The ultimate spring roll guide
Spring rolls are always a good idea: fried or fresh, with hoisin or chili sauce, Vietnamese or Chinese. But what other kinds are there? And where do they come from? This is a guide to your favorite Asian snack.
Spring roll
The original crispy spring roll comes from China. The filling is often a combination of shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, and cabbage, while the exterior—made from flour and water—becomes super crispy when fried. The sauce served with it varies by region.
Fun fact: spring rolls were once made mainly for Chinese New Year and stacked to resemble gold bars.
Egg roll
The egg roll is the American version of the spring roll. The difference is—its name gives it away—the addition of egg. This makes the wrapper just as crispy, but much thicker and not as smooth as that of a spring roll.
Cha gio
Cha gio, also known as nem ran, is the fried Vietnamese spring roll. The filling, which usually consists of ground pork, mushrooms, glass noodles, and various vegetables, is wrapped in a rice paper wrapper.
Goi Cuon
This variety is also known as a summer or fresh spring roll. A rice paper wrapper is filled with various vegetables, glass noodles, meat, or fish. It is not fried, making it much healthier.
Lumpia
This is the Indonesian version of the spring roll and also the origin of our Dutch name loempia. Lumpia comes in many different varieties, of which lumpia Semarang—with bamboo shoots, chicken, and shrimp—is the most popular.
Lumpiang Shanghai
The Filipino version of the spring roll is often somewhat longer and thinner than other spring rolls. Most of the filling consists of ground pork, which is wrapped in a spring roll wrapper made with egg.
Popiah
Popiah is a spring roll eaten in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. It has an extremely thin, non-fried exterior made from wheat flour. The fillings and dipping sauces for popiah vary enormously. In the countries mentioned above, so-called ‘popiah parties’ are held where guests can assemble their own popiah.
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