Spring roll
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Spring rolls (春卷) are fried pastries that can be found in several Asian countries, most notably China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia . The Chinese Eggroll differs from the Chinese Springroll, however other cultures do not necessarily have both variants of the Eggroll or Springroll. However, since both the eggrolls and springrolls do use egg in its content, the word "Eggroll" isn't necessarily incorrect. Some spring/summer roll wrapper are made out of rice, as well as some egg roll wrapper is wheat-based. Some vary based on culture and individual choice.
Spring rolls are usually eaten during the Spring Festival in China, hence the name. However, that does not necessarily apply to the other cultures who have their own version of the Eggroll/Spring Roll. This is why there is a confusion to the English translation of Spring Rolls/Egg Rolls/Summer Rolls.
Variants of Asian Spring/Egg rolls
There are sweet spring rolls with red bean paste inside in Eastern China such as Zhejiang and Northern China.
Vietnamese chả giò is a traditional Vietnamese food. At some Vietnamese restaurants, chả giò is translated in English as "Eggrolls". Vietnamese egg rolls consist of ground pork, shrimp, or chicken mixed with chopped shitake mushrooms, shredded carrots, and special seasoning wrapped with soft rice wrapper that is fried into a crispy golden color. To seal up the rice wrapper into a nice roll, egg white is used as paste to seal up the rice wrapper to keep it in its rolled formed before the egg rolls are fried; thus, giving it the name “egg rolls.” Although there are variants of eggrolls, the Vietnamese cha gio is one of its kind, and unmatched. We can eat cha gio alone on the go, or wrap it with lettuce and dip it with fish sauce, or for more intricacy, we can prepare a bowl of rice noodles garnished with green herbs and cut the egg rolls into circular pieces and make a mouth watering meal that the Vietnamese royal families once ate.
In some restaurants, Gỏi Cuốn, a Vietnamese meal, is translated as "Spring Roll." Some people believe the correct translation is "summer roll." However, if Gỏi Cuốn is translated word for word, it translates to "Mixed Salad Roll." Both the names Spring and Summer are not literal translations of the Asian counterparts, they can just be seen as something fancy to attract customers. The salad roll is easily distinguished from a spring roll by the fact that it is not fried and that the ingredients used are different. Summer Roll or Spring Roll are variants of different cultures. Thai also have their own version of the Spring/Summer Roll.
Shrimp rolls in Singapore are very small sized, with hot shrimp paste inside.
In Australia, where there is a tradition of westernising Asian dishes, the Australian variant of the spring roll is popular. The spring roll's Australian counterpart is known as the Chiko Roll. See also Dim sim.
Lumpia is the name for spring rolls in the Philippines and Indonesia. In the Netherlands and Belgium, spring rolls are known as Loempia.They are thought to have been introduced by immigrants from Indonesia. Loempia's are filled with Taugeh (mung bean, bean sprouts, chopped omelette, and sliced ham.
In contemporary China, it is very rare to see spring rolls at restaurants since they have gradually reduced fried food. The spring rolls are more popular in Chinese restaurants in western countries because of its sweet and sour taste. It is also believed that the current taste has been changed from its origin to adopt to western taste.
Taiwanese Spring Roll
In Taiwan, spring rolls also come in a number of varieties. They can generally be divided into fried and non-fried varieties.
There are many points of distinction between the fried varieties and the non-fried varieties. Fried spring rolls are generally smaller and crispy. They can also be savory (typically prepared with meat and vegetables) or sweet. Non-fried spring rolls are typically bigger and savory. To those who are familiar with Mexican food, fried spring rolls are similar to Chimichangas while non-fried spring rolls are similar to burritos.
Another point of distinction between fried spring rolls and non-fried spring rolls is the way that they are prepared and cooked. Fried spring rolls are typically fully wrapped before they are pan fried or deep fried. In contrast, non-fried spring rolls typically wrap the wrapping with pre-cooked ingredients.
Non-fried spring rolls can vary a great deal in terms of style. The most commonly eaten style of non-fried Taiwanese spring rolls is called “Ruen Bieng” in Mandarin (or "Popiah" in the Hokkien and Chaozhou dialect).
Traditionally, non-fried spring rolls are a festive food eaten during the “Cold Food Day” festival and the “Tomb Sweeping Day” festival in spring to remember and pay respect to ancestors. The Hakka population sometimes also eat spring rolls on the 3rd of March in the lunar calendar every year.
Non-fried spring rolls can be prepared with different styles of wrappings. The first slowly heats and cooks a flour-based mix or batter, much in the same way as thin omelettes or thin pancakes are made. This style of wrapping is famous for being very thin and delicate. The other bakes a thin dough into a wrapping, similar to making tortillas.
There are also points of distinction in how the ingredients that go inside the wrapping are prepared cooked. In northern Taiwan, the ingredients are generally flavored with herbs, stir-fired and sometimes topped with a finely ground peanut powder before being wrapped. The northern-Taiwanese style spring roll is usually lightly topped with or accompanied by a soy sauce based sauce. In Southern Taiwan, the ingredients are generally boiled or blanched in plain water. These ingredients are then drained, put on the wrapping and topped with a finely ground peanut power. Sometimes caster or superfine sugar is added along with the peanut power before all the ingredients are wrapped. For southern-Taiwanese style spring rolls, there is considerable skill in judging the appropriate amount of caster sugar to use as it must compliment the other ingredients without overpowering them. Although Ruen Bieng are not cooked after it is wrapped, some people prefer to heat them up or steam them immediately before they are eaten.
There are variations even in terms of the ingredients used in making non-fried spring rolls, often influenced by the geographical location in which the style of the spring roll originated. Spring roll stuffing will commonly include vegetables that grow in spring, meat, and finely sliced plain omelette. However stuffing ingredients can also include noodles, Chinese pork sausages, stewed vegetables instead of blanched vegetables, a large variety of fresh or dried seafood and sticky rice.
There is considerable folklore as to the origin of the spring roll. While many of the stories and styles of spring rolls came from provinces in ancient China, spring rolls as a cuisine has evolved and been widely developed with each region gaining its own characteristics and reputation over many centuries
Nowadays, different styles of spring rolls have become associated with different geographical locations, distinguished by the differences used in making the stuff and the different methods of preparation. Spring rolls are also a popular summer time food and many families have created their own special recipes for making spring rolls in the same way that, for example Italian families have secret recipes for making meatballs. Each style of spring roll not only reflects a region's history, it also highlights the spirit of that community and the strong personal connections between the members of that community. Rolling spring rolls has also developed a symbolic meaning with members of the family returning to a harmonious home and the sensing of younger family members rolling up the love and lessons from elders before taking a bite.
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