How Much Lobster Do You Need For The Perfect Amount Of Egg Roll Filling?

Egg rolls are staple fare for a quick takeout meal and equally suitable for a nice sit-down dinner. Believe it or not, at one point, lobster meat was considered prison food and not the luxurious centerpiece ingredient it is today. Put the two together and you get lobster egg roll — a dish that's equal parts comforting and fancy. The golden-brown, shatteringly crisp egg roll wrappers make the perfect covering for succulent lobster morsels, and a sweet-tangy dip on the side makes the whole experience quite perfect. 

Irrespective of how much experience you have making egg rolls, or even the more delicate spring rolls, whipping up a batch of delicious lobster egg rolls at home isn't as hard as it looks. Assembling them is the part that most people find daunting, and with good reason. Rolling one so it's evenly filled without being overstuffed or hollow in places can take some practice. The last thing you want is for the roll to split open when frying, releasing all that delicious lobster meat into the hot oil and toughening it up.

In an exclusive with Chowhound, Chinese-American chef Shirley Chung gave us essential pointers on assembling a lobster egg roll, including exactly how much meat should go into each wrapper. "About 1.5oz of lobster meat, think 1 claw with the attached knuckle meat," she recommends. Chef Chung has been involved with several restaurants that went on to win awards. She owns Ms Chi Cafe in Culver City, California, which sadly closed in August 2024, and has even been a Top Chef finalist. Her website, as well as Instagram and Facebook pages, are a colorful repository of her many adventures, culinary and otherwise.

When making the filling for lobster egg rolls, you can either use packaged meat, which generally comes ready-to-eat, or harvest it yourself if you have fresh lobster. Shirley Chung recommends poaching the lobster in boiling water with vinegar for about 90 seconds, until the shell turns red. Remember that the blanched lobster meat is only partially cooked, and Chung's tips help ensure the lobster finishes cooking within the egg roll. "[Once poached] the meat inside will be cooked to medium rare — just set enough for you to easily remove it from the shell, but not fully cooked. So, after you wrap it and fry the egg rolls, the lobster filling inside will not be overcooked," she explains.

When it comes to picking between the tail and the claw, "you can use any part of the lobster for an egg roll," says Chung. However, she also recommends saving the tail meat for a dish in which you can display the entire lobster tail. Sometimes, getting enough meat from the claws and knuckles can be a challenge since they tend to be scant on the good stuff. In this case, supplement the filling with tail meat, which is easier to extract. Keep in mind the difference in textures between claw and tail meat, since the latter tends to be slightly firmer. To make sure there is an even blend of textures in all the egg rolls, chop the tail meat slightly smaller than the claw meat and mix the two thoroughly to make the stuffing. You can also follow these tips for making a mouthwatering lobster roll to prepare the perfect filling for your lobster egg roll.