These Irresistible Shrimp Egg Rolls in Under 1 Hour are a new favorite appetizer at our house. They’re packed with Napa cabbage, carrots, scallions, celery, shrimp, and perfectly seasoned with a touch of 5-spice powder. These homemade egg rolls come together quickly, cook even faster, and are ready to enjoy in short time.
Within this post, I also share filling options for making these egg rolls with pork, a combination of shrimp and pork, and a completely vegetarian option. Let’s keep this introductory paragraph short so we can get to the cooking part faster. That said, read on, then hit the store to gather your ingredients, and meet me back here to whip up a quick batch of these deliciously crispy, restaurant-style, egg rolls.
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Making These Irresistible Shrimp Egg Rolls Accessible to Home Cooks
I love a good restaurant style egg roll. It’s the one thing on the menu that I never grow tired of. They’re crisp, packed with cabbage and other veggies, portable, and highly dippable. They always leave me wanting just one more bite. At the start of the 2024 Detroit Lions football season, I began developing this recipe as a game-day appetizer. If you’ve been reading along on the MOstly Bakes blog for a while, you know that I hold onto my recipes until I feel they are right. Ingredients cost money and calories are precious. A recipe isn’t ready until it’s good enough to share unabashedly. It took me a while, but here we are.
Here are some useful tips I learned through research and the development process:
Start by Steaming the Vegetables
When I started researching what went into a classic restaurant style egg roll recipe, there were a lot of steps that surprised me. Most recipes called for cutting the vegetables by hand and blanching them in boiling water, followed by an immediate cooling off period in in ice water to stop the cooking. I tried preparing the vegetables this way my first go-around. The end product was good – how you would expect an egg roll to taste, but it was a long process, and frankly a lot of work for a dozen egg rolls. My first task was to simplify this first step.
After a few different attempts at achieving a similar result that included everything from not pre-cooking the vegetables, to sauteing them both together and separately, I found that you can get a similar effect by quickly microwaving the shredded vegetables on high heat for five minutes. The vegetables come out slightly tender (which makes rolling easier), retain their bright color, and release their water – an important step in attaining a perfectly crispy egg roll.
Remove Excess Liquid – A Critically Important Step
Squeezing out the excess liquid after the microwaved vegetables have cooled is an important step for two reasons. Removing excess liquid from the filling makes for a safer frying experience. When water comes in contact with hot oil, it splatters everywhere – including onto the cook. Removing the excess water helps to reduce this risk.
It also ensures a crispier finish on the fried egg roll wrapper. Soggy vegetables on the inside make the egg roll lose its classic crisp crunch. Removing the excess liquid from the vegetables is an essential step, so don’t be tempted to skip it.
I’m Sorry, but You Need to Fry These in Oil
I really tried to make this egg roll recipe more healthy. I tried spraying with cooking oil and baking the egg rolls in the oven. I tried the air fryer. They just weren’t the same in terms of color, taste and texture. If you’re looking for a homemade, restaurant style egg roll experience, you’re going to have to be comfortable with doing a little frying.
I like to think of it as choosing where to prioritize my calories for the day. If I know I’m going to be eating one or two of these, I’ll gladly live on veggies and lean protein the whole rest of the day – possibly even the day before and after. It’s a fair trade for a homemade egg roll in my opinion.
I found the best way to make these homemade egg rolls was to quickly fry them in a blend of vegetable and peanut oil for two minutes at 365 degrees F. The egg rolls are then placed on a wire rack or paper towel to drain, before being transferred to the oven where they continue to release their oil and crisp up further.
Choose Your Favorite Duck Sauce for Dipping
At the time of this post, I do not have a recipe for homemade duck sauce, but I will be sure to provide an update to this egg roll recipe should I develop one worth sharing. Until then, I recommend finding your favorite store-bought sauce to pair with this egg roll recipe. You simply can’t have one without the other.
With This Recipe, You Have Options
I like recipes that offer flexibility. This egg roll recipe can be made in advance, frozen in an air tight container and reheated in either the oven or an air fryer. I like this option because it allows you to make them once and enjoy them again over a period of time – something we do frequently during football season. Simply remove the portions you want from the freezer, thaw, and crisp up in their air fryer at 390 degrees F. for 5 minutes. You can also reheat these egg rolls in a conventional oven at 350 degrees F. for 10-12 minutes. The egg rolls will become nice and crispy again.
If you’re making these egg rolls in advance for a large group, you can also hold them in the oven at 170 degrees F. At this temperature, they will stay warm and crisp and you can replenish the plate as needed.
Change Things Up with Pork or Go Vegetarian
If you have an allergy or general aversion to shrimp, you can easily substitute cooked ground pork as another meat option. I also like the combination of equal parts pork and shrimp in this recipe – honestly, it may be my favorite. To get a fine crumb on the ground pork, boil it in 1 cup of water until the pork is cooked through and the water has cooked off.
However, if you’re looking to make this restaurant style egg roll recipe completely vegetarian, simply add 1/2 cup of bean sprouts and another 1 cup of Napa cabbage to the mix.
Use Wonton Wrappers to Make Mini Egg Rolls
To turn this recipe for 12 regular sized egg rolls into a fun mini version, simply substitute wonton wrappers for egg roll wrappers. The smaller wonton wrappers will yield approximately 5 dozen mini egg rolls – perfect for a two-bite appetizer when a larger group is involved. With the size of these being smaller, you’ll need to fry them for only 1 minute.
See, you have lots of options with this egg roll recipe!
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Thank you for visiting the MOstly Bakes blog and for reading this recipe post for Irresistible Shrimp Egg Rolls. If you’ve enjoyed this post, you may also like this Dan Dan Noodle Lettuce Wraps recipe. It’s another family favorite at our house – especially when we’re watching the Detroit Lions play.
Blessings and enjoy!
Irresistible Shrimp Egg Rolls in Under 1 Hour
Course: StartersCuisine: Chinese AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate12
servings45
minutes12
minutesA restaurant style egg roll recipe packed with Napa cabbage, carrots, scallions, celery, and shrimp made easy for home cooks.
Ingredients
3 cups Napa cabbage, trimmed and shredded
1 cup carrots, trimmed, peeled, and shredded
1/2 cup green onions, trimmed and shredded
3/4 cup celery, shredded
11 ounces, cooked shrimp, deveined and tails removed (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp. peanut oil
3/4 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. 5-Spice powder
1 egg whisked – for sealing the egg rolls
12 egg roll wrappers
2 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup peanut oil
Directions
- In a food processor or using a box grater, shred the vegetables individually. If using a food processor, use the pulse setting to ensure you do not over mix. Combine the cabbage, carrots, celery, and onions into a large microwave-safe bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a paper towel and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the microwave and allow the vegetables to cool uncovered. Set aside.
- Add the shrimp to the food processor and pulse until the meat is shredded. Alternatively, you can hand chop using a knife and cutting board until the shrimp is even in size with the vegetables.
- Add the shrimp to the vegetables and combine. Transfer the meat and vegetable mixture to a colander and squeeze out the excess liquid – approximately 3/4 – 1 cup of liquid. The mixture should not be completely dry as pulp, but it should be noticeably dryer than it was before.
- Return the meat and vegetable mixture to the large bowl and add the oils and seasoning. Mix thoroughly.
- Place an egg roll wrapper on the counter in front of you with one corner facing your body.
- Using a small brush or the tip of your finger, lightly brush egg all around the edge of the egg roll wrapper.
- Add 1/4 cup of filling to your hand and press slightly into a log shape. Place the filling in the center of the wrapper. Fold the two side corners in to the center. Next, fold the bottom corner up to the center so that it resembles an envelope. Finally, roll the envelop from the bottom to the tip of the wrapper. Repeat steps 6-8 until you have 12 prepared egg rolls.
- Prepare a lipped baking sheet by lining it with a cooling rack. Set aside and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the oils in a 5-quart sauce pan, and bring the temperature up to 365 degrees F. Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil, and try to keep it between 365 – 370 degrees F when frying the egg rolls.
- Using a slotted spoon or tongs, gently lower no more than three egg rolls at a time into the oil. Cook them for one minute on each side. The egg rolls will be golden brown. Remove the egg rolls from the oil and place them on the cooling rack to drip. Bring the temperature of the oil back to 365 degrees and repeat the process until all the egg rolls are cooked.
- Once all the egg rolls are fried, turn off the oil and allow it to cool in place until completely cooled to remove temperature.
- Return to the egg rolls that are on the draining rack. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the egg rolls for 10 minutes at 365 degrees F.
- Remove the finished egg rolls from the oven and serve with your favorite duck sauce.
- Reheating Egg Rolls
- Egg rolls can be stored frozen in an airtight container, thawed and reheated in either the oven or an air fryer to restore crispness. Reheat in the air fryer at 390 degrees F. for 5 minutes. You can also reheat these egg rolls in a conventional oven at 350 degrees F. for 10-12 minutes.
Notes
- Is the oil in the filling mixture really necessary? Yes, it is for two reasons. The sesame and peanut oils add flavor, but they also help the filling to stick together when forming the egg rolls. Finally, they add back into the mixture a little of the moisture that we squeezed out without increasing the risk of water coming in contact with the hot oil.
