Korean Egg Rolls with flavorful beef filling are a unique appetizer or side you will crave! Everyone will be asking for the recipe. Try today!
These Korean Beef Egg Rolls are a flavorful Korean dish you can easily make at home. For more recipes like this, try my Korean Beef Bulgogi and Korean Beef Stuffed Peppers.
Sabrina’s Korean Ground Beef Egg Rolls Recipe
These weren’t originally on my list of recipes to make. Why, you ask? Well, I’d never even heard of them. What I had heard of, and made before, was Korean Ground Beef which is one of my favorite shortcut meals to make with ground beef. So when I had about a cup of it left over and some egg roll wrappers in the fridge I had one of those cartoon light bulb moments.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef , (85/15)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger , minced
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Sriracha , (use less if you don't like spice!)
- 24 egg roll wrappers
- 10 Napa cabbage leaves , torn into small squares using the most tender parts
- 2 carrots , cut into matchsticks
- oil , for frying
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over medium high heat.
- Brown the meat with sesame oil, garlic, and ginger.
- Drain 75% of the fat, add brown sugar, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
- Cook until the liquid has reabsorbed and the meat is shiny but not soupy.
- Remove meat from pan, and add in the carrot sticks.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes until they are slightly softened.
- Let the beef and carrots cool.
- Working in sets of 4 lay out your egg roll wrappers.
- Add a small square of napa cabbage to the egg rolls.
- Add 5 or 6 carrot pieces and two tablespoons of beef.
- Wet the sides with water using your finger.
- Fold the sides in and wet the folded in sides.
- Roll closed like a burrito and set aside until you finish all 24.
- Freeze on a cookie sheet or tray without them touching each other. Freeze for 1 hour, but 2 would be better.
- From frozen, fry for 3-4 minutes in 350 degree oil.
- Drain on drying rack to prevent sogginess or the egg rolls sitting in oil.
Nutrition
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Sabrina’s Tips
You want to make sure that your egg rolls are wrapped tightly before setting them in the oil to prevent your filling from falling out. Set the wrapper on a clean dry surface diamond shaped. Place the filling on the corner closest to you and begin folding in the corners rolling the filling away from you. Fold in the corners left to right and and seal the last corner using water or egg whites.
Table of Contents
About this Recipe
These Korean beef egg rolls are a bit different from normal spring rolls or egg rolls. They are sweet and gingery and have a soft center with the carrots. There’s a hint of the slaw I normally make with Korean Ground Beef because I scooped the filling onto a small piece of Napa cabbage to help prevent the liquid from soaking through the egg roll wrappers. I even added some matchstick carrot sticks to the pan I took the beef out of. I cooked them for a few minutes to soften them and added them to my newly concocted Korean egg roll.
Can these be made ahead of time?
Absolutely, and I encourage you to double the recipe! These egg rolls are so good you will be craving them on a random day. How great would that be to have them ready to go in your freezer to heat up when the craving strikes? Once the egg rolls have cooled completely, wrapped them tightly in an Ziplock bag and aluminum foil. This recipe will last in the freezer for 3-4 months. Reheat in the oven at 400 degrees F until warmed through before eating, or fry them again for a few minutes.
Serving Ideas
Egg rolls are great served as an appetizer when hosting a party or game day with other appetizers like Sweet & Sour Chicken Dip and Sticky Asian Chicken Wings. You can also enjoy them as a side with your meal. I like to serve them alongside Sticky White Rice or Baked Brown Rice. You can also serve them with a Light Salad with Miso Dressing.
How to Store
- Serve: Egg rolls are always best when served right away.
- Store: You can store leftover Egg Rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. You can easily reheat them in the air fryer or oven.
- Freeze: These are freezer safe! Freeze any extras for another day by wrapping them tightly in an Ziplock bag and aluminum foil.
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Oven Baked Method
- Prepare the filling and wrap the egg rolls as usual.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the egg rolls on the sheet without touching.
- Brush or spray the egg rolls lightly with oil. This step helps achieve a golden-brown, crispy exterior.
- Bake the egg rolls in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then flip each egg roll and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until they’re golden and crispy.
Air Fryer Method
- Prepare the egg rolls as usual, including making the filling, and rolling the egg rolls with the cheese and filling.
- Preheat your air fryer to 370 degrees. Lightly spray or oil the air fryer basket.
- Place the egg rolls into the basket, ensuring they don’t overlap.
- Mist the tops of the egg rolls with oil spray. This helps them to brown evenly.
- Cook the egg rolls in the air fryer for about 10 minutes.
- Carefully flip each egg roll and cook until they are crisp and golden, up to 10 more minutes.
Frequent Questions
The key to making sure your egg rolls aren’t soggy is having the right oil temperature. If the oil is too cool, they take longer to cook and soak up more oil which makes them soggy. Use a thermometer to monitor the temp, and don’t over-fill your pot, so the temperature stays at the right temperature.
To make your egg rolls healthier, trying baking them instead of frying.
Related Recipes
More Korean Recipes
These images were used in previous versions of this post:
Oh my. Just slid over to this recipe after trying the Korean beef peppers. This looks like a must do. Thanks!
Let us know what you think! Enjoy.
simply delicious! I air fried them too! I did not freeze them and they did not fall apart. although, I only got 8 egg rolls..I may have gotten huge egg roll wraps maybe? haha. but either way it was enough for my family if 4. picky kid approved. ?
Thank you for a great dinner tonight! It took me a while to have the time to make this, but it’s now in a rotation.
YUMMY!!!
Trying these tomorrow…wonder if I have to freeze first or can I just cook immediately?
Made these last night using lumpia/TYJ Spring Roll Wrappers and they came out great but I admittedly was lazy and made these changes: shredded the napa cabbage and finely julienned the carrots (with a kitchen device designed for this task) and added both to finished meat and cooked on residual heat to soften vegetables just a bit. I didn’t freeze before frying, and they came out beautiful. I know my changes lack in presentation and crunch, but much easier and I prefer spring roll wrappers over egg roll wrappers. I also used gochujang instead of sriracha (that’s all I had in fridge) and cut down the brown sugar from 1/4 cup to a heaping TBSP. Great flavors, I enjoyed without any dipping sauce but my husband preferred it with the traditional Thai sweet chili sauce. A nice change to the “usual” spring roll! Love your recipes, thanks!
Made this recipe using ground chicken because I have a beef allergy – worked great, tastes delicious. Thank you.
I make a deconstructed version of this and it is delicious! I make the meat as is (except I use cinnamon instead of ginger), line individual bowls with the napa cabbage, jasmine rice and then the meat on top! So goooood!!!
Kelli R. Wagner, How nice of you to let us know how much you enjoyed your OWN recipe.
Made these for my daughters birthday party. It was their favourite. I doubled the recipe thankfully. Used gojujang, about 3 tsp. This will be made many more times in the future! Thanks for this recipe
I make these all the time by baking them! At least once a week I just make the beef to add on rice. My husbands favorite meal!
Hi! I am excited to make these, but I am not a fan of boiling oil. Do you think I could cook them in an air fryer?
I’ve not tested it but if you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out. Thanks!
Yes I have, they kinda fall apart but are tasty. I did 3 at a time at 400° for 3-4 min. In batches. Was only making for 2 people so we had extra ingredients leftover which I used in a fried rice recipe. I used 3 ladies brand rice paper and even had to double them. It still broke open. Just giving you a heads up. But enjoy the taste of the meat for this.
Appreciate the feedback Kathy. Thanks for taking the time to let us know.
These are absolutely amazing! My daughter will not eat any other egg roll. 10 out of 10!
Thanks so much Brittany and really appreciate the five star review.
I made it just as is, and it was soooo good! I served along side some spring rolls so we weren’t just eating fried food for dinner, but I have to say it was really hard to eat those when these were right next to them lol. Totally worth a try, and really pretty easy.
I totally get that!! Glad you enjoyed them so much.
I made this recipe because of the reviews, but honestly, it was soo sweet that no one in my house ate them. Not sure if there is a mistake with the measurement of sugar. Not good for us
That’s a bummer!
If I’m going to bake the egg rolls should I still freeze them?
Just curious, What is the purpose of freezing them before frying?
Thank you!! Excited to make these!!
Sometimes they hold up easier when frying but it’s just a preference, not necessarily needed.
To make this more Korean you need to eliminate the Sriracha as that is not Korean it’s just a hot sauce. In it’s place you Gochujang which is a Korean hot paste. Being Korean I’ve been making a similar version for years. And periodically I will add kimchi juice and/or just chopped kimchi in it as well.
How about using Lumpia wrappers?
I’ve not tested it. Lumpia wrappers are thinner and not as wide as egg roll wrappers so you may have to roll them smaller. I’d be afraid they wouldn’t hold the filling. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how they turn out. Thanks!
When you freeze the rolls, does the cabbage inside do ok? I’ve never had much luck with frozen leaf veggies. Or is the amount of cabbage so negligible that you don’t really notice? Thanks!
There isn’t enough cabbage to really make a difference. I would recommend frying them to reheat for best results.
I shallow fried them and they turned out great! Thanks for posting.
You’re welcome Denise!
good eats. I will probably cut the sugar in half with the next batch, wondering about a splenda sweetener instead? mmm. thanks
I haven’t tested it before but if you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out! Thanks!
How long do you freeze them?
I usually make these ahead and freeze for later, but if you’re cooking the same day? Maybe a couple hours. If you freeze them with plenty of space around each one even an hour should be enough. Hope you love them!
Made these yesterday. Instead of pieces of napa cabbage, I used pre-made cole slaw mix added more carrots. I flash froze them because there were a lot. Today I used my air fryer. They came out perfect. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it Candice!
How long did you air fry them? Love that idea.
Could you freeze these without changing quality?
I haven’t tested it as they always get eaten very quickly, haha, but I don’t see why not. Make sure to let them completely cool, wrap the in parchment paper and place into freezer bags. If you want them crispy after freezing, you’ll either want to place them in the oven or fry them again.
If I don’t have cabbage could I use spinach or just eliminate it from the recipe?
I’d just eliminate, the spinach may not have a great texture in the egg rolls.
Steven F, I recommend you go back to school as well. Your grammar is perhaps more of an “epic failure”. Whether this is a genuine Korean recipe or not… the taste is far from a failure. Yum!
Thanks Carrie, I ended up deleting his comment, I can handle if people try and dislike a recipe, but being rude for the sake of it is just not something I want on the page. I appreciate the support though!
I’m really sorry this didn’t live up to your expectation but appreciate the feedback.
I made this Korean ground beef egg rolls and my family loved it. Thanks for sharing it Sabrina.
You’re welcome Lara! It’s great compliment when the whole family loves it!
I made these for dinner last night. My husband loved them. They’re such a fun twist on traditional egg rolls. Thanks!
So happy to hear he loved them! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Did not get 24 from this recipe. Got only 18 and i added bean sprous to beef them up and strech the meat. I bake mine instead of frying. Spray oil on the baking sheet and the egg rolls and bake at 425F for 18 minutes.
Thanks for the tips!
Tried to subscribe kept getting an error message ?
Oh no! I just switched email providers so I have been working through some kinks. I will make sure to add you manually this morning!
Thanks, Jakub.
Thank you for bringing the issue to my attention!
These were a hit, a lot of work but well worth it. We used trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce as a dip. Very good!
Awesome! thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how they turned out!
These egg rolls were delicious. I have made egg rolls with chicken or pork and veggies for years, but never with ground beef. I had a half head of cabbage so used pieces of that rather than buying napa, and also added a handful of fresh green beans that needed to be used up. I cut them into match sticks and sautéed them with the carrots. Definitely a keeper recipe. Husband loved them.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Is there a way to fry these in a pan in some oil or do they need to be deep fried? Do you think there is a way to bake them?
With egg rolls you typically need them to deep fry, pan frying would lead to uneven cooking on the sides and it would taste a bit raw/chewy on the sides that didn’t fry enough.
You can bake them by brushing them with oil and baking at 425 for 18 mins or until brown. They have always been crispy and never chewy! I always bake egg rolls. 🙂
Can attest to the baking!! So good. I usually can’t eat more than 2 at a time but I stuff them pretty full and added a broccoli, cabbage, carrot mixture to them. And the spicy mayo is a hit. Eapeaiclly with some Thai sweet chili sauce added.
Thanks for the feedback!
Great recipe, i air fry my egg rolls. Same crispy crunchy taste, even cooking, less oil.
is there a good dipping sauce for these you recommend or are they good on their own?
Good on their own! But, sometimes we dip in spicy mayo (mix mayo and sriracha to taste). Either way they’re awesome.
I used trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce
Such a great idea, and so different from a normal egg roll! Now I have two new recipes to add to my list – Korean ground beef and these rolls!
Thanks, Liz!
Could you use wonton wrappers instead?
Sure 🙂