Quick & Easy Vegetarian Egg Rolls - FOOD PHOTO SHOOT

What do you do when the craving for egg rolls hits? And what if, on top of that, you’re just not in the mood to leave the house?

Just make them yourself! Besides, they’re way better that way in the first place. I think there are some foods that people assume have some secret complicated process. Egg rolls are definitely one of those, but they can honestly be so simple.

In the past I’ve even made them by rolling out the wrappers by hand. That was back before I lived back in the States and I couldn’t find anywhere to buy wrappers. I’ll admit, that doing them from scratch is a bit time consuming when you have perfectionist tendencies like I do. Even still though, there really isn’t any magical secret to them. Basically, they’re just like little Asian versions of burritos that get fried.

Even if you don’t decide to never get egg rolls from your local Chinese place again, it’s still a really great recipe to have under your belt I think. Maybe it’s just me, but for some reason I really like to try making everything at least once.

That usually involves me making a handful, or sometimes a lot, of tweaks to the basic recipe. That’s definitely been the case every time I’ve made egg rolls.

I’ve tried quite a few flavor variations for egg rolls in the past. Some with pork, some with chicken, and I’ve never I’ve even heard tofu is good too. I thought it would be nice to keep these egg rolls minimal and actually just use eggs. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t very easily change them or add in your own ingredients. Like I’m always saying, there are no rules in cooking that aren’t made to be broken.

Well, okay you probably shouldn’t break every rule out there (please don’t put foil in the microwave!) but I think you catch my drift, right? The bottom line is that homemade egg rolls are nothing to be intimidated by and definitely something you should try for yourself.

Quick & Easy Vegetarian Egg Rolls

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: about 18 egg rolls
Forget ordering takeout, you can make it at home and these egg rolls are just the thing for curing those Chinese food cravings!

Ingredients
1 (18 count) package of square egg roll or wonton wrappers
4 whole eggs
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large carrot, julienned
2 cups green cabbage, shredded
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons chili garlic paste
1 quart oil for frying
Optional for serving:
Asian dipping sauces like this sauce
fresh chives