What to Eat with Egg Rolls – Dips, Rice, Soups, Mains

How it works

What to eat with egg rolls? Start with a dip, then decide if the rolls are the starter or the side. These 46 ideas run from dipping sauces to rice, noodles, soups, main dishes, small plates, sweets and drinks.

Read the full guide

How egg rolls are served

Egg rolls are a deep-fried appetizer of American Chinese restaurants. They are served warm and usually eaten with the fingers, dipped in sauce. Duck sauce, sweet and sour, is made from fruit such as plums or apricots with sugar, vinegar, ginger and chili peppers.

Set them out

Two dips are enough, one sweet and one hot or sharp, each in its own small bowl. Bring the rolls out first, while the wrapper still crackles, and let the rice, the noodles or the main dish follow.

Reheat leftover rolls in a hot oven or an air fryer, not a microwave, so the wrapper turns crisp again.
Rest cooked rolls on a rack, not a plate, so steam does not soften the underside.

Questions and answers

What sauce goes with egg rolls?

Duck sauce and hot mustard together cover sweet and hot, and soy sauce and plum sauce are the other two classics. For something else, try sweet and sour sauce, sweet chili sauce, chili garlic sauce or black vinegar with ginger.

What to eat with eggrolls for dinner?

One main dish over steamed white rice turns the rolls into a starter: beef and broccoli, sesame chicken, pepper steak, sweet and sour pork or mapo tofu.

What sides go with egg rolls?

Pork fried rice or lo mein to fill the plate, a cup of egg drop soup or hot and sour soup, and something green: stir-fried bok choy, garlic green beans or smashed cucumber salad.

What to eat egg rolls with at a party?

Build a platter of fried things to share: egg rolls, crab and cream cheese wontons, fried wontons, fried shrimp and barbecue spare ribs, with the dips in small bowls in the middle.

What do you drink with egg rolls?

Without alcohol: hot oolong tea or chrysanthemum tea, poured all through the meal, or iced lemon tea.

All 46 ideas

Dipping sauces 8

Black vinegar with ginger Sharp and dark, with thin threads of ginger. It cuts through the fried wrapper.
Chili garlic sauce For those who like heat. Stir a spoonful into soy sauce to tame it.
Duck sauce Sweet, sour and orange. Pour it into a small bowl so the whole end of the roll goes in.
Hot mustard A dab on the bitten end is plenty. Stir a little into the duck sauce for a milder dip.
Plum sauce Thick and sweet. Warm it a little so it loosens.
Soy sauce Add a few drops of sesame oil and dip lightly, so the wrapper stays crisp.
Sweet and sour sauce Serve it warm, in a bowl wide enough for dipping.
Sweet chili sauce Sticky, with a little heat. Good with shrimp or vegetable rolls.

Rice and noodles 6

Dan dan noodles Spicy and nutty. A small bowl each is enough beside fried rolls.
Lo mein Soft noodles next to a crisp roll. Serve them from one big bowl.
Pork fried rice Lay the rolls on top of the rice, not under it, so they stay out of the steam.
Rice vermicelli bowl with herbs Cut the rolls over cool noodles, lettuce and mint, then pour on a sharp dressing.
Steamed white rice Plain rice turns two rolls and a saucy dish into dinner.
Wide rice noodles with beef Slippery and smoky from the pan. Share one plate between two.

Soups 5

Beef noodle soup A big bowl each, with the rolls on a shared plate in the middle.
Egg drop soup A small cup first, while the rolls are still too hot to bite.
Hot and sour soup Peppery and tart. Dunk the end of a roll in it.
Tomato and egg soup Soft ribbons of egg in a tart broth. Ladle it into small bowls.
Wonton soup Clear broth and soft dumplings beside something crisp.

Main dishes to follow 13

Barbecue pork slices Serve them warm or cold, with hot mustard on the side.
Beef and broccoli Spoon it over rice and let the rolls be the starter.
Cashew chicken Mild, so it suits a table with children.
Egg foo young A puffy omelet under brown gravy. Cut it in wedges to share.
Honey walnut shrimp Creamy and sweet. A small plate goes a long way.
Kung pao chicken Peanuts, dried chiles and a little heat after a mild roll.
Mapo tofu Soft tofu in a spicy sauce. Rice is a must with this one.
Moo shu pork Roll the filling in thin pancakes brushed with hoisin sauce.
Orange chicken Sweet and tangy. Keep its sauce away from the rolls so they stay crisp.
Pepper steak Strips of beef with peppers and onions in a dark sauce. Serve it over rice.
Sesame chicken Sticky and sweet. Add a plain green vegetable to the table.
Shrimp with lobster sauce Mild and saucy. It wants rice under it and a sharp dip nearby.
Sweet and sour pork The sauce on the plate works as a dip for the rolls too.

Small plates and vegetables 8

Barbecue spare ribs Sticky ribs, cut apart. Put out plenty of napkins.
Crab and cream cheese wontons Fry or bake them with the rolls and share the same dips.
Eggplant in garlic sauce Soft and glossy. Spoon it over rice.
Fried shrimp Butterflied and breaded. Squeeze lemon over them at the table.
Fried wontons Crisp little parcels for the sweet and sour sauce.
Garlic green beans Blister them in a hot pan until they wrinkle.
Smashed cucumber salad Cold, garlicky and sharp. Make it first and chill it.
Stir-fried bok choy Quick, green and garlicky, next to a plate of fried things.

Something sweet after 3

Egg tarts Small custard tarts, good slightly warm.
Fortune cookies One each, cracked open and read aloud.
Fried sesame balls Chewy inside, with a sweet filling. Serve them warm.

Drinks 3

Chrysanthemum tea Pale and floral. Sweeten it a little and serve it hot or iced.
Hot oolong tea Pour it in small cups all through the meal.
Iced lemon tea Strong tea over ice with thick slices of lemon.