Unexpected Substance Smash Egg Roll Dumplings

Description

Crispy, savory dumplings inspired by egg rolls—made by smashing seasoned ground pork and vegetables inside dumpling wrappers and frying until golden. The name comes from a family joke about their “unexpected substance” texture that turned out delicious.

Very good! I made these on 2025-09-10 using leftover Chinese chicken salad with a bit of ground pork added. Tim, Mom, Candy, and I all thought they were delicious. At TITs, Mom tried to describe them to everyone else and called them an “unexpected substance,” not long after I’d been talking about how Mom has a gift for awkward (or sometimes backwards) compliments about my cooking

Ingredients

16 round dumpling or potsticker wrappers (approximately)
1–2 tablespoons oil
Dipping sauce of choice (see below for suggestions)

For the egg roll dumpling filling

½ pound (227 g) ground pork (or any ground meat)
1 cup (240 ml) finely chopped cabbage
¼ cup (60 ml) shredded carrot, then finely chopped
2 stalks green onion, minced fine
2 teaspoons (10 ml) soy sauce or fish sauce
1 teaspoon (5 ml) sesame oil
1 teaspoon (5 ml) garlic powder
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) onion powder
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground black pepper

Dipping sauces

Homemade Sriracha Sauce
5 Minute Dumpling Sauce

Equipment

Oil sprayer, optional

Directions

Finely chop the cabbage, carrot, and green onions. Avoid large chunks so the filling sticks properly to the wrapper.
In a bowl, combine all filling ingredients: ground pork, cabbage, carrot, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.
Place 1–2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each wrapper and spread it evenly to the edges.
Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and lightly coat with oil.
Place the wrappers meat-side down on the skillet.
Press down firmly to flatten the filling. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until the meat is crisp and cooked through.
Lightly spray or drizzle oil over the top of the wrappers.
Flip the dumplings and cook wrapper-side down for about 1 minute to crisp the bottom.
Remove from heat, let cool slightly, and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Notes

Source

Deb M from: whiteonricecouple.com