This recipe tastes like greasy take out, but it's healthy, vegan, easy to make, and so super delicious! Skip the fuss of working with wrappers, and using a fatty deep fryer, and make a vegan egg roll in a bowl instead! This dish tastes just like an egg roll but without the wrapper. Seasoned tofu crumbles, stir fried cabbage, tossed in a sweet and salty sauce. Serve this stir fry over rice or rice noodles for an easy weeknight meal.
30-minutes to make with ingredients you might already have in your kitchen. Vegan egg roll in a bowl is great served fresh, but it also makes super yummy leftovers served hot or cold, which is perfect for meal prepping or packing your lunch box. If you're not into tofu, you can replace it with crumbled tempeh, sliced mushrooms, or any kind of veggie ground that you enjoy.
Traditionally egg rolls are stuffed with stir fried cabbage and carrot with some kind of ground meat. To make this vegan version I subbed the ground meat with crumbled tofu. The tofu is pressed and sautéd so that when the marinade is added it become super juicy and flavourful. And speaking of the marinade, often egg rolls are served with plum sauce for dipping, so I added it directly into the marinade for that authentic taste!
To Make Vegan Egg Roll in a Bowl:
To prep the tofu: Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 15 to 30 minutes. I love using my Tofuture tofu press, but you can also follow these instructions for a DIY tofu pressing method. Pressing the tofu squeezes excess water out so that the tofu can suck up more of the marinade and become more flavourful.
Make the sauce:Â Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Prepare the filling: In a large skillet or non-stick pan heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions turn translucent and begin to brown.
Reduce the heat to medium and use your hands to crumble the tofu into the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until the tofu begins to brown. Tip: don't stir the tofu too much, let it cook for a couple of minutes without stirring so that the bottom can brown. Stirring too often will make it difficult for the tofu to brown. Pour in about ½ of the prepared sauce and stir to combine. Remove the tofu mixture from the pan and set aside.
Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the cabbage and carrot and sauté until the cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes more.
Add the tofu mixture and all of the remaining sauce and heat through.
Serve hot with rice (if using) and garnish green onions, peanuts, and dress with more soy sauce, plum sauce, or hot sauce to taste if you like.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Vegan Egg Roll in a Bowl!
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce (gluten-free if preferred)
- 3 tablespoons plum sauce or sweet and sour sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For tofu and cabbage:
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil, divided
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, minced
- 1 12 oz block extra-firm or firm tofu, drained and pressed (see step 1)
- 16 oz cabbage (green, purple, or a combo), (16oz) finely shredded
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
Optional:
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ½ cup roasted salted peanuts
- an extra drizzle of plum sauce, soy sauce, or Sriracha
- cooked rice or rice noodles, for serving
Instructions
- To prep the tofu: Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 15 to 30 minutes. I love using my Tofuture tofu press, but you can also follow these instructions for a DIY tofu pressing method. Pressing the tofu squeezes excess water out so that the tofu can suck up more of the marinade and become more flavourful.Â
- Make the sauce:Â Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Prepare the filling: In a large skillet or non-stick pan heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions turn translucent and begin to brown.Reduce the heat to medium and use your hands to crumble the tofu into the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until the tofu begins to brown. Tip: don't stir the tofu too much, let it cook for a couple of minutes without stirring so that the bottom can brown. Stirring too often will make it difficult for the tofu to brown. Pour in about ½ of the prepared sauce and stir to combine. Remove the tofu mixture from the pan and set aside.
- Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil. Add the cabbage and carrot and sauté until the cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes more. Add the tofu mixture and all of the remaining sauce and heat through. Serve hot with rice (if using) and garnish green onions, peanuts, and dress with more soy sauce, plum sauce, or hot sauce to taste if you like.
Notes
Nutrition
Christine Tetreault says
Sooo, I have just embarked on the Veganuary challenge and this is the second recipe I have made of yours. I love that there are no wacky ingredients, it came together super quick and was oh so tasty. I am so excited to make the next dish using soy curls for the first time. Thank you for making this journey fun, easy and above all delicious.
Rehoboth says
Nice information
Leora says
Really delicious recipe. Even my picky mom and husband liked it. We used plum sauce and it was so good.
Amanda says
Very easy and tasty. I didn't have a carrot so I didn't use one but this is a good sauce for customizing whatever veg you have on hand.
Darla says
This is absolutely delicious……we like it the best served over noodles! Your recipes rock!
Lizzie says
I really enjoyed this recipe! I have tried a handful of different "egg roll in a bowl" recipes (both before and since my vegan transition) and this one is definitely the best. I had a 14 oz block of tofu so I increased the rest of the ingredients slightly as well to account for that. I used plum sauce and made the recipe as written, with the addition of seasoning each layer with just a hint of salt and pepper as they sautéed - I knew the sauce would be big on flavor and sodium but I like to season all my layers as I cook. Served over basmati rice with sliced green onion, chopped peanuts, and some sesame seeds.
Danger Ehren says
Really good. I didn't have plum sauce so I subbed a Sichuan sweet and sour I had in the fridge but it still worked. Would like to try it with again with a homemade plum sauce.
I think the only addition I would make is lime wedges for serving. I found my bowl lacking in acidity just a lil bit.
Thanks!
Paula says
So good! I’ve made this several times now & keep coming back, as it’s so easy & inexpensive. I usually sub sweet chili sauce for the duck/sweet & sour sauce.
Yvonne Delahunt says
Yummy! I made this for dinner tonight and my it was delicious! I used 2 tbsp of ginger jam as I didn’t have plum sauce and served it on rice noodles as you suggested. Definitely a keeper!
Andrea says
Made according to the directions but it was just "ok". Maybe it's because the egg rolls I'm used to are different than the intended flavour of this dish. Unfortunately, I probably won't make it again.
Melody Fordham says
OMG! This is SOOO GOOD and fast!! Thank you! Better than ANY egg roll I’ve eaten. Haven’t been disappointed with any of your recipes. Have both your books too Thank you for your loving labors.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww you're most welcome, glad you enjoy!!
Karen Pearson says
I saw this recipe and was lucky enough to have all the ingredients on hand, except the tofu, but I substituted mushrooms as suggested. Not exactly like an egg roll but close enough and very tasty. The suggestion in another review about adding wonton strips is a good one; I think it was the flavour and texture of the egg roll wrapper that I was missing. I will definitely make this again.
Kelly says
This was really good, even my meat eating hubby enjoyed it.
Greg Nolan says
This was really great - even if I did accidentally forget my ginger and garlic. oops. Even the kids ate it, which is saying something.
Allison says
Super easy and flavorful! Love that it's a healthier version of a favorite food. We added crunchy wonton strips for more crunch!
Mortimer says
This was really good. I used minced (jarred) garlic and ginger about 2 tsp each. Also for the drizzle at the end I used 1.5 tbsp soya sauce, 1.5 tbsp plum sauce and 1 tsp sriracha. Amazing!
Great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed Mortimer 🙂
Holly Thompson says
I usually love all the recipes from this blog (and the book) but this one wasn't a hit. I was expecting it to be very flavourful, and it just wasn't. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't good either.
Susan says
Since going whole food plant based really missing Chinese take out, egg rolls my favorite, this recipe nails it! sesame oil, green onions, garlic and ginger make it authentic tasting. So thankful for you! Blessings
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Paula says
Super tasty! I’ve made this a couple times now. Both times, I’ve subbed sweet chili sauce for the duck/sweet & sour sauce. I like topping with the green onions, peanuts, sriracha, & extra drizzle of sweet chili sauce; these really take the dish up a level, so I wouldn’t skip these. I also like that this recipe uses staples I generally have on hand; all I usually have to pick up is the coleslaw mix. Thank you for sharing!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful Paula! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much 🙂