All that changed while I was living in San Jose, when one of my roommates brought home a bag of King egg rolls. Their crisp oversized rolls are literally bursting with meaty filling and they border on addictive as it’s next to impossible to stop at one (or even two or three) Like many dishes of Chinese origin, spring rolls tell an interesting story of migration and adaptation because they can be found on just about every continent with variations in filling, wrapper and sauce. In the US, spring rolls are usually filled with cabbage, carrots, glass noodles, and pork, and wrapped in either a thin crisp wrapper (spring roll) or a thicker crunchy wrapper (egg roll). While they’re adequately seasoned and can be eaten as-is, spring rolls are commonly dipped in a bright red sweet and sour sauce in the US. For me, the perfect spring roll has a thin, crispy shell holding a trove of textures and flavors, which is why I tend to use the thinner wrappers and stuff them until they’re nearly bursting at the seams. Today I filled my rolls with pork, onions, carrot, celery, shiitake mushrooms, napa cabbage, and glass noodes, but I also like adding water chestnuts, bamboo and wood ear for texture. For those of you that don’t eat pork, ground chicken or crumbled firm tofu make fine substitutes. The spring roll also has a Japanese cousin, Harumaki. The differences are subtle, but distinctive. You could always make both and have a taste test, but the real winner will be the person who gets to do the tasting. Serve Spring Rolls with any of my Chinese stir fry dishes, like my Black Pepper Beef, Black Pepper Chicken, Chinese Green Bean Stir Fry, or my Orange Chicken that’s better than Panda Express. They also make a great appetizer or cocktail nosh, along with my Shrimp Toast or Coconut Shrimp.
📖 Recipe
