Who knew a bag of cabbage could taste so good?
I used to think the best part of the egg roll was the crispy, crunchy exterior — you know with those warm bubbly pockets? (salivary glands on fya) — not sure I ever gave as much thought to the interior until I discovered these bowls and let me tell you straight up, the sauce is magic.
(it will almost have you forgetting about the fried exterior).
The base of the egg roll is cabbage (wasn’t kidding) intermingled with carrot and I’ve added a few other veggies to round things out; for the protein, I’m using rehydrated plant crumbles, also known as textured vegetable protein (TVP).
There are a couple of ingredients in the sauce that you may not have on hand but are worthwhile seeking out... I can suggest options for two of them but Chinese five-spice is what it is; there are no subs for this (and believe me, you want it in the sauce).
Alright, so here’s what you’ll need to make these bowls of plenty:
- a bag of coleslaw! (or shredded cabbage); fresh spinach; big ol’ carrots, red bell pepper, green onion, sesame seeds;
- plant-based crumbles/tvp of choice or other ground protein of choice (I’m using Anthony’s non-gmo textured vegetable protein);
- ingredients for the sauce: ginger, garlic, soy or tamari, Chinkiang vinegar (Chinese vinegar) I highly recommend, wonderful to have on hand for Asian dishes generally and perfect here; hoisin sauce (thick and fragrant fermented soy sauce with a sweet/salty taste); Chinese five-spice (above and beyond flavor sensation in this dish); chili-garlic sauce for a touch of heat if you like that.
Plant Crumbles & Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
Plant-based crumbles are meant to resemble minced/ground meat in texture and application; they are now widely available and some are quite tasty! Sold in hydrated ready-to-use format, they are typically made from soy and/or pea/rice protein and are quite versatile in the kitchen as a sub for ground meat. I’ve tried Lightlife smart ground and Beyond Meat plant crumbles — and while either of these would work well here, the tricky part is that they are processed with a range of additives that make me less excited about using them on any regular basis.
Enter TVP.
Textured vegetable protein (TVP) by contrast is typically sold in the form of dehydrated flakes (pictured below) containing a singular ingredient, soy flour (most commonly). When you add water to the dry flakes at home, they rehydrate into high protein textured crumbles (like the plant-based crumbles described above minus the additives) and are ready for inclusion in stir-fries, tacos, plant burgers, etc. The texture is pleasing and the crumbles absorb the flavor of the sauces they are cooked in. Works quite well.
If you’re using TVP in this recipe, I recommend rehydrating the flakes before adding to skillet (otherwise the entire sauce will get soaked into hydrating the flakes rather than distributing that goodness throughout). Typically you just add slightly less water to the amount of dry TVP (so for example, for 1 cup of the dehydrated crumbles, you would add about 3/4 cup hot water and let it sit for a couple minutes before integrating).
Heat level preferences vary so you can decide whether or not to include the chili-garlic sauce and how much of it; you can also skip the chili-garlic and drizzle a spicy sauce of choice over the bowls instead (like a sriracha type thing) — ps: I won’t tell anyone if you want to do both!
- for the egg rolls:
- 3 large carrots, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 280 g/10 oz cabbage (about 4 cups) from grated cabbage or premixed bag of coleslaw
- Large handful (about 1 cup) chopped fresh spinach (can use baby spinach) if omitting spinach use 14 oz coleslaw
- 340g/12 oz (about ¾ pound) plant-based crumbles/rehydrated TVP or ground protein of choice (I'm using Anthony's non-gmo textured vegetable protein)
- for topping: sliced green onions, sesame seeds
- for the egg roll sauce:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 Tbsp Chinkiang vinegar (Chinese vinegar - sub white rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar in that order)
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 round tsp chili garlic sauce (or to taste according to heat preference -- please omit if you do not like/toletate heat)
- 1 tsp hoisin sauce (recommended but if omitting add another (1) Tbsp of soy/tamari instead)
- 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- 2-4 Tbsp water
- Combine the egg roll sauce ingredients in a container with fitted lid: olive oil, soy or tamari, vinegar, ginger, garlic, chili garlic sauce, hoisin sauce, Chinese five-spice powder and 2-4 Tbsp water (if sauce is quite thick add up to 4 Tbsp) giving it a good shake to combine nb: it's good for sauce to gather flavor while you assemble/cook the rest of the ingredients (you can also make ahead and store in fridge).
- Sauté carrots and red peppers in a large skillet with a little olive oil just until the carrots begin to soften.
- Add plant crumbles (see blog post for info/options) or protein of choice to skillet (nb: if using tvp rehydrate prior to adding) drizzle in half of the sauce, intermingling to combine.
- Add cabbage and spinach mixing to integrate with remaining sauce. If the sauce/mixture appears too thick/dry add a little more water but not too much (you don't want to overly dilute the wonderful taste of the sauce). Continue mixing over heat until cabbage/spinach begin to wilt and mixture is warmed through.
- Serve with rice (if desired) or on its own dividing mixture among 4 bowls (store any remains in a container in fridge, it will keep well for up to 5 days if meat free); top the bowls with green onion and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. For a fun twist, consider adding a few wonton strips (salad toppers).
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check out Bewitching Kitchen’s post! https://bewitchingkitchen.com/2021/05/13/revelation-veggie-or-not-egg-roll-bowl/
thanks Sally, i’m so glad you enjoyed!
Ok, I am brave and I just enjoyed it with the TSP! And you are absolutely right, it is delicious, and very meaty – I cannot believe I am having TSP. This is too cool for words!
ah, so great to hear Sally, thank you for the testimonial — and the heroics! haha:) — so glad it was a good experience and that you enjoyed the texture/taste; really appreciate the feedback.
post is coming up tomorrow!!!! I hope you have a chance to stop by to see it….
woo-hoo!! for sure i will, looking forward to it Sally! :))
MADE IT!!!! Now, I have to confess I used ground turkey. I have the TSP, but my husband was too afraid of it
So I will make a small batch for me with that and see how it goes – but I must tell you this was one of the tastiest things I’ve cooked in a while – I will blog about it and give you full credit!
oh my goodness, I don’t know which part of this i enjoyed more – the ‘one of the tastiest things’ you’ve ever cooked part or the ‘i have the tvp but my husband was too afraid of it’ part – haha, the best… you won’t get dogma here (tho you will occasionally see my doggie ;-) work with what works best for you! so glad you enjoyed and I’m looking forward to reading your post. thanks so much for sharing Sally, x.
I will definitely divulge it all in the blog post – yes, the TSP inflicted the fear of all nasty gods on my poor beloved – so I just could not bring myself to open the bag. NOt quite yet. But keep in mind that I had to FIGHT to save some for my lunch today, because Phil was seriously considering polishing it off yesterday – and you will see in my picture, it made A LOT.
This goes to my rotation for sure – the sauce is simply DIVINE!
Oh Yum! We love rice bowls list this for our one of our vegetarian options of the week. What a great idea to deconstruct an egg roll. Smart lady! Have never made anything with TVP and really wasn’t that interested in it, but now I’m very curious. My problem with vegetarian dishes is getting enough protein because my body requires it and I do SO much better with an adequate amount. I know I can get some TVP at the local coop so I’ll check it out next time Bobby goes shopping. Of course all of the other ingredients are scrumptious and I love that sauce. One of those sauces that allows me to use some of those condiments in the refrigerator door trays. :) Lovely dish Kelly!
an excuse to use the condiments in the door trays — yes, precisely! love that, haha. Yeah, i like having another plant protein option in the rotation – with the ground/crumble texture this one works especially well in dishes like lasagna, burritos/tacos etc and bowls like this; I’ve not tried it in plant burgers (typically use beans/quinoa for that) and don’t want to overdo the tvp; on the protein front, quite good, 12 g per 1/4 cup (24g) & 6 g of fiber, so pretty impressive. I think the tvp stores well (has a long shelf life, bit like rice), so may be something to keep in mind :)
What a great idea! We had Vietnamese lettuce roll salad (someone hates fiddling with the lettuce rolls) and Chicken fajita salad but I’ve not thought about an egg roll salad! We are really into the Asian flavours and have all the ingredients at home minus the TVP. I have used the plant-based ground “meat” and feel the same way about them as you do, so this is a great alternative. I shall look around for it for sure.
Hope you’re well, we got 10 cm of snow this morning, so strange to see the garden in spring bloom covered in a fluffy layer of snow!
oh my gosh, I am just looking at photos my sister sent from Montreal – she’s got a promising looking tulip on her kitchen ledge window and a blanket of snow outside :)) spring will come! (miss the snow) (occasionally)
Only you to sell me on a recipe with TVP – I trust your taste buds completely and will try to find this product here where I live (not very high hopes to find it)
this sounds like a perfect lunch item for me!
😆 right?
the ready made crumbles are super tasty (and convenient) but it’s about all the shiz in there… plus, way more expensive than tvp!
I just amazoned it…. hopefully will try it soon….