Chicken egg rolls are something you hardly ever see in restaurants, as most egg rolls are made with pork. However, for those of you who don’t eat pork, or who just happen to have chicken on hand instead, this chicken egg roll recipe is for you!
You can even be creative and mix and match fillings, making some with pork, some with chicken, and perhaps some with shrimp or other proteins.
A chicken egg roll is delicious, and while it takes some patience, none of the recipe steps are difficult. Worried that it won’t taste like a traditional egg roll? No need! I have an exciting shortcut method for giving the chicken that “Chinese BBQ Pork” flavor. Read on!
Looking for a Vegetarian Egg Roll?
Check out our vegetable egg roll recipe, which is also super delicious!
How to Make Chicken Egg Rolls
If you’ve made our restaurant-style takeout egg rolls, you’ll recognize many of the steps in this chicken egg roll recipe. We usually use chopped pork char siu as most restaurants do. But for this version, we cook a shortcut wok-fried version of our char siu chicken. Simply marinate the chicken, sear it in the wok, and add it to the egg roll filling!
We call for boneless chicken thighs here, since they’re more flavorful than chicken breast and stay juicy when cut into small pieces and cooked in a hot wok. That said, you can use chicken breast. Just add a couple tablespoons of water to the chicken after you cut it, and mix until the liquid absorbs into the meat. This will help keep it moist.
As with any egg roll recipe, we have shredded cabbage, carrots and celery. It can be quite a bit of chopping and slicing for most. However, if you have a food processor with a shredding blade, it just takes a few minutes to shred all three ingredients for this recipe. For convenience, you can also buy pre-shredded cole slaw mix. However, it’s more expensive and tends to be less fresh. (Plus…you still have to chop that celery!)
I usually shred with a cleaver or chef’s knife to keep my knife skills sharp (no pun intended). That said, I do see the merits of using the food processor whenever Sarah and Kaitlin step in to make egg rolls or cole slaw. The food processor is a very handy tool to have in your kitchen!
Where Can I Buy Egg Roll Wrappers?
Egg roll wrappers are relatively easy to find these days in some large supermarkets. You can also find them in a well-stocked Chinese grocery store. If you’re worried about buying the right kind, head over to the Noodles and Wrappers section of our Chinese ingredients glossary for more details.
How to Cook Egg Rolls
We’ve had many questions about how to cook egg rolls—whether you can skip the frying and bake, or pan-fry, or air-fry them. My answer has always been that the best way to cook a tasty Chinese egg roll is to deep fry it. Peanut oil is best, but it’s a bit of a luxury, so canola or vegetable oil will also do the job.
Some readers have reported that brushing the egg rolls with oil and then baking them in the oven or putting them in the air-fryer is a decent an alternative to deep-frying.
Again, I recommend deep frying for the best results. If you’re trying to reduce your consumption of fried foods, I say make egg rolls more of a special occasion food! Here are some tips for frying your egg rolls:
- Use less oil by frying only 3-4 egg rolls at a time in a small, deep pot. Fill the pot only to the level required to submerge the egg rolls.
- Don’t overcrowd the egg rolls. You will have to keep them moving in the oil for even frying.
- Use a thermometer to check your oil temperature. Frying at too low an oil temperature will yield greasier-tasting egg rolls. The oil temperature will drop quickly after adding the egg rolls, so adjust the heat to maintain the oil temperature while frying.
- Respect the oil, but don’t be afraid of it! Place each egg roll into the oil slowly. Gently dip it about halfway into the oil, then drop it away from yourself. Dropping them from a height because you’re afraid to get close to the oil is dangerous. You may splash hot oil onto yourself!
- Fry each egg roll until golden brown. If they sound like they’re sputtering or sizzling, it means the wrappers are cooked through, and the filling is hot and releasing some steam.
- Use a spider or a metal strainer to drain the egg roll of oil before transferring to a cooling rack or pan. I recommend placing the fried egg rolls on a metal cooling rack, or lined vertically in a pan with paper towels to let the oil drain thoroughly.
How to Store and Reheat Egg Rolls
One of the most pressing egg roll questions we get?
Can egg rolls be frozen? If so, do you freeze them before or after frying?
While you can do either, I always recommend that you cook them first and then freeze them. Freezing uncooked egg rolls may result in the egg roll skins cracking, and they are harder to cook after coming out of the freezer. They may get a bit soggy after thawing and are more prone to uneven frying. The wrapper may also not bubble up as much as a fresh egg roll.
So here’s what you should do:
Fry all the egg rolls. After they have cooled, place them in freezer bags and freeze. To reheat, bake them in the oven at 350°F/175°C, or air-fry them at 350°F/175°C—for 10 to 15 minutes, until crispy. You can deep-fry them again for a few minutes in 325°F/160°C until crispy, which is how we would reheat them at the restaurant.
Don’t forget to serve your chicken egg rolls with some homemade duck sauce or Chinese mustard, and enjoy!
Recipe Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken pieces with the garlic, sugar, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, salt, molasses, sesame oil, five spice powder, white pepper, and optional red food coloring, if using. Marinate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
Heat your wok until just smoking, and add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil around the perimeter of the wok. Add the marinated chicken, and spread it out in one layer around the wok. Let it sear for 2 minutes on each side. Then stir-fry the chicken until it is evenly cooked and you begin to see some light charred marks.
Remove the chicken from the wok, and cool completely.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Put the cabbage, carrots, and celery into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes (you may have to do this in a couple batches depending on the size of your pot). We used our very large wok!
Use a Chinese spider strainer to transfer the veggies to the ice bath and drain.
Thoroughly squeeze out all the excess water from the vegetables by hand or put the drained veggies on a clean kitchen towel to squeeze out the water. This is a very important step. If the filling is too wet, you’ll have soggy egg rolls!
Tip!
In the restaurant, we used to pile the cooked vegetable filling in a large colander and place a wooden cutting board and heavy pot on top for a couple hours to squeeze out excess water with minimal work.
Once dry, transfer the veggies to a large mixing bowl. Add the scallions, sesame oil, salt, sugar, and white pepper.
Also add the cooked chicken, and toss everything together. The filling is ready to be wrapped!
Adding shrimp?
For those of you who love shrimp in your egg rolls, you can add 1 pound of small shrimp (or roughly chopped larger shrimp. Blanch the shrimp in boiling water until they just turn opaque. Drain well, cool, and mix into the filling. You can also add more salt and seasoning to the filling to taste. The extra volume that these shrimp add to your egg rolls will make them a bit fuller, but you shouldn’t have to buy more wrappers.
Now it’s time to wrap the chicken egg rolls. Take a small fistful of filling. Squeeze it gently in your hand until it is compressed together, and place it on the wrapper.
The wrapping method is similar to making a burrito. Add a thin layer of beaten egg to seal. Line them up on a lightly floured surface, and continue assembling until you run out of ingredients.
How to wrap an egg roll
Use the same method we showed you in our restaurant style egg roll recipe:
- Lay out the egg roll wrappers on a cutting board or counter with a corner towards you. Place the egg wash within easy each.
- Grab a small fistful of filling, squeeze it gently to compress it, and place on the wrapper, about 1½ inches from the corner.
- Fold the corner closest to you over the filling, tucking the corner under the filling.
- Fold the left and right sides of the wrapper towards the middle.
- Brush the opposite corner of the wrapper with egg wash, and roll the wrapper and filling forward to seal.
- Place seam side down on a tray and continue assembling until you’ve run out of filling/wrappers.
If you want a deep dive on wrapping egg rolls, check out our article on How to Fold Egg Rolls, which includes step-by-step instructions and a how-to video.
Now you’re ready to cook the egg rolls. Fill a small, deep pot about halfway to ⅔ full with neutral oil and heat to 325°F/160°C. You need just enough oil to submerge the egg rolls.
Carefully place a few egg rolls into the oil, and fry them for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Keep them moving in the oil to make sure they fry evenly.
Cool for a few minutes and serve! Freeze your leftover chicken egg rolls in freezer bags, ready to reheat for your next party or whenever the mood strikes!
Looking for more authentic recipes? Subscribe to our email list and be sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube!
Recipe
Chicken Egg Rolls
Ingredients
For the chicken and marinade:
- 1 pound boneless chicken thighs (cut into small strips, about ½ x 1 inch or 1 x 3 cm)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
To finish the egg rolls:
- peanut oil (or any neutral oil, for cooking the chicken and deep-frying)
- 16 cups cabbage (shredded; green cabbage, Taiwanese flat cabbage, or savoy cabbage)
- 2 cups carrot (shredded)
- 2 cups celery (finely chopped)
- 3 scallions (finely chopped)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 24 egg roll wrappers (about 1 package)
- 1 egg (beaten)
Instructions
Marinate the chicken:
- In a medium bowl, combine the chicken pieces with the garlic, sugar, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, salt, molasses, sesame oil, five spice powder, white pepper, and optional red food coloring, if using. Marinate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
Prepare the filling:
- Heat your wok until just smoking, and add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil around the perimeter of the wok. Add the marinated chicken, and spread it out in one layer around the wok. Let it sear for 2 minutes on each side. Then stir-fry the chicken until it is evenly cooked and you begin to see some light charred marks. Remove the chicken from the wok, and cool completely.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Put the cabbage, carrots, and celery into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes (you may have to do this in a couple batches depending on the size of your pot). Use a Chinese spider strainer to transfer the veggies to the ice bath and drain.
- Thoroughly squeeze out all the excess water from the vegetables by hand or put the drained veggies on a clean kitchen towel to squeeze out the water. This is a very important step. If the filling is too wet, you’ll have soggy egg rolls!
- Once dry, transfer the veggies to a large mixing bowl. Add the scallions, sesame oil, salt, sugar, white pepper, and cooked chicken. Toss everything together. The filling is ready to be wrapped!
Wrap & Fry the Egg Rolls:
- Take a small fistful of filling. Squeeze it gently in your hand until it is compressed together. With a corner of the wrapper facing you, place the filling on the wrapper. The wrapping method is similar to making a burrito. Add a thin layer of beaten egg to seal. Line them up on a lightly floured surface, and continue assembling until you run out of ingredients.
- Fill a small, deep pot about halfway to ⅔ full with neutral oil and heat to 325°F/160°C. You need just enough oil to submerge the egg rolls.
- Carefully place a few egg rolls into the oil, and fry them for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Keep them moving in the oil to make sure they fry evenly. Cool for a few minutes and serve!
Nutrition Facts
Video music credit: The Orange Tree / Wendy Marcini & Elvin Vanguard / EpidemicSound
