Air fryer recipes have been my best friend during these pandemic days. I rarely turn on my oven anymore, I just use my Ninja Foodi for all my cooking needs. One day, I had some take-out egg rolls and I thought I could totally make these. Then I was like OH MY GOODNESS I can make these in the air fryer! And that is the backstory of how my air fryer egg rolls in 35 minutes went from idea to reality.
So I have to admit, these air fryer egg rolls took me a few tries to nail down. The first time, they were inedible because I put way too much ginger in them. My fiancé immediately spit it out. The second time, the outsides were burned because I left them in the air fryer too long. Third time's a charm though because the third time they came out perfectly golden brown and fully cooked on the inside.
This egg roll recipe is nothing fancy. I used basic ingredients found in takeout egg rolls: egg roll wrappers, pork, cabbage and shredded carrots.
Wrapping the egg rolls
Wrapping egg rolls can be difficult for first timers. Just remember, water is your friend here because it helps seals the edges so that they stick together during cooking. Tip: take your time! The egg roll wrappers are very thin and can rip if you are rushing.
- Take your egg roll paper and lay it out in front of you to form a diamond.
- With your finger or a brush, wet the edges of the wrapper with water. (Make sure to brush the top triangle corner with
- Put 2-3 tablespoon of filling on the wrapper near the lower triangle corner pointing to you
- Take the lower triangle corner pointing to you and pull up to cover the filling completely
- Take the triangle corner on the right and fold inwards toward the middle. Then take the left triangle corner on the left and fold inwards and over the right corner.
- Roll up to top triangle corner.
- Seal with some water and set aside.
If you are in search of quick meals 40 minutes or less, check out my other recipes:
Air Fryer Egg Rolls in 35 Minutes
Equipment
- Air Fryer (any make/model will work)
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground pork
- ½ teaspoon ginger fresh or ground
- ½ clove garlic minced
- ¾ oz soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice
- ¼ teaspoon white sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup shredded cabbage and carrots I use bag coleslaw mix from the store
- 1-2 green onions chopped
- 6 egg roll wrapper
- water small cup
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for brushing the egg rolls before cooking
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- In a skillet pan, cool the pork ginger and garlic until lightly brown with no pink. Drain and return to same skillet
- In a separate bowl, stir together soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, Chinese 5 spice and salt. Pour over the pork and stir to mix in.
- Add the chopped carrots, cabbage and green onions to the skillet. Stir well to mix in.
- Cooke the egg roll filling until the cabbage has wilted (about 5 minutes)
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Rolling the Egg Rolls
- Take your egg roll paper and lay it out in front of you to form a diamond. With your finger or a brush, wet the edges of the wrapper with water.
- Put 2-3 tablespoon of filling on the wrapper near the lower triangle corner pointing to you. Take the lower triangle corner pointing to you and pull up to cover the filling completely.
- Take the lower triangle corner pointing to you and pull up to cover the filling completely.
- Take the triangle corner on the right and fold inwards toward the middle.
- Then take the left triangle corner on the left and fold inwards and over the right corner.
- Roll up to top triangle corner, seal with some water and set aside.
Cook in Air Fryer
- Lightly brush or spray the basket of the air fryer with oil. Set the temperature to 390 degrees.
- Brush some oil on both sides of the egg rolls.
- Place the prepared egg rolls seam side down in the basket in a single layer so they are not touching.
- Cook for 6-7 minutes. Flip over. Cook for another 6-7 minutes until the outside is gold and crispy.