried rice.  Since I started to keep kosher I have really missed good Chinese food.  Until recently we lived in Jerusalem where there are no shortage of kosher restaurants; the problem is that we never managed to find any Asian place (other than a sushi place) that wasn't fleishig.  This shouldn't necessarily be a problem, but as it turns out, these places use the same oil for everything which means that you can order a "vegetarian" egg roll, but it was fried in the same oil as chicken which means it isn't vegetarian at all!  Anyway, I have made it my mission to be able to make some of my favorite Chinese dishes both 100% kosher and vegetarian (though you can easily fleish these up if you want to).
Let's start with the rice.  Until very recently I used a recipe for fried rice that was good enough to satisfy a craving, but not really great, plus it was time consuming.  Several weeks ago my father-in-law, the gourmet chef made some fried rice that was restaurant quality and I asked him how he did it.  He told me what to do and I have managed to pull it off a  couple of times now.  It hasn't come out quite as good as his, but it is still really good, in my humble opinion. :)  When I make it, I just use a large stock pot whereas my FIL used a cast iron skillet and that could account for some taste difference.  But, anyway, here is his basic recipe as he taught it to me.  It takes very little time and uses surprisingly little oil.


-2 Tbsp oil (I prefer canola for this, but you can use olive if you prefer)
-2 C white rice, uncooked
-4 C of liquid * (I suggest using pareve chicken or beef stock.  You can also use pineapple juice and water mixed to make 4 cups if you want to make pineapple fried rice.)
-Soy Sauce
-3-4 eggs, scrambled
3-4 Green onions, sliced
-Veggies of your choosing.  I like using peas, corn, shredded carrot, and bean sprouts as "must haves" and then if I have a can of chop suey or frozen green beans or anything else, it's an added bonus.  Fresh or frozen veggies are best, but canned works fine too.
-Sesame oil to taste (about 1Tbsp)


Prepare your 4 C of liquid and set it aside so it is ready as soon as you need it.

Combine the rice and oil in a large pot.  Cook over medium-high heat while stirring constantly, about 15 minutes until browned.  Do NOT step away from that pot!  It is so easy to burn the rice if you aren't paying very close attention to it.  (Gee, I don't know anyone who had to throw away all the rice the first time she made this because she wasn't paying enough attention...*sheepish*)

When your rice is browned, pour in your liquid, cover the pot and reduce heat to low.  Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, check on it.  You may need a little more time if it is still liquidy.  

Mix the rice around and add a few dashes of soy sauce to taste.   Then add your green onion and other veggies.  If you are adding chicken or beef or anything else, now is the time to do that too.  Mix well and then drizzle with the sesame oil.  Mix in the scrambled eggs or if you prefer (as my FIL does), beat the eggs really well and then fry them as thin as you can (like a crepe) then cut them into shreds and garnish the top of your rice with them.


Now, onto the egg rolls.  I have very recently discovered that not only are egg rolls quite easy to make (assuming you purchase your egg roll wrappers rather than making from scratch), and they can also be on the healthy side of the scale!  Did you know you can oven bake an egg roll and still end up with a nice crispy product?  I'll be honest, they do taste different than the deep fried variety, but they are still yummy and I don't miss all those deep fried calories a bit.

Here's what you need:
1 Pkg egg roll wrappers
shredded  cabbage or coleslaw mix
1 red onion. diced
bean sprouts
ginger (fresh or powdered)
shitake mushrooms (If you don't have these, they can be left out, I just like them)

Saute the onion in a small amount of olive oil until softened.  Add in everything else (aside from the wrappers) and saute until the cabbage is wilted.  If you want you can season your mixture with salt, white pepper, soy sauce and vinegar at this point.

Preheat your oven to 425 F and cover a baking sheet with foil.  Spray the foil with a non-stick cooking spray.  Set your wrappers and a small bowl of water.  Place a few tablespoons of filling on a wrapper going diagonally across the wrapper.  Dip your finger in the water and then run your finger around the edge of the wrapper, re-wetting your finger if you need to.  Fold the corner closest to you over the filling and start rolling towards the far corner tucking the side corners in as you go.  (There is probably an illustration of this on the wrapper package if you need.  Sorry, I didn't think to photograph this process - I'm new at this whole thing) :-P
Place your folded egg roll seam side down on the baking sheet.  Once you have placed all the wrappers on the baking sheet, give them a light spray of cooking spray.  Don't spray them too much or they will be soggy.
Place your baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping them half way through baking time.
Serve with sweet and sour sauce, duck sauce or sweet chili sauce.  Enjoy!