Around the Campfire
This is everything you love about an egg roll — savory pork, ginger, cabbage — with none of the wrapping or frying. It comes together in one skillet in about 20 minutes, which makes it a near-perfect camp dinner. The bagged coleslaw mix is the trick: it's the whole vegetable side of the dish with zero shredding, so there's nothing to chop once you're at the site. Brown, wilt, season, done.
Why This Recipe Works
The flavor is built in stages. You brown the meat first for depth, bloom the garlic and ginger in sesame oil so they go fragrant instead of raw, then wilt the cabbage just to tender-crisp so it keeps some bite. The move that makes it actually taste like an egg roll is the splash of rice vinegar at the end — don't skip it. It brightens the whole skillet and cuts the richness. Keep the heat up so the cabbage steams off its water instead of going soggy.
Quick Facts
- Serves: 4
- Heat zone: Medium-high
- Best for: A fast one-pan camp dinner, low-carb meals
- Teaches: Building flavor in stages on high heat
Shopping List
- Ground pork (or ground chicken/turkey)
- Coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
- Garlic and fresh ginger
- Green onions
- Soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha or chili garlic sauce
- Sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds
Home Prep
Do the fiddly bits at home: mince the garlic, grate the ginger (grating ginger at camp is a pain), and slice the green onions. Premix the sauce — soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha — in a small jar so it's one pour at the skillet. The coleslaw mix needs nothing; it stays in its bag until it hits the pan.
Cooler Packing
Keep the ground meat cold or frozen. The coleslaw mix rides in its own bag. Sauce jar and the garlic/ginger/green onion container tuck in alongside.
Equipment
- Large skillet or griddle
- Spatula or wooden spoon
- Small jar for the premixed sauce
Heat Zones
Medium-high throughout. You want enough heat to brown the meat and to wilt the cabbage fast so it stays tender-crisp rather than watery.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork (or ground chicken/turkey)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 14 ounces coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha or chili garlic sauce (optional)
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Brown the meat: Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add the ground pork and cook, breaking it apart, until browned and cooked through, about 6–7 minutes. Drain excess fat if needed.
- Add aromatics: Push the meat to one side and add the sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, then stir into the meat.
- Wilt the cabbage: Add the coleslaw mix and toss. Cook, stirring often, until the cabbage is tender-crisp, about 4–5 minutes.
- Season: Pour in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha. Stir to coat everything evenly and cook 1–2 minutes more.
- Finish and serve: Off the heat, stir in most of the green onions. Top with the sesame seeds and the rest of the green onions. Serve hot.
Notes
Serve as-is for a low-carb meal, or over steamed rice or in lettuce cups. A drizzle of extra sesame oil at the end adds richness. Leftovers keep 3–4 days and reheat nicely in a skillet — good for a second camp morning.
Related
- Camp Stir-Fry Noodles — the noodle-forward cousin.
- Camp Chicken Fried Rice — another fast Asian-inspired one-pan dinner.
- Teriyaki Chicken — soy-and-ginger flavor built on the griddle.