July 20th--"Pork" Spring Rolls

Dave: Sometimes you start with one meal in mind and end up going another way entirely. Earlier tonight we were talking about making pulled "pork"sandwiches with kale cooked like mustard greens. We ended up making spring rolls. "How did that happen?" you ask. I reply, "I simply don't know.

Lauren: Well, I for one have been craving pan-Asian cuisine for some time now. I liked the idea of pulled pork, but not so much the buns it would have to be served on...what about something lighter, like rice wrappers?

Dave: Not to mention, pulled pork seemed a bit too much like our seitan hot wings and we don't want to get too repetitive. (If there is any interest in seeing our take on pulled pork, let us know in the comments and we can make it happen.)

Lauren: Add to this the fact that we were ravenous and needed something we could make quickly...so, spring rolls it was. To give them a little more nutritional value, we substituted kale for the traditional cabbage. Ours are also baked instead of fried, giving them even more health bonus points.

Dave: All in all, I would say this is a nice light summer dinner that can be whipped up in minutes... except for the fact that the oven needs to be at 425 F to get the right consistency from the rice papers. I really think they should have an "X Prize" for the first team that can make an oven that doesn't heat up the ambient air.

"Pork" Spring Rolls

1 package Upton's Naturals Seitan, Traditional Seitan style

1 cup kale, finely shredded

1/4 cup carrot, finely shredded

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, plus extra to cook with

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root (ground ginger works, too)

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce

1 package spring roll wrappers

Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Lightly coat a medium saucepan in extra sesame oil. Chop seitan into large chunks and fry over medium heat until evenly brown. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, mix seitan, kale, green onions, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and chili sauce until all elements are evenly coated.

Place about 1 tablespoon of the seitan mixture in the center of the spring roll wrappers. Roll wrapper around mixture and seal edges. (Note: To get a good seal, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and use it to moisten the edges before sealing. We mostly made rolls, but tried a couple of wonton shapes for fun - the cornstarch mix really helped the edges stay together.)

Place a layer of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Arrange spring rolls in a single layer and brush with vegetable oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes (turn halfway through baking time for crispier rolls).