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Recipe and photos by Erica Gamboa

Chinese Egg Rolls

Crispy, light, and savory egg rolls, filled with ground meat and vegetables, are seasoned with Asian-inspired flavors like garlic, ginger, green onion, and soy. Then they are rolled in a doughy wheat wrapper and fried until blistered and crispy. Making these the perfect savory, crunchy, and chewy bites to eat as an appetizer or a side to your favorite Chinese dishes. Be ready to keep them coming because they disappear fast!

Servings: 20
PREP TIME: 30 minutes + COOK TIME: 30 minutes = TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

Difficulty: Easy

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DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

As a kid, my dad would treat us every now and then to really good Chinese food in none other than the epicenter of some of the best Chinese food there is in Los Angeles, historical China Town! I remember the round table with the spinning center. We’d order all of our favorites, spin the table, and serve ourselves whatever we wanted. It was a family-style meal that we enjoyed so much, and we had as much or as little of what we loved the most, and that was always the egg rolls. Oh, what a treat for us kids who never ate out; we were in heaven! Sometimes we’d change things up and try new things, but the one constant was always the egg roll! They couldn’t keep them coming fast enough. With our bellies full, we waddled our way over to the Phoenix Bakery down the street for a slice or a whole strawberry and cream sponge cake covered in sliced almonds. If you’re from Los Angeles, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It was a whole experience—a very delicious one!

Through the years, we have enjoyed Chinese food from many different restaurants, from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and the one thing that never misses the table to this day is the egg roll. It’s the perfect little appetizer that is filled with so much flavor, and the crispy, crunchy exterior is so irresistible, you can’t get enough of these.

Introducing my kids to all my favorite Chinese food dishes

Fast forward to having my own family and introducing my kids to all my favorite Chinese food dishes, and they love them just as much as I do. If I had to pick my favorite cuisine, hands down, it would be anything Asian. I crave it more than anything else, and my daughter Ashley is just like her mama. The most requested meal in the history of all my years in the kitchen is my egg rolls and fried rice. Every child has their favorite dishes I make, but the egg rolls and fried rice will always be Ashley’s favorite.

The Way to Ashley’s Heart is With Egg Rolls

Whether we are celebrating a good report card, a birthday, a milestone, or just making up for a really bad day, I know the way to her heart, and it’s with these egg rolls. In fact, they seem to have been a family favorite for my husband too growing up; his mother makes the best egg rolls! I never made them until I got married; I learned to make them at home through my sweet mother-in-law. She makes the best ones and serves them with a side of mustard. It sounds unconventional, but it works, trust me! I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit through the years, but I try my hardest to get them just as good as hers. However, like I’ve said before, a mother’s cooking can be imitated but never duplicated. They are delicious none the less, and I hope one day my Ashley will tell her children that her mama made the best egg rolls she’s ever had.

Happy Eating from my kitchen to yours!

Kitchen tools you’ll need:

Deep fryer, wok, or deep frying pan

Metal spatula or metal tongs

Wired-rack sheet tray for draining excess oil

Paper Towels

Microplane grater or small cheese grater for ginger

Helpful Tips for Making Chinese Egg Rolls Easier:

Make filling ahead of time to cool completely before filling the egg rolls.
Drain as much liquid as possible out of the filling so the wrappers do not get watered down and soggy. It will make frying very difficult, messy, and dangerous if the oil splatters.
Heat the oil while you assemble the first batch of egg rolls.
Do not fill too many in advance, start with half and fry them immediately, assemble and repeat for the next batch.

Chinese Egg Rolls

BY ERICA GAMBOA

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Servings: 20 | Difficulty: Easy
PREP TIME: 30 minutes + COOK TIME: 30 minutes = TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

Ingredients:

SHOP RECIPE INGREDIENTS FOR HOME DELIVERY

Instacart

• 2 lbs ground turkey

• 1 pkg. of Cole slaw mix, washed and drained (shredded red and green cabbage and carrots)

• 1 pack of fresh bean sprouts, washed and drained

• 1 bunch of green onions, washed and sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated

• 1 tbsp Soy sauce

• 1 tbsp Oyster sauce

• 1 pkg. Egg Roll Wrappers, 16 oz. packages have approximately 20 wrappers

• Oil for frying, canola, vegetable, or peanut. Use a high-smoke-point oil that is recommended for frying.

*Cup of water for sealing the seams of the egg roll wrapper

Directions:

Brown the ground meat in a large skillet on medium high heat, do not season with any seasoning yet.
Once cooked half way through, add grated ginger, minced garlic, half of the oyster sauce, and half of the soy sauce and continue cooking until completely cooked through, stirring frequently.
Turn off the heat and taste for seasoning; if it needs more, add the remaining amount of oyster sauce and soy sauce.
Add sliced green onion and combine until well seasoned and everything is well coated.
Let stand for about 10 minutes or until slightly cool to the touch.
Add cole slaw mix and bean sprouts, and mix well until combined. Set aside and drain any excess liquid from the filling. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to another bowl if needed.
On a clean and dry surface, place the egg roll wrapper down and add filling using a spoon and add about three tablespoons of filling to the center of the wrapper.
Fold the ends of the wrapper so as to tuck the filling into the center, and roll the other end of the wrapper over.
Using the cup of water, dip two fingers in the water and brush the other edge of the wrapper at the seams, roll the egg roll and seal. See photos for the filling and rolling process, follow the steps, and repeat.
Start by rolling only half of the batch first.
The oil should be hot by now and ready for frying. Carefully place a few egg rolls at a time into the hot oil and begin to fry, turning occasionally, until the egg rolls are evenly brown on each side.
Remove the cooked egg rolls from the oil and place on a wired-rack sheet tray or paper towel-lined tray to drain excess oil and cool for 5 minutes before enjoying. They will be piping hot and delicious!

Notes & Suggestions:

Tips:

Serve it as a side to your favorite Chinese main dish. Or with a side of fried rice or a simple and easy steamed white rice. Serve as an appetizer with your favorite dipping sauces, like sweet & sour, Thai chile, peanut, or hot Chinese mustard.
Use any kind of ground meat your family prefers in place of ground turkey, such as chicken, pork, beef, or even ground shrimp, which has worked very well in this recipe.
For a meatless version, skip the meat, prepare as usual, and add extra veggies of your choice.

Notes

Here is a list of my favorite ingredients, condiments, and products to use in this recipe.

Kikkoman Soy Sauce

Lee Kum Lee Oyster Sauce

Dynasty Egg Roll / Spring Roll Wrappers

Dynasty Chinese Style Mustard

Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chile Sauce

Nutrition Facts Per Serving

Calories per serving: 387

Servings: 20