Red cabbage is a huge vegetable. You buy it once for topping your fake fish tacos or creamy ramen. But then you have no idea to do with the huge hunk of solid cabbage. But to eliminate food waste, I wanted to share one of my favorite ways to use red cabbage:

Fried “Egg” Rolls.

They are completely vegan. And pretty much made to use up all the red cabbage you have leftover.

My mom turned me towards making these yummy rolls when she wanted to find a good way to get rid of a bunch of veggies that were about to go bad. Carrots. Celery. Cabbage. Mushrooms. There’s a bunch of different variations to make a delicious appetizer for before ramen, fried rice, or orange cauliflower (or a good afternoon snack!)

All you need are the inner veggies, and then grab the vegan roll wrappers from the store (unless you want to be really proactive and make from scratch… maybe next time for me). The wrappers are easily found at Kroger stores, Harmon’s, Target Grocery, and more. I find them in the refrigerated section near the produce or the vegan food aisle.

And they don’t take as much effort as you think fried food takes.

It’s as easy as shredding the veggies, cooking the veggies, wrapping the veggies, and frying the rolls. It sounds like a lot of steps, but the only things that take a little effort are shredding the veggies without hurting your finger tips and wrapping the perfect little burrito with the wraps.

Another hard part is choosing the kind of sauce you want to dip them in. I personally love peanut sauce (peanut butter, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and fresh ginger), but it’s also wonderful with just plain soy sauce or liquid aminos, hot and spicy mustard, or sweet and sour sauce.

But lets get to the good stuff:

Please note that when I say egg rolls, it doesn’t actually have real eggs for those hardcore vegans out there.

Description: Vegan Red Cabbage “Egg Rolls”

Diet: Plant- Based, Vegan, Nut-Free

Ways to make low-waste: buy fresh vegetables, buy bulk soy sauce, use leftover veggies

Recipes makes: 8 egg rolls

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Put-Together-Time: 2 minutes

Fry- Time: 8 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons of sauteing oil ( I used a garlic ginger oil)

1 cup of red cabbage

1 cup of green cabbage

1 cup of shredded carrots

8 Vegan Egg roll wraps

Zatural Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Pepper

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of grated ginger

1 minced clove of garlic

2 cups of frying oil

How-To:

Mince garlic and grate ginger root

Toss garlic and ginger into oiled pan on medium heat

Shred cabbage and carrots

Once garlic has browned, out shredded vegetables into pan with seasonings, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Let cook for 10 minutes until soft.

While vegetables are cooking, prep a wrapping station with a cup of water, a cutting board (or any flat surface to roll) .

Start heating up oil for frying in a wok.

Once vegetables are cooked, place a spoonful of cabbage and carrot mixture onto a wrap.

Fold both ends into the middle, then roll, tucking the edge towards you underneath the filling.

After all egg rolls have been rolled, place four into the wok.

Turn rolls after 2 minutes or once golden brown.

Once all sides are crispy, place on cooling rack.

Repeat until all egg rolls are cooked.

Choose a sauce.

Dip, and enjoy!

 

Pro-tip: Use leftover egg roll wrappers to make dessert rolls with apples, peaches or cherries or use them to make mini chimichangas.

Your full-time plant- eater and full-time cabbage food waste eliminator

 

AJ