Spring roll
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| Spring roll | |||||||||||
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 Vietnamese spring rolls - Chả giò | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 春卷 | ||||||||||
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Spring rolls are fried pastries that can be found in several Asian countries, most notably China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
Regional
East and Northern China
In Chinese cuisine, egg rolls differ from the spring roll. There are sweet spring rolls with red bean paste inside from areas in Eastern China such as Zhejiang and Northern China. Spring rolls are usually eaten during the Spring Festival in China, hence the name.
Taiwan
In Taiwan, spring rolls also come in a number of varieties. They can generally be divided into fried and non-fried varieties.
Fried vs. Non-fried
Fried spring rolls are generally smaller and crispy. They can be sweet or savory; the latter are typically prepared with meat or vegetables. This version is fully wrapped before being pan fried or deep fried.
Non-fried spring rolls are typically bigger and savory. In contrast, non-fried spring rolls typically wrap the wrapping with pre-cooked ingredients. 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. The wrappings can be a flour-based mix or batter.
Northern vs. Southern Taiwan
In Northern Taiwan, the ingredients are generally flavored with herbs, stir-fried 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.
In Southern Taiwan, the ingredients are generally boiled or blanched in plain water. Sometimes caster or superfine sugar is added along with the peanut power before all the ingredients are wrapped.
Hong Kong
Spring roll is usually available as a dim sum dish.
Vietnam
Chả giò is a traditional Vietnamese food. At some restaurants, chả giò is translated in English as "Egg rolls". Ingredients include ground pork, shrimp, or chicken mixed with chopped shitake mushrooms, shredded carrots, and special seasoning in soft rice wrappers, then fried to a crispy golden color. Egg white is used as a paste to seal the rice wrapper into a roll form. Cha gio can be consumed alone or wrapped with lettuce dipped in fish sauce. It can also be served with rice noodles garnished with green herbs served in cut circular pieces.
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.
Australia
In Australia, where there is a tradition of westernising Asian dishes, the Australian counterpart is known as the Chiko Roll. See Dim sim.
Philippines and Indonesia
Lumpia is the name for spring rolls in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Europe
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, bean sprouts, chopped omelette, and sliced ham.
Mexico
In Mexican fried spring rolls are similar to Chimichangas, while non-fried spring rolls are similar to burritos.
Costa Rica
In Costa Rica spring rolls are called in spanish "Tacos Chinos" (Chinese Tacos), offered in almost all the chinese restaurants as an entree or appetizer.
See also
