Simple Seasonal

Healthy Seasonal Recipes Inspired by Your Local Farm and CSA

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Recipes
  • How-To
  • Farm to Table
  • Playing With Food
  • Contact

Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls

December 31, 2015 By Rachel 28 Comments

Share12
Pin161
Tweet
Yum1.0K
Share
Flip
1.2K Shares

Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls – Learn the right traditional foods to start the new year off with (and which ones to avoid). Hint: this egg roll recipe packs a punch of good luck!

Baked Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls

I’m someone who approaches New Year’s Eve with realistic, but mostly optimistic expectations for the upcoming year. It would be fair to say that I expect a lot from life. Foremost, I expect a lot from myself. I feel assured that if I work hard, stay true to my ideals and faith, am kind to others, and try to make good choices, that life will return the favor most of the time. And when it doesn’t… well, at least I know I’m equipped to take on whatever challenge lies ahead!

That said, I’m not one to subscribe to the idea of luck, but I love tradition and the idea of having moments where symbols and memorials are used in my home to teach and inspire. Since I was a little girl, a seafood dish and a pork dish have been served between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, but I never understood the significance of this other than “it’s good luck.” Now that I’m all grown up and have a little boy of my own to raise, I spent some time reading about these dishes so that I can use them to pass down ideals to my son.

What to cook for New Year’s

Pretty much all of these items are related to luck, but I’m going to teach them to my family from the perspective of making good plans for the upcoming year while maintaining an optimistic outlook.

  1. Pork: A pig signifies progress as a pig pushes itself forward while rooting for food on the ground. It also signifies wealth and prosperity because of it’s high fat content (shhh… I use lean ground pork in this recipe).
  2. Fish: Historically, it was preserved with salt and could be enjoyed through the winter holidays. Fish scales are also thought to resemble coins.
  3. Legumes: are symbolic of money and financial reward.
  4. Cooked greens: are thought to resemble folding money and signify good financial fortune.
  5. Grapes: 12 grapes are consumed at midnight and each correspond with a month of the year. Sweet grapes foreshadow a good month, while sour grapes are indicative of poor fortune.

My favorite one from this list is the pork because it suggests that the pig is hard at work, but reaping reward. I also like the idea of the fish because it suggests planning for the winter. Both are great ideals to live by and pass on to the next generation.

What not to cook for New Year’s

Apparently, there are some things you’re not supposed to cook for New Year’s.

  1. Winged fowl: This is because your luck is likely to fly away.
  2. Lobster: These rather large crustaceans walk backwards and no one wants to go backwards in the New Year!
  3. Chicken: Once again, chickens scratch backwards, and backwards is bad.

Basically, if you’re throwing a New Year’s party, don’t serve anything that moves in a backwards motion or could fly away from your guests!

Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls - Learn the RIGHT traditional foods to start the new year off with (and which ones to avoid). Hint: this egg roll recipe packs a punch of good luck! | SimpleSeasonal.com

Now, on to my recipe. For today, I have have Baked (healthier) Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls. This recipe is inspired by my sister-in-law who hails from Indonesia, and who first taught me how to make egg rolls (she’s awesome). Throughout the year I typically make this recipe with ground chicken, but that won’t do for New Year’s! Feel free to substitute chicken come January 2nd. The only difference with the recipe is that with pork you’ll want to drain the excess fat, but this is not necessary with chicken.

I also used a napa cabbage in this recipe, which is my “cooked greens.” I’ve use regular cabbage in egg rolls before, but far prefer the leafy part of the napa cabbage because it has a lower water content and just works better in the recipe overall. I was fortunate enough to get a premium one from my CSA (crop share), but they can also be found at many grocery stores and most Asian markets. Between the pork and the napa, this is one festive recipe! I think it achieves what I’m going for; it’s a symbol that’s a nod to the past with an optimistic outlook for the the upcoming year.

chicken-cabbage-spring-egg-filling

I used to find making spring rolls intimidating, but my sister-in-law helped me get over this. It’s actually really easy. First you make a simple filling, and then bundle the filling up in a cute little egg roll wrapper. Check out the tutorial below.

how to roll a spring roll step 1
how-to-roll-spring-roll-1
how to roll a spring roll step 2
how-to-roll-spring-roll-2
how to roll a spring roll step 3
how-to-roll-spring-roll-3
how to roll a spring roll step 4
how-to-roll-spring-roll-4
how to roll a spring roll step 5
how-to-roll-spring-roll-5
how to roll a spring roll step 6
how-to-roll-spring-roll-6
how to roll a spring roll step 7
how-to-roll-spring-roll-7
how to roll a spring roll step 8
how-to-roll-spring-roll-8

I chose to bake this recipe instead of frying. Not only is it healthier, but it’s also less messy to cook and clean up. Before baking, lightly brush with vegetable oil and then pop the egg rolls into the oven.

Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls - Learn the RIGHT traditional foods to start the new year off with (and which ones to avoid). Hint: this egg roll recipe packs a punch of good luck! | SimpleSeasonal.com

These come out as golden brown, crunchy, pockets of flavor treasure!

Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls - Learn the RIGHT traditional foods to start the new year off with (and which ones to avoid). Hint: this egg roll recipe packs a punch of good luck! | SimpleSeasonal.com

To really send this dish over the edge and keep it all-natural, check out my recipe for Homemade Duck Sauce.

Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls - Learn the RIGHT traditional foods to start the new year off with (and which ones to avoid). Hint: this egg roll recipe packs a punch of good luck! | SimpleSeasonal.com
Baked Pork and Cabbage Egg Rolls

Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Learn the right traditional foods to start the new year off with (and which ones to avoid). Hint: pork and napa cabbage egg rolls pack a punch of good luck!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb lean ground pork
  • 1-2 tsp vegetable oil (as needed)
  • 1 1/2 C shredded carrots
  • 1 C diced yellow onion
  • 6 C shredded napa cabbage*
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 12 egg roll wrappers
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400º F. In a large pan (I prefer cast iron), over medium high heat, brown 1 lb of lean ground pork by breaking it apart into small pieces as it cooks. Add a little vegetable oil to the pan as needed to prevent sticking, depending on how lean the meat is. Once cooked through, transfer to a covered dish for keeping while the vegetables cook. Prep the vegetables while the meat is cooking to save time.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the diced onions and shredded carrots to the pan the pork was cooked in. Cook for 3 minutes. Add a little oil as needed to prevent sticking.
  3. Add 6 cups of shredded cabbage to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the cabbage is wilted.
  4. While the cabbage is cooking, whisk together the minced garlic, ground ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and corn starch in a small bowl. Once the cabbage is wilted add it to the pan. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until all of the liquid is absorbed, and then remove the pan from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool for 10-15 minutes before filling the egg rolls.
  5. To fill the egg rolls add 1/4 C of filling to the center of the roll, fold in one corner, lightly wet it by dipping your finger in water, and fold over a second and a third corner. Lightly wet the folded corners again, and then roll the egg roll towards the fourth corner to form a roll.**
  6. Place each spring roll on a lightly greased baking sheet and lightly brush each one with vegetable oil. Bake in a 400º F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Best served immediately with duck sauce.

Notes

*When cutting your cabbage, discard the white heart of the leaf and just use the green, leafy part.
**For a photo slideshow on how stuff an egg roll, see this recipe's blog post at SimpleSeasonal.com

© Rachel Hanawalt
Cuisine: Asian / Category: Appetizer
Baked Pork and Napa Egg Rolls

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy…

 

ginger-pepper-stirfry
Homemade Duck Sauce

Shiitake Miso Soba Noodles

Get Your Next Meal In Your Inbox!

Enter your email address to get the latest recipes and relevant seasonal content on the blog!

I agree to have my personal information transfered to AWeber ( more information )

I will never give away, trade, or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Share12
Pin161
Tweet
Yum1.0K
Share
Flip
1.2K Shares

Filed Under: Appetizers, Asian, Cabbage, Carrots, Dairy-Free, New Year's Day, Pork, Recipes, Winter Tagged With: Asian, Baked, Carrot, egg roll wrappers, Egg Rolls, Ground Chicken, Ground Pork, napa cabbage, New Year's, Reduced-Fat

« Homemade Duck Sauce
2015: The Year We Got Serious About Food Blogging »

Comments

  1. Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction says

    January 1, 2016 at 6:35 am

    These look absolutely delicious! I love egg rolls!

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 1, 2016 at 11:03 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Emme says

    January 1, 2016 at 1:45 pm

    Great post, I like the background you added for what to cook for the New Year. My Mom always cooked black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day because they bring good fortune. I absolutely hated black-eyed peas but I managed to swallow one whole while holding my breath because I believed her! LOL! I’m going to eat a bucket of greens now!

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 1, 2016 at 11:06 pm

      Funny reading about your hatred for black-eyed peas. I made a pot of black-eyed pea and collard soup today. I bet you would have loved it if you picked the beans out out first (with the exception of 1 of course)! 😉

      Reply
  3. Derek says

    January 1, 2016 at 2:34 pm

    These are killer! Great recipe…and I like the cabbage pic too!

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 1, 2016 at 11:10 pm

      Thanks Derek! Sometimes a good lookin’ cabbage is worth snapping a photo of!

      Reply
  4. Daniela Apostol says

    January 1, 2016 at 5:06 pm

    Such a treat! They look so mouth watering, I would love to have some 🙂

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 1, 2016 at 11:10 pm

      Thanks Daniela!

      Reply
  5. Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness says

    January 2, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    These egg rolls look amazing. I was surprised to read that they are baked. I have never thought about baking egg rolls, I didn’t think that they would be crisp with baking, but seeing your pictures I can see that I was wrong. I will have to try this recipe. Yum!

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 7, 2016 at 9:30 am

      To be honest with you Dawn, I had to make this recipe a few time before getting the crispness right. At first I tried using no oil on the egg roll wrappers and that was an utter fail. Brushing them with oil seems to do the trick. Still much, much lower in fat than the fried version!

      Reply
  6. Christie says

    January 2, 2016 at 12:46 pm

    I adore napa cabbage. It has fabulous crunch and sounds perfect in your egg rolls.

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 7, 2016 at 9:32 am

      Napa doesn’t get enough love. It’s one of those “specialty” veggies that I see at the grocery store and think ” more people should buy you, because your sooo good!” I know… I’m weird.

      Reply
  7. jacquee | i sugar coat it! says

    January 2, 2016 at 7:38 pm

    Great approach to the new year and life. These cabbage rolls look great and that duck sauce sounds amazing. Happy New Year!

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 7, 2016 at 9:32 am

      Thanks Jacquee! Happy New Year to you too!

      Reply
  8. Michele says

    January 4, 2016 at 11:26 pm

    I love the napa cabbage for the crunch in the egg roll…. And your list of good luck foods…. On the bright side for the year I’m hoping the 12 grapes I actually was able to eat in the first minute of the year (for the first time ever) camels out the lobster tails we had with them….. :/(ekes?)

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 7, 2016 at 9:34 am

      lol! A few years ago I ate lobster on New Year’s Eve and as I recall, I still ended-up having a pretty fabulous year! 😉

      Reply
  9. Patti says

    January 10, 2016 at 9:13 pm

    Just a question. The egg roll recipe calls for ground ginger but I don’t see where to add it. Assumed it was in the sauce but just a guess. Thank you for the recipe though!!!

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 10, 2016 at 9:44 pm

      Hi Patti! Thanks so much for bringing up this omission on my part. You’re right, it goes in the sauce under step number 4. I fixed the recipe, so hopefully no one else runs into trouble. Happy cooking!

      Reply
  10. adina says

    January 23, 2016 at 11:23 am

    Oh, somehow I missed this post… These rolls look so amazing. I wish I could get those egg roll wrappers around here. Maybe I can get some online, I will have to search. I am drooling.

    Reply
    • Rachel says

      January 24, 2016 at 8:21 am

      I snuck these in during the holidays 😉 What a bummer that you can’t get egg roll wrappers! Unfortunately they’re usually stored in the refrigerator section, so they might be difficult to have shipped 🙁 If I ever come across a good recipe for making your own, I’ll keep you in mind!

      Reply
  11. Nina says

    August 10, 2019 at 2:48 pm

    I made some slight changes but the flavors are terrific! Used red cabbage chopped fine, used anchovy paste because I didn’t have oyster sauce.
    AirFryer 350Degrees for about 10 minutes. I brushed the rolls with a little peanut oil. I will definitely make this again. I repinned it.

    Reply
    • Nina says

      August 10, 2019 at 2:50 pm

      I also used spring roll wrappers.

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        August 19, 2019 at 5:34 pm

        Spring roll… Interesting… I’m guessing they got really crunchy! Yummy!

        Reply
    • Rachel says

      August 19, 2019 at 5:33 pm

      oooo… you’re making me want to go out and buy and AirFryer! Using the anchovy paste as an oyster sauce substitute was a good idea. Thanks for letting me know you liked the recipe!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Baked Pork & Napa Egg Rolls - Yum Goggle says:
    January 1, 2016 at 2:35 pm

    […] GET THE RECIPE […]

    Reply
  2. 21 Healthy Spring and Summer Rolls That Are Surprisingly Easy to Make - google healths says:
    June 28, 2017 at 7:24 am

    […] 4. Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls […]

    Reply
  3. 21 Healthy Spring and Summer Rolls That Are Surprisingly Easy to Make says:
    July 27, 2017 at 11:43 am

    […] 4. Baked Pork and Napa Cabbage Egg Rolls […]

    Reply
  4. 20+ AMAZING NEW YEAR'S EVE APPETIZERS | The Salty Pot | says:
    December 13, 2019 at 10:54 am

    […] https://simpleseasonal.com/recipes/baked-pork-and-napa-cabbage-egg-rolls […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi, I'm Rachel! Welcome to Simple Seasonal, a resource for simple, healthful, and delicious recipes that help you make the most of seasonal produce from your local farmer's market, CSA, or home garden. Simple Seasonal is committed to a whole foods diet. With an occasional cookie... ;)


Recipes in Your Inbox!

Sign up to get free updates!

Search

Connect With Us

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Connect With Us!

If you're active on social media, you'll find Simple Seasonal there as well. Feel free to connect, share, and say hello!

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Discover Fall Recipes

Cranberry Stuffing Turkey Cutlets
Hearty Split Pea and Ham Soup
Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Lamb Shanks
Dairy-Free Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip
Pumpkin Spice Ricotta Toast

Discover Fall Recipes

Mini Monkey Breads
Sheet Pan Pistachio Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Carrots
Celeriac and Fennel Soup
Sticky Chipotle Cauliflower Wings
One-Skillet Shrimp and Okra
Spiced Hasselback Butternut Squash

Copyright © 2021 · Simple Seasonal · Privacy Policy · ↑ Back to top

Privacy Policy