Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl with Wonton Crisps

The inspiration for this Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl with Wonton Crisps comes from my sister-in-law. She makes these great fried egg rolls. They’re gigantic and loaded with chicken and cabbage yumminess. I have to give her loads of credit for making these, because it’s a tedious task.

A couple summers ago, by request of some out-of-town relatives, she showed us how to make these. It was a full assembly line of work. Each person had a job, chopping cabbage, onions, shredding chicken, mixing and seasoning or being part of the team that rolled them. Whatever your job was, it was a lot. Having helped (mostly watched) with these, I appreciate them that much more.

It’s been a few years since the egg roll extravaganza, but I think of these often. My sister-in-law gifted me with a container of egg rolls this year at Christmas and I was thrilled. I love gifts of food. I was told to bring them home, to Georgia, and enjoy a meal on her. The egg rolls didn’t make. I think after her, my brother and their children left, I looked at my mom and she turned on the oven!

Since Christmas, this dish has been on my mind. I love her version, but I wanted something quick and easy that I could throw together in a matter of minutes and satisfy everyone’s egg roll craving. I tried a few recipes I found online, but I can’t get them to work or taste at all like an egg roll. Sound familiar? They just weren’t what I was looking for. So, I started to take my sister-in-law’s version apart, cabbage, onion, shredded chicken, simple seasonings and quickly this dish came back together.

I kept the shredded chicken, I like this much better than the ground chicken or pork recipes I have tried. Then, added green onions and ginger, changed up the oil and subbed in a coleslaw mix. She cuts cabbage into fine pieces, I’ know that is more traditional, but I went with a coleslaw mix. Let’s face it, with a teething baby and a toddler running around all day, I’m tired by six o’clock, I want easy. Coleslaw mix suits me just fine!

My husband, on the other hand, is the biggest coleslaw nonfan there is. I’ve tried to sneak it in a couple of times and I always get the side eye and then the don’t-sneak-foods-I-hate-into-dinner lecture, this never stops me. I do understand where he’s coming from, but sometimes, I feel like you just need to try a food, without your knowledge, to know if you really like it or if your dislike is all in your mind. With that said, one bite of this Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl and my husband looked over at me and gushed, “Wow, babe, this is delicious”. What I wanted to say was “Ha, told you so”, but I refrained. I just grinned and offered him seconds. I knew he was going to love it.

How to make Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl and Wonton Crisps

Heat a bit of sesame oil in a frying pan. This is key and gives the dish a truly authentic taste. Toss in the coleslaw mix and cook that until it starts to wilt, add in half a cup of diced onions and fry until both are cooked through. Stir frequently to keep the mix from burning. Once those are cooked, add shredded chicken, green onions, ginger, a bit of soy sauce and salt and pepper and let this heat up. That’s it, it’s so simple. The only thing I wish I’d done differently is doubling the recipe so we had leftovers!

Ok, let’s talk about these wonton crisps. I wanted to include the crispy aspect of a proper egg roll, but I didn’t want to fry them, let alone devour those extra calories. Did you know you can bake wonton wrappers? Yes, you can and they come out crispy and amazing. Because these come out nice and crunchy, you won’t miss the fried shell at all, promise!

Here’s what I do to make these crisps. Cut the wonton wrappers into three equal portions. You’ll end up with three strips out of each square. Now, this is where this recipe really gets hard, just kidding. Spray a baking sheet with a little cooking oil, place the strips with a bit of space between each on the baking sheet and spray the tops again with cooking spray and pop them into the oven. That was it! You could salt them, but I didn’t even bother with that!

They were the perfect addition to this recipe. The wonton crisp adds a much needed crunch to this dish. If you’re anything like me, you’ll likely end up using the crisps as a scoop to get the last few mouthfuls straight from the pan! We’ve made this a couple times now and there’s never any leftovers. Between my cabbage-hating husband, my toddler and I, we seem to polish this off in no time!

I love how quickly this comes together. When you’re a parent, constantly on the run, you’re always looking for fast, easy meals that everyone loves. This is that meal. It has that authentic egg roll taste but with a fraction of the work and the wonton crisps just push it right over the edge.

If you love this dish, check out these other delicious recipes, I’m sure they’ll hit the spot:

• The Best Almost Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
• Easy Asian Chicken Coleslaw
• Grandpa’s Cabin Pancakes

---

If you get a chance to make this or any other recipe on the blog and want to share. Please feel free to tag @candyjarchronicles or use #candyjarchronicles on Instagram, so I can see your post. I’d love to see what you’re cooking in your kitchen!

Want more?  Subscribe to Candy Jar Chronicles to be amongst the first to know about new content, delivered right into your inbox! To subscribe please enter your email in the subscription box located on the right hand side of this page and press subscribe.