Vegan Egg Rolls

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We grew up eating Chinese food on a regular basis, and eggrolls have always been a favorite of mine. My mother used to make them from scratch at home along with her standard Asian dishes like beef with broccoli. I had only made them a couple of times as an adult because they are time consuming and can be difficult to assemble. There are several steps and frying them can get messy.

Fast forward to current times and I’m shopping at my local Smith’s grocery store and find out that Nasoya makes a variety of Asian food necessities that are normally not vegan. Their spicy kimchi is heavenly, and I can eat it by the gallon. They also make vegan wonton wrappers and vegan eggroll wrappers. Smith’s had the wrappers on sale so I bought a bunch and made eggrolls and cream cheese filled wontons. They ended up tasting just like ones you would get at a Chinese restaurant here and worth all the trouble. Nasoya includes a great recipe and instructions on the back of the eggroll wrapper that I used as a base to make mine. I decided to use an air fryer to make these, and they turned out epic, without all the oil you would normally use by frying them. You can definitely still fry them like normal, but you aren’t missing out by air frying them. My mother always pan fried them which is halfway between air frying and regular frying so do what works for you. The recipe below will include the cooking suggestions for all three cooking options.

To prevent your egg roll wrappers from drying out while you prep each one, cover the ones you are not using with a damp paper/reusable towel. This will keep them pliable and fresh and from drying out.

Make sure you seal the ends of the wrapper well or they will unravel on you as they cook. Water is the easiest way to seal them, and I use a brush to do it because it’s the fastest way to do it. Keeping that in mind, try not to overfill to help with it breaking open. Don’t overcrowd the fryer/air fryer when you cook them either, just like anything else you fry/air fry. This helps them cook evenly so cook them in batches if needed. Keep the cooked eggrolls in the oven on a cookie sheet at 200°F while you cook the rest.

When using the air fryer to cook these, spray them with cooking oil when you flip them halfway. This really helps get them crispy.

You can make the filling a day or two in advance if you have the time. This also helps with the filling not being too hot when you add them to the wrappers. Just keep it in the fridge in a sealed container until you are ready to use.

Once your egg rolls are cooked, you can store them in the fridge for up to five days and reheat them either in a 400°F oven or in the air fryer. Just heat them until they are warmed through. The air fryer will take just a minute or two and the oven about six to seven minutes. Flip halfway to evenly heat them.

You can also wrap the cooked egg rolls tightly in aluminum foil or container and freeze them for up to three months. Place the egg rolls on a cookie sheet to flash freeze for about an hour to an hour and a half. This will prevent the egg rolls from sticking together in the freezer. When ready to cook, unwrap and reheat them in the oven at around 400°F. Cook only until they are thawed and crispy again. If you try to heat the frozen egg rolls in the air fryer, they will burn on the outside before the inside is thawed.

You can also freeze any leftover unused wrappers in an airtight container and use within two months of freezing. Thaw wraps in refrigerator before using.

This recipe calls for tofu, but feel free to leave out if you are avoiding soy and add more mushrooms instead.

Have you made eggrolls from scratch before? Was it easy and if so, what tips do you have for us for next time? Let me know in the comments below and make sure you sign up to the weekly newsletter. This way you don’t miss any of my recipes or blog posts.

Thanks for reading,

Jessica

Vegan Egg Rolls

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Yield: 10 Egg Rolls

Author: Jessica Morton

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 20 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

• ½ package Nasoya Egg Roll Wraps(any vegan egg roll wrappers will work, but these are my favorite)
• 1 TBSP sesame oil
• ½ TSP minced ginger (I love Trader Joe’s frozen cubed ginger for recipes like these)
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• ½ cup diced green onions
• ½ cup diced mushrooms (white or Portobello mushrooms work well)
• ½ pound firm or extra firm tofu, crumbled (I like using TJ’s High Protein tofu)
• 1/8 cup gluten-free tamari (sub soy sauce if needed)
• ½ TBSP coconut aminos
• ½ TBSP toasted sesame seeds
• 2 TSP TJ’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning
• ½ TSP TJ’s Mushroom Umami seasoning
• 1 ¼ cups of shredded cabbage (purple or green will work)
• 1 ¼ cups diced carrots
• ½ cup shelled edamame (optional)
• Trader Joe’s Sweet Thai Chile sauce for dipping

Instructions

1. Press tofu and crumble into a large bowl. The tofu should resemble ground up pork which is usually used in egg rolls. Mince up garlic and ginger, dice up green onions, mushrooms, and carrots, and shred the cabbage.
2. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet or wok and add ginger, garlic, green onions, and mushrooms. Cook on high heat for two or three minutes, stirring often. Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Adjust seasonings as needed, salt isn’t needed with the tamari/soy sauce in this. Let mixture cool completely before filling the wrappers.
3. Feel free to prep the mixture in advance the day or two before and keep in a sealed container in the fridge.
4. When ready, lay the stack of egg roll wraps in between two damp paper towels/reusable towels so they don’t dry out while wrapping these. The air will dry them out quickly, allowing them to crack. Get a small bowl of water and a basting brush ready next to the cutting board you will lay the wrap on, along with the cooled filling. I have another cutting board or plate next to everything to sit the completed rolls on before cooking.
5. Lay the egg roll wrapper down so it is diamond shaped and one of the edges is facing you. Place the filling diagonally on the wrap. You want enough room to fold over the edges, without it being too fat or under stuffed. Use the images on the back of the package in the images on this blog post if you need a visual. It’s about 2-3 tablespoons of filling.
6. Fold bottom corner over filling, roll snugly half-way is cover filling. Take the basting brush and water, and lightly brush the remaining exposed edges of the wrapper to get them wet. Fold in both sides snugly against filling. Add a final dab of water to the top corner and roll up wrap, lay flap-side down until ready to cook.
7. Air Frying Steps: Preheat air fryer 3-5 minutes. Cook at 400°F for ten minutes. Lightly brush rolls with oil before cooking and flip half-way.
8. Baking Steps: Preheat oven to 400°F and place a pan half filled with water on the bottom rack. Place rolls on a foil-lined and greased baking tray, and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping half-way during baking.
9. Pan Frying Steps: In a large skillet, heat any high heat oil to medium-high to high and place rolls flap down, a few at a time, turning occasionally, until golden brown. About 5-7 minutes, then drain on paper towels/reusable towels.
10. Frying Steps: In a deep fryer, Dutch oven, or large skillet, heat oil to 350°F and place rolls flap down, a few at a time. About 2-3 minutes, then drain on paper towels/reusable towels.
11. Don’t overcrowd the fryer/air fryer/skillet when you cook them either, just like anything else you fry/air fry. This helps them cook evenly so cook them in batches if needed. Keep the cooked eggrolls in the oven on a cookie sheet at 200°F while you cook the rest of them.
12. Once all the egg rolls are done, eat with TJ’s Sweet Thai Chile sauce and enjoy!

Notes:

**Cook times are just for cooking the filling. Cook times will vary on the method you use above.

**Inactive time is the minimum time needed to cool filling before making the egg rolls.

**You can make the filling a day or two in advance if you have the time. This also helps with the filling not being too hot when you add them to the wrappers. Just keep it in the fridge in a sealed container until you are ready to use.

**Once your egg rolls are cooked, you can store them in the fridge for up to five days and reheat them either in a 400°F oven or in the air fryer. Just heat them until they are warmed through. The air fryer will take just a minute or two and the oven about six to seven minutes. Flip halfway to evenly heat them.

**You can also wrap the cooked egg rolls tightly in aluminum foil or container and freeze them for up to three months. Place the egg rolls on a cookie sheet to flash freeze for about an hour to an hour and a half. This will prevent the egg rolls from sticking together in the freezer. When ready to cook, unwrap and reheat them in the oven at around 400°F. Cook only until they are thawed and crispy again. If you try to heat the frozen egg rolls in the air fryer, they will burn on the outside before the inside is thawed.

**You can also freeze any leftover unused wrappers in an airtight container and use within two months of freezing. Thaw wraps in refrigerator before using.

**This recipe calls for tofu, but feel free to leave out if you are avoiding soy and add more mushrooms instead.

Created using The Recipes Generator