Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls

These pork and cabbage egg rolls are super crispy and filled with a wonderfully seasoned ground pork and cabbage mixture. 

These Chinese-American style egg rolls (meishi chunjuan) are extra large (burrito-sized) and packed with filling. Just one egg roll with a side salad is enough for lunch for me (although you may catch me shaving off a slice or two from the leftovers). 

Ingredients in the Egg Roll Filling: 

The filling is made with cooked ground pork seasoned with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and fish sauce that you then combine with a mixture of two kinds of cabbage, carrots, and scallions seasoned with salt, sugar, and Chinkiang vinegar (you can substitute balsamic vinegar). 

If you don't want to make your own dipping sauce, these egg rolls are wonderful dipped in plum sauce or Chinese-style hot mustard (or both combined). I made a spicy apricot sauce for dipping (recipe included in the recipe card). 

For the Egg Roll Wrappers:

Because these egg rolls are super packed with filling, you will need to double up on the wrappers. I used 10-inch wheat spring roll wrappers, which are super thin. The brand I used is Spring Home TYJ Pastry. Most Asian grocery stores such as 99 Ranch or HMart carry the brand (often in the freezer section). 

Technically, these are spring roll wrappers, not egg roll wrappers, but the definition is pretty blurred these days. 

P.S. If you look for spring roll wrappers in the store, do not buy rice spring roll wrappers. They are a totally different and used for fresh Vietnamese style spring rolls. 

You can also use traditional egg roll wrappers, which are slightly thicker, resulting in a bubbly crispy egg roll. The original Chinese-American egg roll wrapper also included egg as an ingredient (thus the name), but most of the versions I have found, such as Dynasty, don't necessarily contain egg. Just make sure that they are at least 8 inches square to accommodate all of the filling. 

Plus, you'll still need two wrappers per egg roll because of the generous amount of the filling. 

To Make These Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls:

First, prepare the cabbage filling by combining red cabbage, Napa cabbage, shredded carrot, thinly sliced scallions, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Let everything sit overnight in the fridge. 

The next day, wrap up the ingredients in cheesecloth and squeeze out any excess water. You'll be surprised at how much liquid you will extract. 

Let the cabbage mixture rest and squeeze a second time to extract more liquid. It's amazing how much you can reduce the volume of several cups of veggies down to about a cup and a half. 

Next, prepare the pork mixture by combining the ground pork with fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic. Cook the pork mixture for about three minutes and then add some fish sauce. You can prepare this mixture a day in advance. 

Combine both of the mixtures and use to fill the wrappers. 

To Fill These Egg Rolls:

Layer two wrappers on top of each other and then, using your finger, spread a mixture of flour and water along the edges of the wrappers, both between and on top of the edges. One corner of the wrappers should be facing you. 

Pile a fourth of the the filling mixture onto the wrappers toward the corner facing you. Gather the ingredients and press them together into an oval and fold the corner facing you over the filling. 

Fold each side over, like and envelope, and then roll everything up. If you find that the edges aren't adhering, add more flour and water to make sure everything is sealed. 

Frying These Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls:

Once you've wrapped up the egg rolls, fry them within the next few hours. 

Heat the vegetable oil to somewhere between 350 to 375 degrees F. You can use a wok, Dutch oven, or heavy bottomed pot. A candy thermometer is helpful for monitoring the temperature of the oil. 

I actually used a Cuisinart mini deep fryer that I impulsively bought at a Williams Sonoma outlet (no regrets). I don't often deep fry, but when I do, I love that this thing keeps track of the temperature so that I don't have to. 

If you love these, be sure to try Air Fryer Pork and Vegetable Egg Rolls. They're not quite as shatteringly crisp as deep fried, but they're very easy to make and require very little extra oil. 

Welcome to another "cooking through the alphabet" challenge. Every other week (26 recipes in 52 weeks), I'll be posting a recipe that begins with or includes an ingredient that starts with the letter we are featuring.

Last year, for the letter "E," I made egg bread hoagie rolls. 

E is for eggs, espresso, egg rolls, escargot, and emerald (and more): 

• A Messy Kitchen: Eggs Benedict for One or Two 
• Blogghetti: Easy Easter Egg Sugar Cookies 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Egg Jalfrezi 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Espresso Martinis 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Avocado Egg Salad Cups 
• Culinary Cam: A Dozen Eggs - Stuffed, Scotch, Curried, and More 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Escargot a la Bourguignone 
• Food Lust People Love: Whipped Espresso Cream 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Cajun Deviled Eggs Garnished with Pickled Okra 
• Palatable Pastime: Emerald Isle Pub Spread

Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls

Yield: 4 egg rolls

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 8 HourTotal time: 9 H & 10 M

These pork and cabbage egg rolls are super crispy and filled with a wonderfully seasoned ground pork and cabbage mixture. 

Ingredients

For the Egg Rolls

• 2 cups packed shredded red cabbage (1/2 medium head)
• 1 cup packed shredded Napa cabbage (3 large leaves)
• 1/2 cup grated fresh carrot (1 medium, peeled)
• 8 to 9 fresh scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons water
• 8 8 to 10-inch square wheat spring/egg roll wrappers
• Vegetable oil for frying

For the Dipping Sauce

• 1/4 cup unsweetened apricot baby food or pureed cooked apricot
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Zest of one lime
• 1 stemmed and finely grated red Thai chili or serrano chili

Instructions

To Make the Egg Rolls

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbages, carrot, and scallions. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, and salt. Let sit, covered, overnight in the refrigerator.
2. The next day, wrap the ingredients in cheese cloth or thin dish towel and squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can. Let rest for 10 minutes and squeeze a second time. The mixture should have reduced to about 1 1/2 cups.
3. In another bowl, combine the pork, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add the pork mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the fish sauce.
4. Combine the cabbage mixture and the pork mixture in a bowl.
5. In a small bowl, combine the flour and water to create a slurry.
6. Place two egg roll wrappers, one on top of the other, on a clean dry work surface, with one of the corners facing you. Using your finger, rub the edges with the flour and water slurry. Pile 1/4 of the filling on the bottom corner toward you, leaving about an inch. Use your hands to compress the mixture into an oval. Fold the bottom corner over the filling and pull it toward you to tighten.
7. Fold over the left and right sides tightly over the center and so that it looks like an envelope is shaping. Begin rolling up the ingredients away from you, making sure to remove any excess air. It should be tightly rolled. Make sure to use any extra slurry to seal the edges. Place the shaped egg roll on the plate and repeat three more times.
8. Bring about 2 to 3 inches of oil to 350 to 375 degrees F. Fry the egg rolls for about 4 minutes each and place them on a paper towel lined plate.
9. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.
10. Leftovers can be re-heated in the oven or air fryer.

To Make the Dipping Sauce

1. Combine all of the ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Cover and refrigerate for up to a week.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

330

Fat (grams)

20 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

6 g

Carbs (grams)

25 g

Fiber (grams)

3 g

Net carbs

22 g

Sugar (grams)

10 g

Protein (grams)

13 g

Cholesterol (grams)

42 mg

Karen's Kitchen Stories

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Recipe adapted from Myers + Chang at Home: Recipes from the Beloved Boston Eatery. 

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