Crispy, savory, and perfect hand held deliciousness, these Vegetable Egg Rolls are an excellent addition to an Asian inspired meal.

The years of working in restaurant kitchens have turned me off of deep frying things at home. The fryalator is a massive appliance in those noisy, hectic kitchens, and contain gallons of hot oil just waiting to crisp and brown things like fries, mozzarella sticks, crab puffs, or egg rolls. While super tasty, the smells of the hot oil and fried foods flash me back to “86 chicken tenders” or “can you make this on the fly” and bring on kitchen and server nightmares. If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, you know exactly the ones I’m talking about.

In this little kitchen, things do not get fried often. But when I choose to fry something, it is epically delicious. It has to be, to combat the aforementioned nightmares. I’ve attempted a variation on my step-dad’s chicken fingers before (sans white gravy…blasphemous to any Southerner but it just isn’t my thing), and basically, perfecting these Vegetable Egg Rolls. I love Americanized Egg Rolls, but so often they come with some kind of meat (delicious) but sometimes a girl just wants a really, really excellent vegetarian version. And this is my take on it.

No need to sauté everything separately, just throw all your veggies in a big mixing bowl as you prepare them.

One of the beautiful things about Americanized Chinese food is the offering of the tasty little hand held egg roll. About six inches long, cylindrical in nature, filled with vegetables and typically some kind of protein, these crispy little wheat-wrapper fried bites of deliciousness are a staple in takeout meals. The creation of these little gems is loosely attributed to Henry Low in his cookbook “Cook at Home in Chinese” p. 1938, and can include vegetables or flavor combinations not typically used in traditional Chinese cooking. If you’re looking for traditional, Spring Rolls, made with Rice Paper and fried, are often also offered on menus. But for this Americanized version of Egg Rolls, they are the perfect flavor combo worth heating up the oil to deep (or shallow) fry every once in a while.

Plum Sauce, Duck Sauce, Chinese Hot Mustard…what’s your preferred dipping sauce to complement these Vegetable Egg Rolls?

The Vegetable Egg Rolls are chock full of cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. I choose not to include bean sprouts because I have a slight sensitivity to them raw, so I tend to not buy them. The flavor is deep and lovely from the cabbage getting cooked down, the mushrooms adding a deep earthiness to the dish. I found that adding the ginger and garlic raw to the mixture after the vegetables have been cooked takes the sharpness off the raw aromatics and it’s a cleaner flavor.

The oyster sauce is what makes these Vegetable Egg Rolls. The flavor imparted into the vegetables is something that peeps through and hugs the ginger and garlic notes, without being overpowering. It is something that is just there, and something that screams “Asian flavor profile” to me, like soy sauce or fish sauce. These Vegetable Egg Rolls supplement some excellent Chicken Fried Rice for dinner, and if you are forward thinking enough you can also get some potstickers going at the same time for a pretty homey little feast on the fly. I will ay, if you are taking the time to fry these babies up, perhaps make a double batch and freeze half so then the fryalator nightmares stay to a minimum - or at least that’s just me.

Vegetable Egg Rolls

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 14-16 Egg Rolls

These Vegetable Egg Rolls are perfectly crispy, crunchy and delicious on the day of frying. They keep mildly well in the fridge, but I would suggest either re-crisping them up in the oven, toaster oven, or air fryer upon reserving. I do have a fondness for cold egg rolls the day after.

If you are a household that doesn’t have a large number of people, I’d suggest freezing the egg rolls after frying. Then, you can pop them in a 425 F oven for 12-15 minutes to bake fresh whenever your heart desires.

I prefer eating these plain or with some Sriracha, however there are many different remade sauces available to dip them into if that’s your preference.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Cups Shredded Cabbage (1/2 head cabbage)
4 Cups Chopped Fine Crimeni Mushrooms (8 oz mushrooms)
2 Cups Shredded Carrots (3 carrots)
1 1/2 Tbsp Sliced and Chopped Fine Scallion (1 Scallion, green and white part)
1 1/2 Tbsp Minced Fresh Garlic (4-6 Large Garlic Cloves)
1/2 Tsp Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
1/4 Tsp White Pepper
Eggroll Wrappers
Canola Oil, for frying

Directions

In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, heat the olive oil till shimmering. Once it shimmers and smells fragrant and grassy, add in the cabbage, crimeni mushrooms, carrots, and scallions. Sauté for 7-10 minutes, will the cabbage is nicely wilted and the mushroom pieces are cooked through.
Transfer vegetables to a large mixing bowl. Add to the bowl the minced garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, sea salt, and white pepper. Mix thoroughly until everything is coated evenly. Taste, and adjust salt if you like.
In a deep, high sided pan, heat your canola oil over medium/medium high heat to 350 degrees F. I use about an inch of oil as I prefer to shallow fry these little guys rather than deep fry in 4+ inches of oil. I also line a baking sheet with foil, then paper towels, and a baking rack nestled in at this point.
Take an egg roll wrapper and lay it down like a diamond shape in front of you. In the center, add about 2 Tbsp of the filling mixture - try to leave behind any juices that have settled to the bottom of the bowl. These juices ultimately will soy out your egg roll if you roll it in the wrapper.
Once the filling is in the center of the wrapper, fold the left and right points of the wrapper in and the bottom (closest to you)roll over the filling towards the top. Try to make sure it is tightly packed, then dampen the remaining egg roll wrapper (the top of the diamond) with a bit of water. Tightly roll the wrapper, and the water lined edges will seal the egg roll safely for frying. Repeat until you run out of filling. You should end up with 14-16 egg rolls. I lay the egg rolls on the prepared baking rack before frying for easy storage.
Once the oil is at temperature, lay 4-5 egg rolls into the hot oil and fry about 2 minutes per side. Roughly 2 minutes per side should yield crispy, bubbled, golden brown fried deliciousness. You do no t want to overcrowd the pan with too many egg rolls, as it drops the temperature of the oil initially. If the oil temperature drops too low, or the pan is overcrowded, the cooler oil soaks into the wrappers which yield a soggy, oily egg roll rather than a nice crispy one.
Serve immediately with your dipping sauce of choice.