Chinese egg rolls are one of the most popular traditional Chinese snacks. A classic Cantonese-style egg roll contains ground pork, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, and carrots.
In the United States, weI often see egg rolls typically served as an appetizer, or as part of a meal at lots of Chinese take-out restaurants. They are made from a thick flour wrapper, which is rolled around various fillings, before being deep-fried. Our Chinese egg roll recipe with vegetables ensure your rolls are crunchy on the outside and soft inside. They are thicker than fried spring rolls and are a dish that the entire family will love!
Try this Chinese egg roll recipe with vegetables and let me what you think!
The most common type of filling is ground pork, shredded cabbage, carrots, and scallions. A great shortcut to the filling is using packaged Cole slaw mix for the shredded cabbage and carrots. Of course, you can always substitute the ground pork with any other ground meat if you like. I previously made my egg rolls with ground pork and ground beef; they both turn out delicious!
Veggie lovers can replace the pork with tofu or their favorite plant-based protein or eliminate the meat and add more vegetables to make vegetarian egg rolls.
These egg rolls can be made at home easily. Here, I am going to show you how to make your own Chinese egg rolls “take-out style” at home.
How do you wrap egg rolls?
Rolling an egg roll is very easy. If you have time, you can always make your own egg roll wrappers at home. I buy my egg roll wraps from a local grocery store, which saves me ton of time, and I am happy with my store-bought wrappers. Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to easily roll an egg roll like a pro:
- First, spread the egg roll skin in front of you. Be sure to place them diagonally, so the wrapper looks more like a diamond than a square.
- Beat one or two eggs and set aside, get ready to seal the egg roll skins.
- Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling near the bottom corner of the paper. Spread it in a straight line stopping about the midway point of the wrap.
- Fold the corner over the filling and start rolling it tightly.
- In the middle of the paper, fold the left and right corners inward to seal the ends.
- Keep rolling until you reach the corner. Seal it by putting some mixed eggs in the top corner.
Tip: Wrappers will dry quickly after opening the package, so make sure you cover them with food plastic wrap while rolling.
How do you serve the egg rolls?
You can serve these warm starter egg rolls with your favorite sauce or dip. Goes well with ketchup, BBQ sauce, teriyaki sauce, sweet and sour sauce, honey mustard sauce, chili oil, or even regular soy sauce. Egg rolls are usually served with duck sauce, a sweet condiment popular at Chinese American takeout restaurants.
Can you freeze egg rolls?
Yes! You can freeze egg rolls. Once prepared, both cooked and uncooked egg rolls can be frozen. If you freeze them cooked (that is what I do), you’ll need to give them at least 1 hour to cool down before freezing.
Lay the egg rolls inside a gallon zip-lock freezer bag to freeze them uncooked. They might stick together where they overlap. When you are ready to eat again, do not defrost, or they will be soggy. Fry them frozen at medium-high heat until the egg rolls become golden and crispy outside.
I always make a big batch of them and then freeze them for a quick and easy meal later on my busy days.
Final thoughts
Homemade egg rolls are one of my favorite foods to prepare for my family. Homemade egg rolls are packed with pork and veggies, all wrapped and fried to crunchy perfection. Give it a try, and I promise you will fall in love with them!
Chinese Egg Rolls
Ingredients
- canola oil for frying the egg rolls
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil to brown the ground pork
- 25 egg roll wrappers
- 2 eggs beaten
- 6 cups classic coleslaw mix
- 1.5 pounds or 3 cups ground pork
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onions
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2.5 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Let’s first start to boil the water in a wok or any large deep saucepan. Add the Cole slaw mix and let boil for 3 minutes.
- Quickly drain the boiled Cole slaw mix out with a colander with cold running water. And then squeeze the extra liquid out by hand a little portion at a time. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped green onions and sauté for a minute or two. Then add the minced garlic and the grated ginger and cook until fragrant.
- Add the minced pork. Break it up with a wooden spoon and cook it until the meat turns brown. Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper to taste. (Do not add too much, you will need to season it again with the veggie mixture later) Drain the grease out from the ground pork and set it aside.
- Mixed the cooked ground pork and the Cole slaw together.
- Add sesame oil, and soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sprinkle five Chinese spices, black pepper, and salt over the step 5 mixture. Mix until they are well blended. Set aside and let it cool down.
- Beat one or two eggs and set aside, get ready to seal the egg roll skins.
- First, spread the egg roll skin in front of you. Be sure to place them diagonally, so the wrapper looks more like a diamond than a square.
- Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling near the bottom corner of the paper. Spread it in a straight line stopping about the midway point of the wrap.
- Fold the corner over the filling and start rolling it tightly. In the middle of the paper, fold the left and right corners inward to seal the ends.
- Keep rolling until you reach the corner. Seal it by putting some mixed eggs in the top corner.
- Let’s fry the egg roll!! Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on medium-high in a deep saucepan. Heat the hot cooking oil to 350degF (175degC) or until one piece of egg roll skin fries golden brown within 10 seconds. If the frying oil is too hot, the egg rolls skin will turn brown too fast, and the stuffing will not cook thoroughly.
- Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. Once hot enough add the egg rolls and fry until they turn golden brown. Remove from oil and drain.
- Deep fry all the batches you have.
- It is time to eat! Enjoy with your favorite sauce. 😊
Notes
- Fry the egg rolls in small batches, do not overcrowd.
- The filling should be at room temperature when you fill egg rolls. Do not wrap the egg rolls while the stuffing is still hot.
- Wrappers will dry quickly after opening the package, so make sure you cover them with food plastic wrap while rolling.
Denise says
These came out amazing! Ended up making only 12 egg rolls, 24 were way too much just for the two of us. Crisp and fried to perfection, these will go on rotation for sure!
Yuan says
Glad you like them:)
Amanda Principato says
Made this tonight! Very yummy. I didn’t have the 5 spice but it was good without it. I measured out the 6 cups of slaw but a 1 lb bag is the perfect amount. Very delish!