Vegan Spring Rolls Stuffed with Five Spice-Scented Dressing--A Thanksgiving Favorite All Wrapped Up

Yield: approximately 2 dozen appetizers

This is one of those ad libbed recipes that turned out brilliantly. We just made a simple eggless cornbread stuffing using a vegan packaged mix (Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing) to which we added a little finely diced onion and celery along with some veggie broth and a couple of pinches of Five Spice Powder. We cooked the mixture in the microwave for about 3 minutes before fluffing it with a fork to insure that the onion and celery was soft. It was surprisingly tasty by itself and over-the-top fried up as spring rolls.

approximately 1 1/2 cups of your favorite vegan cornbread dressing
2 pinches Five Spice Powder
1/2 package 6-inch square spring roll wrappers (about 24-25), thawed, and covered with a kitchen towel
halved, whole or sliced water chestnuts
canola oil for frying

Stir Five Spice Powder into cornbread dressing until well combined. Heat about 1-inch of canola oil in skillet over medium high heat until a droplet of water sizzles and sputters. Watch closely. While oil heats, place about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling and one water chestnut (or a half or a slice) into the center of a spring roll wrapper. Fold in sides and then roll up, jellyroll fashion. Moisten edge to seal if necessary. Set onto a plate, and continue with remaining wrappers, filling and water chestnuts. When oil is ready, place as many spring rolls as will fit without touching or over-crowding. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until they are golden on the underside . Gently turn them with a spatula or tongs and fry until golden brown on the second side. Remove from oil and allow to drain on an absorbent towel or paper. Keep warm in the oven set on the lowest temperature. continue frying in this manner until all of the batter has been used. Serve with Thai Cranberry Dipping Sauce.


Thai Cranberry Dipping Sauce:
1 small can of whole cranberry sauce (or about 1 cup of homemade cranberry sauce)
Stir sauce in a small bowl and add some of each of the following to taste:

Thai Chili SaucePeanut Satay SauceDuck SauceVegan Fish Saucefresh lime juiceServe chilled or at room temperature.

Source: Betsy and Tina DiJulio