The Secret To Making Crispy Egg Rolls At Home

What would a Chinese takeout order be without a side of egg rolls? The Chinese don't have a monopoly on Asian-style egg rolls, though, as the category also includes lumpia, spring rolls, and cha gio. There are also less traditional takes on the dish such as South Florida-style rib rolls and even noodle kugel egg rolls. (You can egg roll almost anything if you try hard enough.) The one thing all egg rolls have in common, though, is that they're better with a crispy crust. Kenny Leung, executive chef at the New York City Cantonese restaurant YAO, has some tips for how to achieve this when you're making egg rolls at home.

Leung says you first need to drain the filling and press out any excess water before you wrap the roll. He also endorses cooking the egg rolls in oil. As he put it, "I recommend frying the roll for longer to make it crispy." Beyond that, the cooking process isn't overly complex. "Medium or high heat should do the trick." 

If you have an oil thermometer (and you should definitely invest in one before you do any deep frying), heat the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and fry just a few egg rolls at a time so you don't crowd the pan. As the later batches are frying, keep the earlier ones warm in an oven that's also set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

While fried egg rolls are extra tasty (as most fried foods tend to be), sometimes you don't want all that extra oil and mess. Some recipes call for baking egg rolls in the oven or in an air fryer. But if you do so, does this mean giving up on the idea of a crispy exterior? Not necessarily, but the answer isn't as straightforward as you might think.

There's a good chance that, when you try baking egg rolls, the tops and bottoms of the egg rolls will come out crispy while the sides will stay chewy. You could try coating the egg rolls in oil before cooking them as a way to imitate the frying process. Another hack you can try to ensure you're getting the crunchy texture you're looking for is to set the rolls on a wire rack since this allows for better air circulation. Once again, though, you're going to want to start off with a well-drained filling so the rolls don't get soggy from the inside out.