Easy Egg Rolls Recipe

Hey, I’m John Canel and today we’re making some crunchy, flavor-packed egg rolls. So, let’s get started.

Prep the Vegetables

First off, you have just a bit of prep to do. Starting with one onion that we’re going to give a nice fine dice to. You want about 1/4 of a cup. That’s about 1/4 of a cup. So, set that aside. We also want half a cup of shredded carrots. So, often we think of egg rolls as a Chinese dish. Really, it’s a Chinese American dish. Spring rolls, yes, that is from China. An egg roll is an American version of that. So, it’s like basically a spring roll that you’re deep frying. Just about half a cup of carrot. Set that aside. Grab two or so cloves of garlic. Just remove the papers. And you can pass this through a garlic press or give it a mince. It’s up to you. A lot of the bulk in these egg rolls is coming from shredded cabbage. So, grab a green cabbage and we’re going to finally shred about two cups of that. You could definitely use red cabbage for this. And this is not a recipe that has to be super exact. Use things that you have in the fridge and you enjoy. So, if you want green onions or bean sprouts, those would go lovely in this.

Fresh Ginger Option

Later on in the recipe, we’re going to use half a teaspoon of ground ginger. But if you happen to have some fresh ginger in your fridge, go ahead and use that. And if you like more ginger flavor, use more ginger. It’s totally fine. I’m just using a spoon to peel the skin off the ginger. You could use a vegetable peeler, too. I love fresh ginger. I always have it in my fridge. Just give this a nice mince. I definitely measured that with my heart.

Cook the Filling

Everything’s all prepped out. So, now we can move to the skillet and get to cooking. Grab a big skillet. We’re going to place this over medium high heat and get it nice and hot. And add 12 oz of something. Today, I’m going to use 12 oz of ground pork, but you could use ground turkey, ground beef, ground chicken. You could use minced up shrimp, crab. You could use the firmer tofu that’s crumbled up. Any of those things will be great. So, choose your favorite. Plop that right in. We want to cook the meat through and brown it. So, just make sure you’re breaking it up with your wooden spoon and moving it around. We’re going to cook this for about 5 minutes. It will be less if you’re using shrimp or something else, so just keep an eye out. I always like to cook pork all the way through because nobody wants tinosis.

Season as You Go

If you want to add some more flavor to this, feel free. If I was making this in my kitchen, I might add some Chinese five spice, maybe a bit of lemon zest, and maybe like a sprinkle of soy sauce would be nice. We will be adding more flavor later, but you can add it throughout the recipe as desired.

Add Vegetables and Aromatics

It’s been about 5 minutes and my meat’s browned through. So, now we’re going to add our carrots in your diced onion. I’m also adding in my garlic now. So, grab your press, my ginger. I’m also going to add in about a tablespoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of sesame oil and half a teaspoon of salt and about 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. We’re going to cook this stirring frequently for about 3 minutes or until the carrots have softened. This recipe comes specifically from New York in the 1920s. There is a dispute on which restaurant and chef started it, but mid-20s New York we do know. It’s one of two restaurants.

Wilt the Cabbage

Now we can add our cabbage in and just cook it for two or so minutes until it’s wilted. If your cabbage is a little bit resistant to wilting, just grab a lid and pop that on for a few seconds. Stir and then pop it back on. All right. And just like that, my cabbage is wilted. So, I’m taking this off heat and it’s time to assemble.

Heat the Oil

But first, let’s grab a big Dutch oven and fill it up with 3 in of oil. Peanut oil would be my preferred one, but you could use veggie oil or grape seed oil or avocado oil as long as it’s high heat. Set your cook top to medium and we’re going to heat this until it reaches 350. I have a thermometer at the ready, so just keep an eye on it while we assemble.

Assemble the Egg Rolls

Grab a package of egg roll wrappers. And I have a damp, clean kitchen towel here. That’s just going to keep them from drying out. Very important. In a small bowl, crack one egg. And we’re going to use this as glue to hold everything together. Give it a good beat. Set that aside. And now we can begin our assembly.

Wrapping Technique

Grab your first wrapper. Yes, they were stuck together. Place it in a diamond shape on your counter. Brush the top corner with some egg wash. Grab about 3 tablespoons of the filling. Place that in the center. Fold the bottom corner up over the filling and scooch the filling in a little bit. And now fold the two sides in. One and two. And then finish by rolling the egg roll towards that egg washed corner. Press gently just to seal it up. And then place that onto a baking sheet. And continue until all of your egg rolls have been rolled.

Deep-Fry

These egg rolls are going to get deep fried for a really crispy, satisfying shell. But I have to tell you, they are best enjoyed with a dipping sauce. I don’t think you can have egg rolls plain. That seems this wrong. I like to have mine with a sweet chili sauce, but you can have duck sauce and really like anything you want is fine. It’s up to you. I will not judge. I’m just finishing up my last egg roll and my oil just hit 350. So, it’s really good timing. One thing I want to mention is that when you’re rolling these, be very gentle. This is not a stretchy dough. So, you can kind of press things together, but don’t try and stretch the wrapper and pull it too much. It will tear. So, gently maneuver it into place. And then we’re going to roll. There we go.

Frying in Batches

All right, my egg rolls are all wrapped up. I ended up with 13. You could have anywhere from 10 to 14 probably just based on how much cabbage you add. I used a fresh head and it just maintained its mass. I think a lot of the pre-shredded cabbage would cook down to nothing much faster. On to the stove. Let’s deep fry these up. Once your oil hits 350, we’re going to deep fry these a few at a time. I would say three is fine to start and then go from there. Watch the temperature as you add your egg rolls in. The temp of the oil will drop, so you might have to increase or decrease just depending on how things go. Also, make sure you have a spider. This is your deep fryer’s best friend. We’re going to deep fry these for 4 to 5 minutes until they’re brown and crispy. Flip these over as needed. Once they’re done, you’re going to remove them onto a baking sheet lined with a wire rack. For maximum crispiness, make sure your oil’s the correct temperature and you’re not overcrowding your egg rolls.

Serve

Give your egg roll a dip in your favorite sauce. And just like that, they’re ready to enjoy. These are just delicious. They’re full of flavor. I love the sweet chili sauce on them and the crunchiness on the outside just can’t be beat. I hope you get a chance to make this delicious recipe.