Crispy Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls Recipe

These crisp rolls, filled with a steaming filling of cabbage, carrot, mushroom, and salty char siu pork, are a delicious study in contrasting textures and flavors.

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated August 29, 2023
Crispy pork and cabbage egg rolls served on a plate with a ramekin of plum sauce for dipping.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Why It Works

  • Opting for thinner spring roll wrappers results in a crispier egg roll.
  • Using frozen spring roll wrappers and buying char sui pork for the filling significantly reduces prep time.
  • Tightly wrapping the filling ensures the egg rolls do not fall apart when fried or become overly greasy.

When I was a kid, the $1 egg rolls from the Chinese restaurant that used to be on the corner of 54th and 9th in Manhattan was my after-music-school snack. The ones there were fat and greasy, using the standard Chinese-American style wrapper: thick, with a blistered, bubbly surface. I'd empty a pack of sweet duck sauce over the top before downing it—they were crisp, with a steaming filling of cabbage, carrot, mushroom, and salty char siu pork. When well-made, they're a delicious study in contrasting textures and flavors.

Though the term "egg roll" and "spring roll" are occasionally used interchangeably, at least in the Chinese-American lexicon, the difference comes down to skin thickness and size. Egg rolls use thicker wrappers that blister with bubbles, and are generally stuffed to the brim. Spring rolls feature a paper-thin wrapper that's less doughy, and are minimal when it comes to filling, maintaining a slender, hot-dog-sized shape.

Closeup of a half-eaten egg roll. The steamy filling is visible.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

I like mine somewhere in the middle. When I make them, they're closer to egg rolls in size, but use the thinner, crisper spring roll wrappers.

You can make the wrappers yourself if you're really hardcore, but frozen ones work great, and are readily available in the freezer section of Chinese groceries (check near the frozen dumplings).

Closeup of sliced char sui pork, ready to be julienned and added to the egg roll filling.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

You can fill them with anything you like—greens, vegetables, noodles, or minced meat or shrimp all work—but I like the cabbage/carrot/mushroom/char siu combo of my youth. Buying the char siu pre-roasted from a Chinese barbecue makes the whole thing come together really quickly.

Closeup of a tightly rolled egg roll, ready to fry.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Rolling egg rolls or spring rolls is just like any flat-starch-around-moist filling roll: you have to keep things nice and tight. Loosely rolled egg rolls will fall apart as they fry, or at the very least, leave you with greasy pockets in the finished product. Not a good thing.

April 2011

Recipe Details

Crispy Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls Recipe

Prep 20 mins
Cook 20 mins
Active 60 mins
Total 40 mins
Serves 12 to 15 rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 medium carrot, julienned or grated on the large holes of a box grater

  • 1/2 pound Napa cabbage (about 1/2 small head), finely shredded

  • 1/4 pound shiitake mushroom caps, julienned

  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine

  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • Kosher salt

  • 1/4 pound char-siu pork, finely julienned (see note)

  • 12 to 15 egg roll or spring roll wrappers

  • 1 1/2 quarts peanut, canola, or vegetable oil

  • Plum sauce or duck sauce for serving

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until smoking. Add carrot, cabbage, and mushrooms and cook, tossing and stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and sugar, and toss to coat. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables begin to sizzle, about 2 minutes longer. Season to taste, then transfer to a paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet to cool. Once cool, transfer to a large bowl and toss with pork.

    Closeup of the carrot, cabbage, and mushrooms being stir-fried in a wok.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  2. Lay one wrapper down with a corner pointed towards you (see note). Add about 3 tablespoons of filling to the lower third of the wrapper, keeping it in a nice, tight row. Roll from the bottom corner towards the top, keeping everything nice and tight. Roll until nearly half way up, then stop.

    The egg roll filling is spooned in the lower center of the wrapper.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

    The wrapper has been rolled over half way to cover the filling.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  3. The next step is to fold the left and right corners towards the center. Start by first pressing in on the edges of the filling with your fingertips to make sure it's packed nice and tight. Fold the corners towards the center, again keeping everything tight. Moistening the edges of the wrapper with a bit of water will help it stick to itself and keep its shape. You want the bottom edge to form a 90° angle with the new edge you've just created by folding over the corner.

    The left corner of the wrapper is folded over the filling.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

    With the corners folded over the filling, the wrapper has been rolled up.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  4. After both corners have been folded in, continue rolling towards the top of the paper. Moisten the top corner of the wrapper with a bit of water and continue rolling until the entire package is sealed. Repeat with remaining rolls until all the filling is used up.

    A tightly rolled egg roll, ready to fry.

  5. Heat oil in a large wok or Dutch oven to 350°F (175°C) as registered on an instant-read thermometer. Add 4 to 6 rolls and cook, agitating occasionally with a wire mesh spider, until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with plum sauce or duck sauce. Repeat with remaining egg rolls.

    The egg rolls are deep fried in a wok.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Special Equipment

Wok, instant-read thermometer

Notes

Char siu can be found at Chinese barbecues. If it's unavailable, regular ham, or ground pork cooked with 1 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, can be substituted.

Spring roll and egg roll wrappers dry out very quickly. Keep them under plastic or under a damp kitchen towel while you work.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
155Calories
11gFat
11gCarbs
3gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12 to 15
Amount per serving
Calories155
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g14%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Cholesterol 5mg2%
Sodium 116mg5%
Total Carbohydrate 11g4%
Dietary Fiber 1g2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 1mg4%
Calcium 9mg1%
Iron 0mg2%
Potassium 94mg2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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