What to do with excess egg wash

Here’s an interesting question from a reader: “What do you do with the excess egg wash after you make lumpia?” I don’t throw it away, that’s for certain. But I also found out that beaten eggs can’t be kept in the fridge for more than a couple of hours. So, what do I do with the egg wash? Most times, since fried lumpia — especially lumpiang shanghai — goes so well with fried rice, I add the excess egg wash to the rice.

But won’t that result in too much moisture in the fried rice considering that the egg wash contains a substantial amount of water? Here’s my secret. Unless I am preparing a large amount of lumpia that I am certain there will be no excess egg wash, when I beat an egg to use for brushing the edges of spring roll wrappers, I don’t add water. That way, any excess can go into fried rice.

Any other tricks with excess egg wash?

Make an egg-drop soup. You can add meat (even scrap meat is good) and vegetables if you have some (see pork and asparagus egg drop soup, chicken and asparagus egg drop soup and chicken and corn egg drop soup) or you can just make a basic egg drop soup with broth and onions. After all, soup is always a great accompaniment to spring rolls.

Anything else?

Yes. Try a vegetable omelet. You may have to add more eggs but if you’re considering a vegetable dish to go with your spring rolls, why not cook the vegetables as an omelet? Throw in some mushrooms for good measure and you’ll be serving your family a great meal.