If you are a frequent Pinterest stalker, you’ve likely already been intrigued by the phenomenon that is “Egg Roll in a Bowl.”
Seriously–have you seen it? There are about 10000 different kind of recipes for it (look!) even though I’ve NEVER heard of this dish outside of Pinterest.
(Go ahead, stalk away! I’ll wait.)
It’s a meal often hacked by the Keto/Paleo crowd and has always sounded like a delicious idea. I had just never gotten around to trying it. (That is, until recently.)
I also didn’t really like the idea of having to chop up TWO different kinds of cabbage (CHOPPING!? THE HORROR ?) and also…cabbages take up A LOT of room in a city-sized refrigerator, you know what I mean?
Then, when I was at Trader Joe’s scanning their glorious pre-chopped produce section, I thought, “wait a second…I could just use TJ’s CABBAGE MIX” and my TJ’s Egg Roll in a Bowl hack was born!
Let’s be honest though, you don’t really need anything TJ’s specific to make this–you can grab all this stuff at your favorite grocery store. (Or, you know, you COULD always like…chop the WHOLE cabbages. ?I can hear my mom right now mock-scolding me for my laziness–”OH JESSICA!”)
Anyway, this five-minute dinner is a great example of what I like to call, one of my “no recipe recipes.” (I recently dedicated six whole months to compiling a whole book of them, if you recall ?)
The point is that you are supposed to make them your own. You don’t have to measure–just add a bit of this, a little of that, taste, and adjust until you get it just right for your personal liking!
It’s insanely easy, healthy, and best of all–delicious.
How to Make Egg Roll in a Bowl:
Servings: I was starving, and I ate the entire package of cabbage mix here, but on a normal day I’d probably eat 1/2 a package of cabbage mix. Conservatively, if you’re cooking for two, I’d get two packages of the mix. (The cabbage cooks down–I know it looks like too much at first, but it isn’t!)
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First, start with the sausage.
I use breakfast chicken sausage links because chicken is healthier and the flavor of breakfast sausage is mild and lends itself really well to Asian flavors. (Sounds weird. Just trust me. Other flavors of chicken sausage wouldn’t taste Asian! Italian? Nope. Andouille? Nope. Gouda and Apple? NOPE. See what I mean?)
Alternatives: You can also use regular bulk pork sausage. Or you can use chicken–or even leftover rotisserie chicken instead! OR you can omit the meat altogether and add more veggies to bulk it up! (TJ’s frozen edamame would be good to add, too!)
Anyway, chop up your chicken sausage links and throw them in the pan with some sesame oil. Once its nice and browned, drizzle in some Coconut Aminos or Soy Sauce (fish sauce would also be good!), a clove or two of garlic, followed by TJ’s Umami Seasoning if you have it (but totally optional), some Chinese Five Spice (if you have it) and some minced ginger. (I have the TJ’s kind in the tube but you can find it in a tube or a jar at most stores!)
Next, add the cabbage:
After your chicken sausage is nice and spiced, dump a bag of TJ’s Green + Red Cabbage with Orange Carrots into the pan and saute until just softened, adding a bit more sesame oil if necessary. Add more of your seasonings to taste (Coconut Aminos/Soy sauce, Ginger, Umami seasoning, and Chinese Five Spice).
If you like spice, add in your favorite chili paste (I love Sambal Olek–available at any grocery store) or TJ’s Harissa Paste or Sriracha, for extra spice!
Pour into a bowl, and mix in a generous handful of chopped green scallions. Toss, and serve! (Optional: Add chopped cashews if you have some handy!)
YUM! You’re done! How easy was that!?
If you liked this hack, there are 100+ more where that came from in my e-book, Teach Me How to TJ’s! Pop on over here to get ALL the info on it and learn more about the no recipe-recipes inside!
