Egg Roll in a Bowl is the perfect way to enjoy a lightened up version of traditional egg rolls without sacrificing all of the delicious flavors and textures! Lemongrass, ginger, garlic, jalapeño and cilantro meld with juicy pork and tender cabbage, carrots and green onions all topped with wonton wrapper crisps. Or skip the crisps if you're on a Whole30 or following a Paleo, Keto or low carb diet.
This Egg Roll in a Bowl recipe is essentially a deconstructed egg roll, a riff on my crispy Baked Egg Rolls. All of the same mouthwatering flavors, but bulked up with ample vegetables to make it an entirely satisfying meal.
I recommend doing your prep work ahead, whirling the aromatics in a food processor and chopping up your vegetables, as this recipe comes together quickly once you begin. If you're making the wonton crisps, make them either ahead of time or while the vegetables are softening in the skillet. You'll want them to have a little time to crisp up even more as they cool.
Just as you might dip an egg roll, I like to serve these bowls with a side of sweet chili sauce for drizzling along with a little bowl of red pepper flakes for those who like an added spicy kick!
More Asian Favorites
- Kung Pao Beef (Skip the takeout and make this easy recipe instead!)
- Cauliflower Fried Rice (A lightened up fried rice made with cauliflower 'rice' and topped with crispy ginger and garlic and a fried egg.)
- Chinese Cucumber Salad (The perfect blend of spicy, savory and refreshing!)
- Soba Noodle Bowl (A one dish meal of tender soba noodles, spicy bok choy, with a soft boiled egg on top!)
- Three Cup Chicken (A truly restaurant-worthy Taiwanese dish that’s easy to make at home.)
How to Make Egg Roll in a Bowl
Step 1: Add aromatics to the bowl of a food processor: lemongrass, garlic, ginger, shallots, jalapeños, uncooked bacon, cilantro, salt and pepper. Process mixture until it turns into a paste, scraping the bowl as necessary. Place ground pork in a medium bowl and add aromatic mixture, use your hands to combine, taking care not to overmix.
Step 2: If making wonton crisps, preheat oven to 375º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange wonton wrapper strips in a single layer. Brush strips with sesame oil. Bake 7-8 minutes until lightly brown. Remove from oven and set aside. (Strips will continue to crisp up as they cool.)
Step 3: Add sesame oil to a large skillet over medium heat; add cabbage, carrots and green onion. Cook and stir until tender, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Step 4: To the same skillet add pork mixture; cook and stir until cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Add cabbage mixture back to skillet along with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil; gently stir to combine. Divide among 4 serving bowls and top each with ¼ of the crispy wonton strips. Serve with sweet chili sauce and red pepper flakes if desired.
Recipe Video
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 thick stalks of lemongrass coarse outer leaves discarded and tender leaves coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and chopped
- 2 shallots peeled and chopped
- 2 jalapeños stems removed and chopped (remove the seeds for less spicy meatballs)
- 2 strips uncooked bacon chopped
- ½ cup fresh cilantro packed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil divided
- 8 wonton wrappers cut into wide strips
- 1 pound napa cabbage or green cabbage, coarsely chopped
- 2 large carrots shredded
- 1 bunch green onions coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or more
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or more
- sweet chili sauce to taste, optional
- red pepper flakes to taste, optional
Instructions
- Add first 9 ingredients to the bowl of a food processor (lemongrass through pepper). Process mixture until very finely minced, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Transfer to a medium bowl.
- Add ground pork to lemongrass mixture and use your hands to combine, taking care not to over-mix. Set aside.
- If making wonton crisps, preheat oven to 375º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange wonton wrapper strips in a single layer, giving each strip some room. Brush strips with 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil. Bake 5-6 minutes until lightly brown. Remove from oven and set aside. (Strips will continue to crisp up as they cool.)
- Meanwhile add remaining tablespoon of sesame oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage, carrots and green onions; cook and stir until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
- Add pork mixture to the same skillet (no need to wipe it out), cook and stir until cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Add cabbage mixture to pork along with soy sauce and sesame oil; stir to combine. Divide among 4 serving bowls and top each with ¼ of the crispy wonton strips. Serve with sweet chili sauce and red pepper flakes if desired.
This is such a clever idea, Marissa! And a delicious one!! We mostly deconstruct everything for the boys anyway, so you've saved me some work 😉 Hah!
aww, thank you so much, Katherine! I never thought of feeding little ones 'deconstructed recipes' but it's so true!
What you did here is genius! Nothing is better than a deconstructed recipe!
aww, thank you, Kevin! I agree...so fun to mix up classic recipes!
First of all, I'm in love with the name--food that rhymes tastes better! Second, wonton crisps are everything. EVERYTHING! I totally need this for dinner tonight. Or breakfast tomorrow 🙂
haha, those wonton crisps are pretty tasty! 😉
This is a totally awesome idea Marissa! So much less work and just as delicious! Can't wait to try!
woohoo! Thank you, Mary Ann!
What a fun idea to take all of the flavors of an egg roll and transform them into a salad! I've never thought about doing this, but now I want to make a batch for our weekday lunches. And of course I've gotta include the crispy strips on top...I'm all about different textures in my salad. Looks delicious!
Thanks so much, David!
YES!! I love egg rolls - so to be able to have a big bowl of that favorite flavor profile of mine leaves me nothing but happy!!
Fantastic! Thanks, Annie!
Such a brilliant idea! I love egg rolls, but not the calories!!!
Agreed! Thanks, Liz!
What fun! This is a brilliant idea. The inside is the best part, but you still get some crunch!
Well said! Thank you, Mimi!
I want this for lunch!! Deconstructed egg roll in a bowl? So much yum, my friend! Love the crispy wonton strips on top. Those are a real treat..love those fried with that sweet red sauce. So indulgent and so good! They must had such a lovely texture to this bowl 🙂
Thank you so much, Dawn!