Egg Rolls have always been my Chinese-American go to finger food. I mean, there is really nothing NOT to love about them. They are fried, filled with the perfect blend of meat, veggies, and seasoning, and they are fried. Oh, and they are fried! I love them dipped in sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce, no sauce. It really doesn’t matter because foods like egg rolls don’t need much of anything to make them a happy food. Except for the part where they are completely saturated with wheat, grain, soy, and fried in GMO vegetable oils. Oops, ya that.
When I finally gave into the notion that if I wanted to heal I would need to give up all the goodies I had enjoyed for so many years – I really planned on going without. I knew in my heart that certain favorites would need to be in the past and my reward would be feeling like a human again. I did NOT plan on recreating these favorite foods like Taco Shells or Empanadas or Tortillas but then it sort of happened. I started realizing that eating “Paleo” or even “AIP” did not have to be limited to bone broth and salad, or chicken livers and sweet potatoes. I mean, I eat all of those things too and am grateful for what they have done for me and my healing, but sometimes you want to feel like a “normal” person and have an indulgence that doesn’t leave you suffering.
So I say, get your roll on! Don’t feel deprived or sad or sick that you cheated. These are nutritious and made with whole foods that your brain and belly will both love. And for the love of Chinese food, they are EGG ROLLS!!!!!
Ingredients:
For the Wrappers:
- 3 cups peeled, coarsely chopped, and boiled yuca root (takes about 20 minutes to be fork-tender; do not overcook)
- 1/4 cup Avocado Oil (you can use up to 1/2 cup if needed)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- Additional Avocado Oil for frying
For the Filling:
- 1 pound ground pork (pasture raised/organic when possible)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic sea salt blend
- 3 tablespoons Coconut Aminos
- 1 cup shredded, diced carrots
- 2 cups shredded, diced cabbage
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (omit for AIP)
For Dipping Sauce (not AIP):
- 1/4 teaspoon sriracha
- 1/4 teaspoon hot mustard
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1.5 teaspoons coconut palm sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Preheat oven to 350
- Drain your peeled, chopped, boiled yuca and place in a sturdy blender or Vitamix
- Pour in 1/4-1/2 cup Avocado Oil and blend until a dough is formed (may be slightly sticky while still warm)
- Empty contents onto parchment paper and allow to cool (this will help with the stickiness, if you experience this)
- While dough is cooling, brown ground pork in a large skillet with seasonings (garlic salt, aminos, five spice, and ginger)
- Add carrots and cabbage once pork starts losing its pink color
- Cook ingredients until meat is cooked through and veggies are softened
- Remove filling from heat
- Now take handfuls of the cooled dough and flatten them into a “tortilla” on a parchment lined baking sheet
- Square off the edges with your fingers, you will want these to be thin but not completely transparent
- Repeat until your baking sheet is full and bake for about 10 minutes (you do not want the edges to crisp, just become more solidified and less doughy
- Remove from the oven and repeat until all of your wrappers are made
- Allow the wrappers to cool before filling them
- Now take one wrapper and spoon about a tablespoon of the meat mixture into the center
- As you start rolling the wrapper, tuck the corners into the ends so that the egg roll is closed from all angles
- Repeat until all wrappers are filled – if you have leftover meat mixture you can use it to fill lettuce leaves or make more wrappers
- Heat your avocado oil in a large skillet over relatively high heat (not the highest) – if your oil is not hot enough the egg rolls may stick to the pan
- Fry 3-4 at a time so that you may keep a close watch on them…you will want to brown all sides in the skillet
- Remove from heat once your egg rolls are nicely browned and repeat with the remaining egg rolls which have not been fried
- For Dipping Sauce, combine all ingredients and get dippin’
These look amazing! Thank you! How long should I boil the yuca for? Did I miss it?
I typically boil for about 20 minutes or so – you want it to be fork-tender but not overcooked!
Can you use cassava flour? I don’t know where to get the root.
Yes you potentially could but read my post on “Cassava Flour Dough” first so you know what you are working with!
How many cups of cassava flour would you substitute with for the yuca? What else would you add (I’m assuming water)?
These look delicious!! Where can I buy Yuca from?
Thanks!
I find yuca root in my mainstream grocery store where the plantains and mango/papaya are in the fresh produce section! I’ve heard some people can find frozen yuca as well. Good luck!
Can I substitute coconut oil for the avocado oil? Thanks!
Kimberly, you could certainly try if you are ok with the taste of coconut oil. You would want to melt it down first (before combining with the yuca). As a head’s up, the flavor will change a bit if using coconut oil, but shouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Good luck!
Please let us know how the recipe turns out using coconut oil!
These look SO good! On my to-make list for sure!
Thanks Alessandra! Your goodies are beautiful as well!
Trying these today, yum! But shouldn’t you soak the yucca root? If you google yucca or cassava it talks about proper prep to reduce anti nutrients – soak for 18-24 hrs after peeling!!
😉 Colleen
Colleen, you can certainly soak it. I peel pretty deep and then boil it on high heat for 20-25 minutes after peeling which helps to rid any residual anti-nutrients as well. If you feel more comfortable soaking though, it definitely is suggested, depending on the source! Hope you enjoy the egg rolls!
Hi, i was planning on making one of your yuca recipes and i boiled/pureed it like said. However, i forgot to add the oil! My dough cooled and came out great, and was wondering if the oil was completely necessary and if I should try pureeing it in. Thanks!
Gabriella, how did they turn out? I think the oil helps for crisping up the dough, and also pureeing it. Would love to hear how you liked them!
I made these into dumplings instead of egg rolls and the dough is perfect! Reminds me so much of a scallion pancake one crisped up.
That sound delicious Janelle! Glad you enjoyed them!
Feel free to punch me in the face if this is the dumbest question ever – but would rutabaga or potato substitute for the yuca in this recipe? I see you use yuca often and I live in a tiny town and dont have access to it. I will also Google this question but I’ve found it much more valuable to ask experienced cooks like yourself. So, if you have time to answer I’d appreciate it very much. Thanks for sharing your recipes with the world of sickies. 🙂
Hi Rachel, no punching! Rutabaga and potato do not quite have the same sticky texture that yuca has, which is why it makes it so workable. Tapioca starch is derived from yuca, so you could potentially play with that but I have not tried to sub one for one, so I suspect there will be many adjustments. I hope you find some other recipes that interest you – I have many without yuca 🙂
so funny! I had the same quesiton, I am in Australia and haven’t been able to source it anywhere. I was wondering if I could use a sweet potato but haven’t tried yet.. I think if I could make a nut free paleo pastry in Australia I could make a fortune!!! 🙂
Sweet Potato doesn’t quite work the same, I hope you find yuca soon!!! I know a few have found it frozen, I hope you will be one of them! 🙂
These look amazing! I so miss the spring rolls I used to make before I was gluten free. I baked them instead of pan frying them and they came out great. I used spring roll pastry sheets and sprayed them with oil and baked them on a rack. Do you think it would work with the yucca root?
If you bake the yuca, be sure to bake at a higher temperature and then watch for burning. It should brown nicely but will be slightly different than when fried. Good luck!
I cooked with yuca once and I was put off by the smell….I did have it on my counter for a while as I got up the nerve to cook with it! Your video was helpful!
Was the yuca I bought old? I’m not sure if it was normal or not.
Does the smell dissipate as you work with it?
Thanks…the spring rolls look delicious!
My guess is that your yuca may have been old. I have not had stinky yuca so that’s the only thing I can think of 🙂
How much avacado oil do you use for frying them?
Also about how big are your wrappers? 4×4? 3×3?
Probably around 4×4.
Just enough to cover the bottom of your skillet, whatever size it is. No need for deep frying as you will turn them regularly.
Hi! I noticed my Yuca was a little soft at the bottom when I started peeling/cutting. Is this ok? Or did the yuca go bad?
I’ve never used one before! How long do they usually last in the fridge before peeling?
Thank you for your great website!
I typically leave mine on the counter and have had some last for quite awhile (maybe 10 days??) at room temp. I would cut the soft parts off just in case. Some people report a smell if the yuca becomes rotten but otherwise I would still use the firm portion as long as there are no “black threads” running through it.
I have never had yucca before but read where you said that tapioca starch is derived from it If I am unable to eat tapioca would I be unable to eat yucca?
Kelly, you should probably avoid yuca if you cannot tolerate tapioca 🙁
Looks so good I wonder if I can use the samedough for making samosas
ABSOLUTELY!!!!
Think you could make these and then freeze for a quick weeknight meal? I would probably reheat in the oven.
I think so yes!
Just thinking that Sriracha is probably not AIP since it is made from peppers. Am I wrong?
Correct, just the egg rolls are AIP approved,not the dipping sauce 🙂
Just some observations:
I found when I filled the eggroll “skins”, it worked much better if I peeled them off and turned them over, with the drier side on the outside.
The yucca mix nearly burned up my Vitamix; I switched it to the food processor which didn’t sound much happier about the job. Next time I am going to try it with a stick blender.
I definitely didn’t cut off enough of the outside; now I know better. I cooked mine in a pressure cooker for three minutes and it came out perfectly! I did chop it into 1 1/2 inch cubes.
Hubby and son liked it!
Is there a video on youtube on how to prepare these? Mine didn’t turn out. I would like to see consistency of yucca and how to make and roll the wrappers. I love vietnamese flavors and would love to visually see how to prepare them. Thank you in advance.
Yes I have a few YouTubes but not specifically on the Egg Rolls. Have you seen my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCteqLKh_x0lje9VUZgmGZWQ
OMG Jennifer, I had to comment as I just stumbled upon your site today and decided to take a chance and make these egg rolls tonight; I wanted to tell you that I was almost in tears tasting these as I haven’t had an egg roll in 4 years!!!!! These taste EXACTLY THE SAME! My husband couldn’t even believe it. Thank you SO much. I never thought I’d be able to eat these again and you’ve brought that possibility back! Thank you so much!
Yay!!!!!! So so so happy!
Oh, my GOSH!!! These look amazing!!! I remember these when I was eating wheat/gluten… I thought for sure I’d have to cheat and eat the gluten/wheaten ones … except I’ve yet to find Yuca in either of the places I shop, included at where the Bananas are… I’ve seen the Plantations, but they should be gotten when they’re green, not yellowish or brown, although brown is okay ’cause then I don’t have to puree, I could just smash it with fork, right? — The plantations, not the Yuca.
I absolutely love the pork and the dippin’ sauce…. *elongated* oh…..
My parents and I used to go to a Fleatique to sell stuff, and there was this chinese place nearby, although I’m sure they added MSG to their egg rolls… but it would be so nice to make a huge batch and freeze and snack on… well, not really snack on… I’m doing this new thing to where I fast every other day, my teeth weren’t doing so well and I read that fasting helps regenerate stem cells, as well as exercising, and sleep, but what I wasn’t doing that of which I was doing before I went off wheat and other grains was: Taking horsetail/bamboo extract twice a day, Bamboo is more expensive and I can’t only find 60 caps, which is 30 days in total, but if that’s why my teeth are rotting as fast as they are, I’m reverting to taking bamboo twice a day, I was taking it once with my dinner, but now I don’t think that’s such a good idea ’cause food also takes liquid and I need all the hydration I can get so now I’ll take it on an empty stomach…
Anyway, I might try to find Yuca, as Otto’s flour is also quite expensive, but I don’t know how inexpensive Yuca root is, as I’ve not found it.
I also suffer from the autoimmune disease of sjogren’s dry skin, and dry mouth, until my body gets the nutrients it’s supposed like omega-3s, magnesium, coconut oil, or other healthy oils, like Almonds [yum! which I may be addicted to!] Even peppermint oil will help relieve the dry.
Silica in bamboo helps with loads of things that may be off-balance in the body or that ain’t getting absorbed like they should be. I do extensive research, and sometimes I forget these researches esp. when something’s not so inexpensive, but since my body needs Silica, I’m going to have to take it twice a day and just bite the bullet of paying $11 or 10 something every month or two weeks… it didn’t dawn on me about the silica until this very day!!! I hate it when I learn something and forget it! Explains why when I wait after a certain amount of time after eating and I take all my vitamins and minerals why my mouth would feel better, ’cause I gave enough time in between food for the bamboo to work, whereas I was thinking it was the Ginger, but ginger is also said to help with stem cells, and certainly digestive issues.
Anyway, enough rambling!!! I can’t wait to try these when I get the chance! – though it may be a while, but I’ve got the recipe in my hard drive, and I’ve even a few of your books… though I don’t remember if they are in there.
I may seem obtuse, but how can a item be called egg roll when there is no egg any where in the recipe, I am just a bit confused, Paleo or not, makes no difference, plus where in Australia would you be even likely to be able to get yucca, I don’t think any one growing it would appreciate any body digging their plants up just so a person could grind the root’s to a flour, what yucca is used, are some poisonous, I have no idea, just a bit concerned, what can be substituted for the yucca, ?????
Egg rolls typically do have egg in the wrapper but in this case, because I use yuca dough, you don’t need it. If you cannot source yuca nearby, you can definitely access cassava flour there (by Otto’s) and you can make the dough from that. I have a blog post that can help you with that. http://predominantlypaleo.com/cassava-flour-dough/
I am going to try this. We have been looking for a gluten free wrapper option.
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