Nyob Zoo all!
It’s that time of year to make egg rolls again! Also better known as Chinese spring rolls, Chinese egg roll, Lumpia, Chả Giò, etc. In Hmong, we call these Kab Yaub. Egg rolls…spring rolls… whatever you shall call it is truly one of the most delicious appetizer, snack, or sides to make anytime of the year.
Now, most people call these goodies SPRING ROLLS, but I grew up calling them EGG ROLLS since spring rolls can get confusing when referring to the Vietnamese “fresh spring roll” which is made with rice paper, fresh vegetables/meat, and is not fried. But you can often see egg rolls being called spring rolls. What’s the difference? From my understanding, spring rolls are usually made with spring vegetables as the filling (hence the name). It’s mostly made with only vegetables and no meat. This type of spring roll can be found at most Chinese restaurants. Light and crispy on the outside while fresh tasting on the inside. Egg rolls on the other hand are usually filled with meat and vegetables. In the United States, you can see egg rolls being made with a thicker wrapper and filled with meat. This makes it a little hardier and less delicate. What do you call them?
Anyways, I wanted to share with you my go to egg roll recipe. It’s super flavorful, packed full of protein, vegetables, and noodles. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser and one you can easily make. So give this recipe a try!
Main Ingredients
Egg roll filling: Most egg roll fillings contains meat, vegetables, and seasonings. Most spring roll filling contains just vegetables and maybe some noodles. And some cook the filling before wrapping and frying. The filling I like to make is raw before cooking and contains more meat than noodles. I like to use ground pork, bean thread noodles, shredded carrots, cabbage, green onions, and season it with salt, black pepper, sugar, onion powder, fish sauce, oyster sauce, & chicken bouillon powder.
Flour glue: This is what we will use to seal the egg rolls. You can use an egg to seal it, but I find a flour roux to seal it stronger and better.
Peel the wrappers. Since they come frozen, make sure to thaw it for 20-30 minutes before peeling. I don’t recommend thawing it overnight in the fridge as they can get to soft to work with or too dry. Some brands will be easier to peel than others. Menlo can be inconsistent at times in terms how how dry it can get, thickness, and how it peels. If it gets too dry, just simply steam it for 2-3 minutes to get it some hydration & flexibility.
More info on egg roll wrappers here: https://chawjcreations.com/egg-roll-wrappers/
Fill and roll 
Freeze and storing uncooked egg rolls
Lay your egg rolls on a parchment lined sheet tray and freeze them first. After they are frozen, bag them and then place it back into the freezer until ready to use .
Fry at 350’F for 8-10 minutes and enjoy!
Enjoy with your favorite sweet chili sauce 
How to rewarm egg rolls?
Yes! You can rewarm fried egg rolls.
AIR-FRYER: The best way is to air fry it for about 5-8 minutes at 350′ F. If you have an air fryer, this is your best gadget to get your egg rolls back to its overall crispness. Air frying also drains a little bit of that frying oil that the wrapper soaked up, so that’s kinda nice.
THE OVEN: The oven works too but you will have to turn them once in a while to get them evenly crisp again. Reheat at 350′ for 8-10 minutes or until your desired crispness. It can get dry and also chewy though.
PAN: You can pan fry it (dry) on a good nonstick pan but make sure to put the heat on medium low and turn them constantly to get them evenly heated. This will work but it’s a little bit more work and may take longer.
DO NOT DEEP FRY AGAIN: You will just get super oily egg rolls.
Happy Cooking!
-Cindy (C.HerCreations)
Egg Rolls
Ingredients
Pork Filling
- 2 bundles dried bean thread noodles (73g)
- 1.5 lbs ground pork (770g)
- 2 cups shredded cabbage (300g)
- 1 cup shredded carrots (130g)
- 1 cup chopped green onions (65g)
- 1 tsp salt (6g)
- 1 tsp sugar (6g)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce (30g)
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce (20g)
- 1 Tbsp ground black pepper (6g)
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder (10g)
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder (7g) [Totole brand]
- 1 (30 count pk) egg roll wrapper
- Vegetable oil to fry
- Sweet chili dipping sauce
Flour glue
- 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp room temp tap water
Instructions
Soak the bean thread noodles
- In a bowl, add in 2 dried bundles of the bean thread noodles (73 grams). Submerge it in hot tap water for about 15-30 minutes until it plumps up and is flexible to use. Drain the water, and then cut it with scissors into smaller length so it's easier to mix with the pork.
The filling, wrapper, & flour glue
- In a bowl, add in the ground pork, seasonings, bean thread noodles, all the vegetables and mix well. Set aside.
- Peel the wrappers (if needed) one by one and have it ready next to the filling to be use. Cover the sheets with plastic or a towel so they don't dry out. NOTE: Let it thaw at room temp for 20-30 minutes before using. Do not thaw overnight in the fridge.
- In a bowl, add in 2 tbsp of flour and water. Mix together and set aside.
Set & ROLL
- Place wrapper diagonally on flat surface and put about 2 tbsp or spoons of the filling inside. Roll from the bottom point, then the outside ends to the top end (just like a burrito). Tuck and roll as you go up so you can get a nice tight egg roll. Seal with a dab of the flour/water mixture on the end point of the wrapper. Repeat until you use up all items. You may have some wrapper left over if you put too much filling in the earlier process.
Fry
- Heat oil to about 350 F'. Fry batch by batch (10-12 per batch) for about 5-8 minutes. Do not submerge the frying oil with a lot of egg roll or else you will get soggy egg rolls. Depending on the deep frying pan you use, add enough to allow space for the egg roll to fry up nicely. After 5-8 minutes or until golden crispy, take it out of the oil and set it on a rack or strainer. Continues until all the egg rolls are fried up. Slightly cool it before enjoying it. Serve with sweet chili dipping sauce or sauce of choice! You can also put it in a vermicelli bowl! 🙂
