These duck egg rolls are super savory, crunchy umami bombs with succulent roast duck, diced mushrooms, and tons of aromatics. It might just be your new favorite egg roll recipe. This post will give you a little bit of egg roll history and show you how to fold egg rolls perfectly every time.
There’s nothing quite like a crispy, warm egg roll. Often stuffed with cabbage, char siu, and shrimp, egg rolls are crispy, salty, savory, and the perfect snack.
These duck egg rolls stray from the standard filling and, instead, follow a more spicy, deeply savory route. They’re time-consuming, but the finished product is so worth it.
Here’s what you’ll need for the recipe:
- Whole duck: While you can use shredded chicken, duck brings an irresistible richness and depth of flavor that can’t be beaten.
- Vegetables and aromatics: A mixture of fragrant aromatics, umami mushrooms, and hot chilies work perfectly with the shredded duck.
- Spices and sauces: A few sauces and spices–including hoisin and Chinese Five Spice–bring in a contrasting sweetness and warmth.
- Wrappers: You’ll need egg roll wrappers, but you can also use spring roll wrappers.
I’m going to do a little bit of a deep dive into the history and cooking methods. If you’re ready to start cooking, you can always jump ahead to the recipe!
First, a little egg roll history:
Egg rolls are a somewhat modern culinary invention of Chinese restaurateurs in America. It’s thought that these crispy appetizers–with their thicker wrapper–were created as a variation of the Chinese spring roll. Spring rolls date back centuries to Mainland China, and people originally prepared them to commemorate the first day of spring. Back in those days, the wrapper was a bit different and more akin to a thin pancake. Over the years, the spring roll evolved into what you may likely be familiar with, a thin wheat flour wrapper that is rolled into a petite cylindrical tube and deep-fried.
Egg rolls–invented by Chinese chefs in America–come with their own bit of spicy drama. Throughout the 1930s, there was a running duel between several chefs, all claiming that they invented the crispy appetizer. As with many ubiquitous dishes, it’s hard to pinpoint the precise moment it fell into the mainstream or from whom.
The possible creators:
Henry Low, a chef at the Port Arthur Restaurant in New York’s Chinatown, credits himself with the invention of the egg roll. This stems from a recipe in his book published in 1938, Cook at Home in Chinese. In his book, he provides a recipe for egg rolls which were filled with “canned bamboo shoots, shredded roast pork, fresh shrimp, scallions, chopped and peeled water chestnuts, salt, gourmet powder, sugar, and pepper”.
Another restaurateur, Lum Fong, claims that he was the inventor, going so far as to run ads claiming such. While Low’s accreditation comes primarily from his own mouth, Fong has plenty of written press citing him as the inventor. Fong opened his restaurant in 1925, and in 1934, a newspaper article mentioned a dish from his restaurant: a lobster egg roll. Around the same time, another newspaper–with a photo of egg rolls–stated that they were made by Lum Fong with the caption: “Inside these delightful egg-dough capsules is a savory mixture of pork, shrimp and vegetables.” This all happened four years prior to Low’s book being released.
I do love a little drama with my food history. Regardless of who you credit as the inventor, we can all agree that they rose to prominence in the late 1920s and 1930s with very similar ingredient profiles (with the exception of Fong’s extra-fancy lobster egg roll).
How to make egg rolls:
Egg rolls all follow a similar process regardless of the filling.
- Step 1: Make the filling.
- Step 2: Roll them up.
- Step 3: Fry them until crispy.
If stuffing them with very watery ingredients, like cabbage for instance, you need to boil the cabbage and squeeze out all the excess water. Any moisture in your filling will create soggy, sad egg rolls.
In this egg roll recipe, I use relatively low-moisture ingredients. I slowly roast the duck and shred the meat with only the crispiest bits of skin. I make the filling with shiitake mushrooms, whose lower water content makes them ideal for egg rolls. If using cremini mushrooms, you need to fry them longer to ensure all of the moisture cooks out of the mushrooms.
Here are the basic steps for making my duck egg roll recipe:
- Start with the duck: I roast a whole duck for three hours until the skin is deep golden brown and crispy. The meat will shred easily. You need just salt and pepper, but you can stuff the bird with clementines and shallots if you like.
- Prep your vegetables and aromatics: You’ll need shiitake mushrooms, Thai chili peppers, ginger, garlic, shallot, and scallions. I finely dice and sautée the aromatics to draw out any excess water. Removing water gives you the crispiest egg rolls!
- Make the filling: Combine the hoisin sauce, Chinese Five Spice, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, and a little sweet chili sauce with the sautéed vegetables and aromatics. To this mixture, add the shredded duck.
- Prepare the egg rolls: Fold the filling into the wrappers and then chuck them into the hot oil.
Can I freeze the egg rolls? Absolutely! If you’ve made more than you can eat in one sitting, simply take the extras and arrange them on a baking sheet. Transfer to the freezer for three or four hours. Once they’ve firmed up, pop them into a freezer bag, squeeze out the excess air, and then freeze them for up to six months.
How to fold egg rolls:
I’m actually about to take some photos to show the process of folding egg rolls right now! For now, I’ve included the written instructions on how to fold egg rolls below, or you can look at this handy chart for visuals.
- First, get a small bowl of water and place it on your workstation.
- Place the wrapper on a plate and rotate it so that it’s a diamond.
- Place two tablespoons or so of filling in the middle of the wrapper.
- Lift up the bottom corner of the diamond (the corner closest to you) and fold it over the filling. Use your fingers to pinch the wrapper over the filling tightly.
- Fold the left and right corners over the filling. The wrapper will look like an envelope now.
- Roll the mixture toward the top corner one rotation. You should have a small triangle sticking out at the top.
- Dip your fingers into the water and wet the edges of the remaining corner (imagine you’re sealing an envelope!). Roll the filling one more rotation to seal the egg roll. Dip your fingers back into the water and brush the corner once more to seal the egg roll completely.
- Continue on until all the egg rolls are rolled.
Duck Egg Rolls
Ingredients
Roast duck:
- 4–5 pound duck; giblets, neck, and feet reserved for another use
- 2 clementines, quartered, optional
- 2 small shallots, peeled and quartered, optional
- Salt and pepper
Filling:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps small-diced
- 1 shallot, peeled and minced
- 2- inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 scallions, trimmed and minced
- 1–2 Thai chili peppers, trimmed and minced
- 1–2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce or teriyaki sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- Salt, if needed
Egg rolls:
- Vegetable oil
- 10–12 egg roll wrappers
- Thinly sliced scallions
Instructions
Prepare the duck:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Line a roasting pan with foil. Place a raised rack in the pan and set aside.
- Pat the duck dry and season it all over with salt and pepper.
- Stuff the cavity with quartered clementines and shallots. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together.
Roast the duck:
- Place the duck on top of the raised rack and transfer it to the oven for 2 hours.
- Remove the duck from the oven. Using a sharp knife, create a few shallow slits in the skin across the breast and around the thighs. This will allow the fat to fully render. Be careful not to cut the meat too much. You just need 6–8 slits all over the duck, particularly around the fatty area of the legs and breasts.
- Return the duck to the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove the duck from the oven and let cool as you prepare the filling.
Cook the filling:
- Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, minced shallot, ginger, garlic, scallions, and minced Thai chili peppers. Cook for 6–7 minutes, turning occasionally until the mushrooms are golden brown. Turn off the heat and transfer to a large bowl.
Prepare the filling:
- To the bowl of aromatics, add the hoisin sauce, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, Chinese Five Spice, and white pepper. Toss to combine. Set aside.
Shred the duck:
- Once the duck is cool enough to handle, pick the meat from the bones. Avoid any meat that feels very sinewy. You can keep as much of the skin as you like for the egg rolls, particularly the skin around the breasts, thighs, and legs. I discard the skin on the back of the duck. Reserve the carcass for stock, if you like.
- Place the meat and skin on a cutting board and finely dice. Transfer to the bowl of aromatics and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference. Your filling is finished, and you're ready to fold the egg rolls!*
Heat the oil:
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a wide pot until it reaches 325ºF.
Fold the egg rolls:
- First, get a small bowl of water and place it on your workstation.
- Place the egg roll wrapper on a plate and rotate it so that it’s a diamond.
- Place two tablespoons or so of filling in the middle of the egg roll.
- Lift up the bottom corner of the diamond (the corner closest to you) and fold it over the filling. Use your fingers to pinch the wrapper over the filling tightly.
- Fold the left and right corners over the filling. The wrapper will look like an envelope now.
- Roll the mixture toward the top corner one rotation. You should have a small triangle sticking out at the top.
- Dip your fingers into the water and wet the edges of the remaining corner (imagine you’re sealing an envelope!). Roll the filling one more rotation to seal the egg roll. Dip your fingers back into the water and brush the corner once more to completely seal the egg roll.
- Continue on until all the egg rolls are rolled.**
Fry the egg rolls:
- Once the oil is hot, begin frying the egg rolls in batches for 2–4 minutes or until the wrapper is golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
To serve:
- Place the egg rolls on a serving platter with thinly sliced scallions. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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