I am in love with Kabocha Squash, and this Egg Roll recipe is just one of the amazing things you can do with it. They have an amazing roasted squash and cabbage filling, then are pan-fried so that they are perfectly crispy on the outside. They work great as a snack or appetizer, and are so good you may as well make them your main dinner!
Why this Recipe Works
The key to a superb egg roll is a tasty soft filling, and then a crunchy exterior, all while holding its shape for easy eating with your hands. These fried egg rolls have exactly that; the bulk of the filling is kabocha squash and cabbage but is seasoned with flavors of ginger, garlic, scallions, and soy sauce.
Then the filling is encased with egg roll wrappers - I like to buy mine from the store to make things easier. The flavors in these egg rolls pair really well with a classic sweet and sour dipping sauce.
Fried egg rolls are typically an appetizer or snack, but I love making these for a meal. They're filling, and satisfy my take-out cravings.
Ingredients & Substitutions
kabocha squash - a Japanese pumpkin with green, edible skin. It is delicious roasted, fried as tempura, and smashed up into these egg rolls. Plus, it is a great source of fiber, beta-carotene, and Vitamin A. My favorite way to cook the squash is to roast it.
egg roll wrappers - you can find these in the freezer section of the Asian market.
soy sauce - you can substitute the soy sauce in this recipe with coconut or liquid aminos if you are looking for a gluten-free or soy-free option.
How to Make This Recipe
To cook the kabocha, add the sliced squash to a baking sheet. Lightly drizzle with avocado or other flavorless oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Cook 25 minutes at 400F until easily pierced with a fork.
In the meantime, heat 3 tablespoon of avocado in a skillet over medium heat. Add the cabbage, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, scallions, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Cook 5-10 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Remove from heat.
Add your cooked kabocha squash to the skillet, mash the squash, and mix well with the cabbage.
Open your egg roll wrappers. Keep covered with a damp cloth to avoid drying out and cracking (photo 1). Place one sheet on your working surface (photo 2).
How to Roll Egg Rolls
Add ¼ cup of your filling to the center of your egg roll wrapper. With your fingertip, brush the egg wash on at least 3 corners of the egg roll wrapper placing the unbrushed corner the farthest away from you (photo 1 below).
To roll, pull the far corner over the filling (photo 2) slightly tucking the bottom under the filling. Then, fold the two side corners over the center (photos 3). Finally, continue rolling towards you until the filling is completely enveloped (photo 4).
Repeat until all your egg rolls are wrapped.
Heat ½-inch of oil in a pan or skillet over medium heat. You should keep the oil around 375F. You can monitor this using a candy thermometer.
Fry the egg rolls 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Cool and drain on paper towels or a paper bag.
Serve with sweet chili sauce or sweet and sour for dipping.
Egg Roll FAQs
No. Spring rolls are uncooked, soft, translucent rice paper salad rolls. Egg rolls are fried, and fillings are cooked. They can both be either vegetarian or not.
Defrost the egg roll wrappers overnight in the refrigerator for the best results. If you don't have time, you can defrost them on the counter fo 30 minutes.
You can find them in the frozen section of Asian markets, and sometimes in specialty or regular grocery stores. If you can't find them, you can get them on Amazon.
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Kabocha Squash Egg Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 lb. kabocha squash seeded, and sliced in ¼" thick wedges
- 2 cups cabbage shredded
- 2 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 14 egg roll wrappers defrosted
- 1 egg beaten
- oil for frying, like avocado oil or canola
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- Add your sliced squash to a baking sheet. Lightly drizzle with avocado oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Cook 25 minutes until easily pierced with a fork.
- In the meantime, heat 3 tablespoon of avocado in a skillet over medium heat. Add your cabbage, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, scallions, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Cook 5-10 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Remove from heat.
- Add your cooked kabocha squash to your skillet. Mash the squash and mix well with the cabbage.
- Open your egg roll wrappers. Keep covered with a damp cloth to avoid drying out and cracking.
- Place one sheet on your working surface. Add ¼ cup of your filling to the center of your egg roll wrapper.
- With your fingertip, brush egg was on at least 3 corners of the egg roll wrapper placing the unbrushed corner the farthest away from you.
- To roll, pull the far corner over the filling (see photos) slightly tucking the bottom under the filling. Then, fold the two side corners over the center. Finally, continue rolling towards you until the filling is completely enveloped. Repeat until all your egg rolls are wrapped.
- Heat ½-inch of oil in a pan or skillet over medium heat. Oil should be 375F.
- Fry the egg rolls 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Cool and drain on paper towels or a paper bag. Serve with sweet chili sauce or sweet and sour for dipping.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in May of 2019 but was republished with ingredient details and FAQs in November of 2020.
I love kabocha and this recipe is delish! I was able to make them just over 100 calories (even considering I only got about 8 wrappers out of this filling, maybe I was generous lol) by using 1 tablespoon of oil for the cabbage sautee and about 1 tablespoon for the roasting. I bet you could cube and microwave them to soften if you wanted to make them even lighter.
I actually froze them (to keep around as a healthy snack), then pop a few in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 350 (flipped halfway through). That worked perfectly!
This is so helpful for anyone else who wants to make them in the air fryer and/or make them just over 100 calories... thank you, Dee! And I'm glad to hear you liked them 🙂