Recipe: Vegan Egg Rolls

 

Going vegan means giving things up, often in order to find them all over again. I hadn't had an egg roll in about five years. And now I've just had what I think may be the best ones I've ever had!

Egg rolls were standard takeout or Chinese buffet food for me, along with egg foo young, lo mein, and sesame chicken. Egg rolls were also a pretty standard thing for me to keep in the freezer as a quick meal when I didn't want to cook. But we can have all those things as vegan if we're willing to make them, and usually they aren't even that difficult. These egg rolls are actually really easy, so much easier than I thought they would be. You do need vegan egg roll wrappers, though. I used Nasoya, but I believe other brands exist. If you can't find any, you could probably make this with rice paper wraps, too (and then they'd be gluten free).

The filling in these is pretty familiar--no deviations from the nostalgic classic here other than veganizing it. I based this on the recipe on the back of the package of wrappers and this omnivore recipe. I got 13 out of this recipe, and I have about half of those in the freezer for later (because having easy things in the freezer is one of the things we loved about egg rolls, right?). When reheating fried food, do it in the oven; it will help to crisp them up again.

Vegan Egg Rolls
Yield: 12-14 rolls

3/4 cup TVP
Scant 3/4 cup chicken-style vegetable broth (I made mine with Better than Bouillon)
2 teaspoons canola oil
Black pepper to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 1/2 cups cole slaw mix
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
12-14 vegan egg roll wrappers
Additional canola oil for frying
A dipping sauce you like (sweet chili sauce is great with these)

1. Put the TVP in a medium bowl. Boil the broth and pour it over the TVP. Stir well and let stand 5 minutes.

2. Heat the 2 teaspoons of canola oil in a large skillet. Add rehydrated TVP and black pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until it just begins to brown a bit. Add garlic and ginger and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add cole slaw mix and scallions and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil and soy sauce.

3. Prepare a large plate or platter to hold the rolls before you cook them. Put about 3 tablespoons of your prepared veggie and TVP mixture on each wrapper and roll according to package directions. Typically, you'll put a square down with the points at top and bottom, add a line of filling in the center, fold the bottom point up, fold in the sides, and then moisten the final edges and roll. Set the prepared egg rolls seam side down on your large plate or platter.

4. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a skillet to 350 degrees. Cook the egg rolls about 3-4 at a time, turning occasionally, until golden on all sides.

5. Transfer fried egg rolls to a paper-towel-lined baking rack over a baking sheet.

6. Serve egg rolls with your favorite dipping sauce.