Spicy Pork Egg Roll Bowls
Spicy pork egg roll bowls make easy meal prep for weeknight dinners. Serve with crispy wonton strips and spicy mayo for a satisfying crunch.
As the author of The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook, I firmly believe that a delicious family dinner works for both the kids and the parents at the table.
I love delicious dinner recipes that can be tweaked to be kid-friendly or kicked up a few notches for the adults at the table to enjoy all the spice and flavor they crave.
This pork egg roll bowl is a perfect example. Cook up the easy skillet egg roll filling and customize your bowls for each diner at the table.
Why This is the Best Recipe
This pork egg roll bowl recipe is the grown-up variation of the more kid-friendly egg roll in a bowl recipe I included in my popular cookbook for kids.
I think it is the best recipe because:
- Satisfyingly Spicy: While I tone down the spice when I'm cooking with my kids, this version makes my husband and I so happy.
- Easy to Meal Prep: You can make the egg roll filling ahead of time and store it in the fridge for easy dinners for days.
- As Healthy as You Need: If you want a lightened up, low-carb dinner, skip the wonton strips and the spicy mayo over the top. Or just use a tiny sprinkle for a splurge-worthy addition to your dinner.
But if you're looking for detailed step-by-step beginner-level cooking instructions for kids and a toned down spice level, the super-easy kid version of this recipe can only be found in my cookbook for kids.
Ingredients
Egg roll in a bowl is such a fantastic weeknight dinner option because you only need a few ingredients to make it:
- Ground Pork: I love this budget-friendly protein. It is often more affordable even than ground chicken or turkey! That said, you could use whatever protein you want for this recipe: ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken would all work just as well.
- Coleslaw Mix: You could hand shred a cabbage, but I've found a bag of coleslaw mix is such a time saver on a busy night.
- Wonton Strips: You can find crispy wonton strips in the crouton section of the grocery store. They are meant to go on top of Asian salads but work perfectly in this recipe to give it some crunch.
- Soy Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Rice Vinegar
- Sesame Oil
- Vegetable Oil
- Minced Garlic
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Carrots
- Onion
- Green Onions
- Spicy Mayo or Sweet Chili Sauce: for garnish
Prep the Sauce
If you're new to cooking Asian dishes at home, here's a close up look at three ingredients that might be new to your pantry:
The sesame oil, hoisin sauce, and rice vinegar are stirred into the soy sauce to make the base for the egg roll sauce in the skillet.
You'll find them all together in the Asian foods section of your grocery store.
You can measure them out now and stir them together so the cup is easy to grab when you need it.
How to Cook the Egg Roll Filling
To cook the egg roll filling, start by heating the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
Add the ground pork and crumble it as it cooks. Before it is completely cooked through, add the chopped onions and stir them in.
Once the pork is cooked through, add the minced garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Pour in the prepared soy sauce mixture and stir.
Add the grated carrots and coleslaw mix to the skillet. Cook until the cabbage softens and wilts.
You can add the green onions to warm through now or save them to sprinkle over the final servings so they are still cold and crispy, whichever you prefer.
Serving Suggestions
Once you've prepped the pork egg roll filling, you serve it by spooning a portion into a bowl and topping with the crispy wonton strips, a sprinkle of chopped green onions, and a drizzle of the spicy mayo.
If you need to add more bulk to your meal, it would taste amazing as an egg roll rice bowl over Instant Pot jasmine rice.
If your kids don't like spicy mayo, a sweet chili sauce is a good substitute.
Make Your Own Meal Kit
Pork egg roll bowls make an excellent meal kit dinner because you can meal prep the filling and store it in the fridge for easy reheating for meals later.
Whether you choose to store it in one large container in the fridge to save space or divide it up into single-serving containers for your family to easily grab is totally up to you.
The pork filling will keep for 4 days in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave.
Just be sure to store the wonton strips separately or they'll become soggy. You want to sprinkle them over the top just before serving so they are nice and crunchy.
Meal Prep Tips
If you prefer to just meal prep the elements of the dish instead of cooking the entire filling ahead of time, you could also save yourself a lot of time by:
- Pre-Grate the Carrots: Grate the carrots and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Pre-Shred the Cabbage: If you're not using coleslaw, you can shred the cabbage and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Chop the Onions: Pre-chop the onion and green onions, store them separately in the fridge.
- Measure the Soy Sauce: Stir together the egg roll sauce and keep it in a mason jar in the fridge.
Then at dinner time, you just need to brown the pork and assemble the dish.
Kid-Friendly Egg Roll in a Bowl
If you'd like to help teach your kids a healthy recipe they could cook for themselves, this pork egg roll bowl recipe is loaded with veggies and lean protein.
The less spicy kid-friendly version of this recipe in The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook breaks the instructions down to the very last detail so your kids can be empowered in the kitchen and learn an easy dinner recipe that can grow with them over the years.
You can take a peek inside the cookbook here.
More Easy Take Out Recipes
If you love making your own take out recipes at home, don't miss these other family-friendly dinner ideas:
📖 Recipe
Spicy Pork Egg Roll Bowls
Ingredients
For the Pork Egg Roll Bowls:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 onion diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 (14 oz) bag of coleslaw mix
- 2 whole carrots peeled and grated
For Serving:
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/3 cup crispy wonton strips from the salad toppings section of the grocery store
- Spicy Mayo
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add the vegetable oil and warm over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork to the skillet and brown it. Break it up into crumbles as the pork cooks.
- Once the pork is barely pink, stir in the chopped onions to the skillet and let them soften while the pork finishes cooking through.
- Add the minced garlic, dried ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes to the skillet and stir them in. Cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and hoisin sauce to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Add the bag of coleslaw mix and the grated carrots to the skillet and stir them in. Let them cook for 5 - 7 minutes or until the cabbage has wilted down into the dish.
- Serve the egg roll bowls with chopped green onions and crispy wonton strips sprinkled over the top. Add a drizzle of spicy mayo over the top.
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