Crispy fried egg rolls filled with ground pork, Napa cabbage, carrots and aromatics — a classic party appetizer.
Servings 18servings
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Chinese-inspired
Ingredients
1headNapa cabbageno substitutes here!
4mediumcarrotsor 2 large, grated
4clovesgarlicminced
2tspfresh gingerfinely grated
1lbfresh ground pork
1/4cupsoy sauce
1tbspoyster sauce
1tspsalt
2tspChinese five spice
1tbspsesame oilfor sauce (divided)
1tspsesame oilfor drizzling while sautéing
1tbspcorn starch
18wrappersegg roll wrappersavailable in grocery produce areas
1largeeggbeaten (for sealing)
oil for fryingenough for frying; heat to 350°F (175°C); peanut oil recommended
Method
In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, Chinese five spice, 1 tbsp sesame oil and corn starch; set aside.
Grate the carrots using a large grater (not a fine grater).
Thinly slice and then roughly chop the Napa cabbage; discard the core and use both white and green leafy parts.
Heat a large pan or wok over medium-high and add 3 tbsp oil.
Add the cabbage, grated carrots, minced garlic and grated ginger; sauté until the vegetables have softened. During this step, drizzle about 1 tsp sesame oil over the vegetables.
Add the ground pork and the soy sauce mixture to the pan; spread and break up the pork so it cooks evenly.
Cook until the pork is mostly done and some liquid has reduced. Transfer the mixture to a colander or strainer and let it drain and cool so there isn’t excess liquid in the filling (about an hour to cool and drain).
Heat oil for frying to 350°F (175°C) — peanut oil works well.
Place about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the filling on each egg roll wrapper and roll, using the beaten egg to seal the seams. (Adjust filling amount to wrapper size.)
Fry the egg rolls in hot oil until golden brown and crispy on all sides.
Use Napa cabbage — do not substitute with coleslaw mix. For a traditional Ottawa-style roll, leave one end open and pinch the other end; open ends darken and add extra flavor when fried. Many videos show spring-roll style wrapping; this recipe prefers the open-end/pinched-end style.