Being home for the holidays means being put to work by my mother and bulk rolling a batch of almost 200 egg rolls to fry, eat the day of, and then freeze the rest for easy reheating for the next couple months. Call them what you want: egg roll, spring roll, crispy roll, lumpia, etc; everyone has a special way they like to make theirs. They all consist of some kind of flavored and spiced filling with a wrapper that is deep fried. I’ve made egg rolls with friends and other family before, but I think this method is the best method for making a “full-sized” egg roll.
The filling is fully encased in the wrapper, ensuring that none of the contents spill out. This also reduces the amount of little bits that get broken off or end up staying in the oil that end up burning. A bit of egg wash helps keep the egg roll together, ensuring a tight seal and a tight roll. A tight roll reduces the amount of oil absorption too!
Everyone has their own filling recipe, but most people don’t make their own wrapper. It’s so much effort to make a wrapper that’s paper thin, not sticky, and cut them all to the exact same size. I channel my inner-Ina Garten, and just buy the wrappers. I recommend the Menlo wrappers for the crispiest texture I’ve found so far!
If you can, I recommend finding an assistant that will help you peel the egg roll layers apart, as it makes the process much faster!
Steps
- Unroll your first wrapper and place on your plate with a point facing you.
- Scoop about 2 tbsp of filling onto the lower third of wrapper in a log shape.
- Fold the bottom corner forward all the way over the filling.
- Fold in the left and right sides, tight against the filling.
- From the filling, roll the egg roll forward.
- Once the roll is almost to the egg, stop and dab a bit of egg white on the top corner to seal it together.
- Finish the roll!
Not feeling crispy? Try Homemade Dumpling Wrappers & Dumpling Folding Guidance
Good to know!
Thanks for sharing!