Comments on: What’s the Difference?: Egg Roll vs. Spring Roll

By: Sion

Sion — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:21:30 +0000

A bit late to comment, but I would like to educate people as much as I can about Chinese food stuff.

(Chinese) Spring rolls are deep fried, but the skin is lighter.

(Chinese) Egg rolls, depending on region, can be savory, using real egg as a wrapper (like a crepe) or it could refer to a sweet cookie.

(American) Egg rolls uses a different wrapper, deep fried and thicker, with telltale bumps on the skin when fried.

(Vietnamese) Spring rolls are made using rice paper and healthy for you.

(Vietnamese) Egg rolls are deep fried versions of Chinese Spring rolls.

Summer rolls are Chinese version of Vietnamese Spring rolls.

Confused yet? :D

By: Jdeez

Jdeez — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:08:18 +0000

I know this is old, but I’m sorry this article is misleading. You won’t find fried rice in china? Are you sure? Seeing as it originated from the Yanchow/Yangzhou area, I’d double check that comment.

Also, egg rolls date back to ancient China.

I am also vietnamese, the nomenclature will always change. Crispy spring roll, summer roll, fried egg roll, you gotta look or ask about the roll. At a vietnamese restaurant, Cha Gio is always an egg roll, but at Chinese/Viet restaurants I’ve seen it called a fried spring roll. Both with egg paper. Goi Cuon is wrapped in rice paper, and not fried. Usually called spring roll, but I’ve seen it called summer roll. Then there is the egg roll that is wrapped in rice paper, this produces a translucent, chewy wrapper.

By: Evan

Evan — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:56:04 +0000

I’m a chef, and the way I was taught in school(which is, of course, often inaccurate) is that an “egg roll” is made from an egg pasta very similar to fresh pasta, and is deep fried. A “spring roll” is wrapped in rice paper and deep fried, and a “summer roll” is wrapped in rice paper and is not deep fried. The fillings, of course, differ. My favorite is the Filipino version of a spring roll, called “lumpia.” I put steamed shrimp, shredded carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, and mint in my summer rolls, and serve them with a dipping sauce of equal parts nam pla (fish sauce) and lime juice. They’re a big hit around my house.

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:59:57 +0000

I’m Vietnamese and I’ve always refered to the non-fried rolls as spring rolls. Never before have I heard the terms “salad roll” or “spring roll”, at least not in California anyhow.

By: SpaceCowgirl

SpaceCowgirl — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:46:58 +0000

In the Pacific Northwest the fried rolls are called spring rolls and the healthier rolls are called “fresh rolls”.

By: Gladys

Gladys — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:53:47 +0000

We are taking cooking lessons from a wonderful Thai lady who runs an Asian market close by. She uses ‘Spring Roll’ wrappers for egg rolls and deep fries them. Her spring rolls are made with rice paper and are served fresh. Both are awesome but they are totally different, from the wrapping to the ingredients. We like both of them.

By: Ed Hands

Ed Hands — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:03:56 +0000

Bah!! Spring rolls!! Yech!!!

Give me them thick-skinned, deep fried crunchy boys any day….Yum!!

By: Larissa

Larissa — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:53:35 +0000

I love spring rolls (the rice-paper wrapped kind, not the deep-fried kind), and so I’m delighted to see them on the menu. Until the arrive in front of me and I find out that the restaurant was confused abot the term and have put something deep-fried in front of me. Always such a sad experience :-( Maybe the restaurants will read Mental Floss, and I won’t need to be disappointed anymore!

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:32:56 +0000

the “springroll” (non-fried) is distinctly a vietnamese dish that is “summer roll”. Not sure what the direct translation is in viet.

the food known as “eggroll” in chinese is literally translated to “spring roll”.

How this came about? Probably

If you want to know how to differentiate it, translate it from the original language. It doesn’t help that many restaurants have different names for it.

By: Vivian

Vivian — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 06:51:39 +0000

The literal meaning of “chop suey” can be loosely translated to “things chopped up together and boiled in water”

Somehow, the Chinese language (especially Cantonese) can boil down a concept that would take 8 words in English into 2 characters in Chinese)