How to Make Homemade Egg Rolls

Egg rolls are so quick and easy to make. And by making them yourself, you get to choose the ingredients.

For example, the oyster sauce that I’ve been using has this warning on the label:

“This product is manufactured in a facility that uses Crustacean Shellfish, Tree nuts, Peanuts, Celery, Mustard and Sesame seeds.”

Fortunately, no one in our family is allergic to any of those ingredients, but if someone in your circle of family and friends is, you can always substitute a different sauce such as soya sauce, Tamari or Worcestershire sauce that doesn’t have the offending ingredient on the label.

As another example of how you can switch up the ingredients… many egg roll recipes called for sprouts. The grocery store in our small town doesn’t always have sprouts in stock, so I substitute with zucchini. We like this version so much, I never even bother looking for sprouts.

How to Make Homemade Egg Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef (you could also substitute ground pork, chicken or turkey)
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 c finely shredded cabbage
• 1 c grated zucchini*
• 1 c grated carrot*
• 4 to 5  green onions, finely chopped (approximately ½ c)
• 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
• 2 pkg egg roll wrappers 

You’ll also need oil suitable for deep frying. We use sunflower oil.

*Quick Note: A food processor  set to pulse makes quick work of getting both the zucchini and carrot to the right size. But be careful not to overdo it… you don’t want mush.

To prepare the ingredients:

Begin by cutting the carrots and zucchini into large chunks.

Add them individually to your food processor.

Pulse on low until they are chopped finely but not too finely.

Repeat the above process for the zucchini.

Thinly slice the cabbage to measure 2 cups firmly packed.

Chop the green onions.

Scramble fry the meat, ginger and garlic until meat is lightly browned.

Add cabbage, zucchini, carrot and green onion.

Cook until veggies are wilted. Stir in the oyster sauce.

The cooked filling is yummy all by itself.

Allow the filling to cool. If it’s too hot, the egg roll wrappers will absorb that heat and start to dissolve before you get a chance to get them all rolled and in the fryer.

How to fold the egg rolls:

Place a large tablespoon full of the cooled filling diagonally on the wrapper.

Fold the bottom corner up and over filling. Pull back slightly and roll once.

Fold in both sides. 

Brush a little water on the top corner of the egg roll wrapper.

Finish rolling to seal the egg roll.

Place it flap side down on a baking sheet lined with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper. 

Continue to make egg rolls until you run out of filling or wrappers, whichever comes first.

Deep frying the egg rolls:

One thing to be careful of when deep frying is to be sure your deep dryer is in good working condition. The lining of the deep fryer that we bought in the early 2000s had started to peel so we just recently replaced it with a brand new Hamilton Beach 12 cup deep fryer.

It’s the perfect size for Dave and I though if our kids were still living at home, I would have purchased the Hamilton Beach deep fryer with the double baskets. With that one, you have the option to fry larger batches of food in the large wire basket or two different foods in the two smaller baskets.

One of the things I like about this new fryer is how quickly the oil comes up to temperature due to the fact that the elements are in the oil.

Another thing I love is that it’s a breeze to clean up. Once the oil has cooled completely, lift out the heating element, then lift out the removable oil pot and pour into the container the oil came in. Wash in warm soapy water according to the manual.

Set your deep fryer to 375ºF. Allow the oil to come up to temperature.

Deep fry the egg rolls in batches of 5 or 6 for 1½ to 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Be sure to put the lid on the fryer while frying to prevent the hot oil from splattering.

Drain on a tray lined with paper towels.

Continue to fry in batches until all the egg rolls are cooked.

Serve warm with homemade orange sauce or your choice of dipping sauce.

Dave couldn’t wait and had to try one right away!

And of course, I had to test one too!

Egg rolls freeze well and are great to have on hand for quick meals or snacks. Simply reheat in the oven or microwave.

These are so good though you may find you have to do what I do in order to have leftovers for freezing; make a double batch!

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Please note: This recipe was originally published on Super Mom – No Cape in November 2008. All photos and instructions have been completely updated.

Yield: 36 egg rolls

How to Make Homemade Egg Rolls

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Homemade egg rolls are so easy to make. You know exactly what ingredients go into making them… especially important if anyone among your family and friends has food allergies.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 48 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef (you could also substitute ground pork, chicken or turkey)
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 c finely shredded cabbage
• 1 c grated zucchini*
• 1 c grated carrot*
• 4 to 5 green onions, finely chopped (approximately ½ c)
• 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
• 2 pkg egg roll wrappers

Instructions

1. Cut the carrots and zucchini into large chunks.
2. Add the carrots to your food processor.
3. Pulse on low until they are chopped finely but not too finely. Transfer to a small bowl.
4. Repeat the above steps with the zucchini.
5. Thinly slice the cabbage.
6. Chop the green onions.
7. Scramble fry the meat, ginger and garlic until meat is lightly browned.
8. Add cabbage, zucchini, carrot and green onion. Cook until veggies are wilted.
9. Stir in the oyster sauce.
10. Allow the filling to cool. If it’s too hot, the egg roll wrappers will absorb that heat and start to dissolve before you get a chance to get them all rolled and in the fryer.
11. Place a large tablespoon full of the cooled filling diagonally on the wrapper.
12. Fold the bottom corner up and over filling. Pull back slightly and roll once.
13. Fold in both sides.
14. Brush a little water on the top corner of the egg roll wrapper.
15. Finish rolling to seal the egg roll.
16. Place it flap side down on a baking sheet lined with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper. 
17. Continue to make egg rolls until you run out of filling or wrappers, whichever comes first.
18. Deep fry the egg rolls in batches of 5 or 6 in oil with the deep fryer heated to 375ºF for 1½ to 2 minutes or until golden brown.
19. Drain on a tray lined with paper towels.
20. Continue to fry in batches until all the egg rolls are cooked.
21. Serve warm with homemade orange sauce or your choice of dipping sauce.

Notes

Egg rolls freeze well and are great to have on hand for quick meals or snacks. Simply reheat in the oven or microwave.

These are so good though you may find that in order to have leftovers for freezing, you'll need to make a double batch!

Recommended Products

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• 
  Hamilton Beach (35033) Deep Fryer, With Basket, 2.8 Liter Oil Capacity, Electric, Professional Grade

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

36

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 52Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 5g

Please note: Nutrition information is calculated by an outside service. If you need accurate nutritional information, please take the time calculate it for yourself.

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