QandAs: Food

What is the difference between a Chinese Egg Roll, Vietnamese Egg Roll and a Spring Roll?

Answer:
Ahhhhh...Egg Rolls and Spring Rolls...delectable,

satisfying Egg Rolls and Spring Rolls! Are there differences? Yes, there are, but not a lot. Egg Rolls and Spring Rolls are the kind of things that tend to become somewhat confusing, since they cross so many cultural and geographic lines. Over time, the differences become blurred, and Egg Rolls become Spring Rolls and vice versa...but it wasn't always that way!

A typical Chinese Egg Roll usually consists of a blend of chopped vegetables (cabbage, onion, bean sprouts, celery, water chestnuts, mushrooms, etc.), noodles and meat (pork, chicken, beef, shrimp) wrapped in a thin piece of (usually) wheat-based dough, then dipped or brushed with an egg batter and deep fried. Sometimes the ends of the Egg Rolls are folded closed, other times they are left open. Chinese Egg Rolls tend to be crunchy, fairly thick-crusted, and somewhat filling.

A typical Vietnamese Egg Roll usually is made of chopped vegetables (cabbage, carrot, onion, garlic, mushrooms, water chestnuts, etc.), cellophane noodles (bean-threads), meat (crabmeat, shrimp, pork) wrapped in a thin piece of (usually) rice-based dough ("rice-paper"), then dipped or brushed with egg batter and deep fried. Once again, the ends of the Egg Rolls may be closed or left open. Vietnamese Egg Rolls tend to be less crunchy than Chinese Egg Rolls.

A Spring Roll (sometimes called Summer Roll) is usually a variation of a typical Egg Roll, except the dough is usually very thin rice-paper. Ingredients for Spring Rolls vary by cuisine (Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, etc.).

It is said that Spring Rolls got the name from the Egg Rolls which are typically served at the annual Chinese Spring Festival (New Year). Some sources say that the Spring Roll is actually the original form of Egg Roll, and that it was the Cantonese chefs who came to America who began making Spring Rolls with the heavier, cheaper egg-based wrapper/dough.

Egg Roll and Spring Roll recipe variations abound, and ingredient and seasoning lists include any number of things, including peanut butter, bamboo shoots, fish sauces, soy sauce, cilantro, lettuce...the list is endless...and only limited by one's imagination!

Enjoy!