Inside the Egg Roll
Ludacris once said "spring rolls are unpredictable".
What are Egg Rolls?
Wikipedia starts their page on egg rolls with the description "The egg roll is a variety of deep-fried appetizer served in American Chinese restaurants. It is a cylindrical, savory roll with shredded cabbage, chopped meat, or other fillings inside a thickly-wrapped wheat flour skin, which is fried in hot oil."
Unlike a spring roll, egg rolls tend to have a chewier, thicker, crunchier outer shell. They tend to be bigger and primarily have a filling of cabbage and other vegetables, and sometimes have pork. Egg rolls can vary from region to region within the United States, and like Ludacris said of spring rolls, are "unpredictable".
Jason Farmer's YouTube video Chinese Takeout Egg Rolls Secrets Revealed does an excellent job showing and telling what makes a great egg roll great.
This is my attempt to document the egg rolls that I eat, primarily around the Greater Raleigh area in North Carolina.
Ni Asian Kitchen
July 24, 2023
On the menu as “chicken egg roll”.
The size was slightly above average for the area and the wrapper was a perfect golden brown color. It was chewy but not so crisp, likely due to the ride home.
Contains cabbage and carrots that have been chopped pretty small. Definitely seasoned, likely with something containing turmeric because the vegetables have a yellow hue. Not really peppery like many others.
White meat chicken is really finely chopped but doesn’t have a ground texture.
No sauce was included but I’m not sure if it was on me to grab when picking up takeout.
Taipei 101
July 16, 2023
On the menu as pork egg roll.
This one is thin, and not fried until particularly dark. Crispy and slightly chewy texture but not super crunchy. Filling contains pork, cabbage, and carrots for sure, and is lightly seasoned but not in a way I can describe. Vegetables were cooked tender but not mushy.
Provided with Yi Pin duck sauce and mustard packets.
China Star
July 16, 2023
Came with a dinner combo meal.
The outside is crispy and chewy but not super crunchy. According to their menu, this egg roll contains beef and cabbage. The beef is ground beef. The cabbage is in very long shreds. I also found small slices of celery. Cabbage is crisp tender. There is definitely some salt and very finely ground pepper inside.
Served with WY duck sauce and mustard packets.
Hibachi 88
June 30, 2023
Came with combo meal.
Pretty average size, and nice and crunchy. Good amount of chew to it. Contains meat, small crumbles of red pork.
Longer shreds of cabbage, which is al dente. Fresh cabbage flavor, but no other noticeable vegetables. No dipping sauce of note provided.
Imperial Garden
June 25, 2023
On the menu as the “Imperial Egg Roll”. Came with combo meal.
Slightly above average size. Nice crunch to it, and slightly chewy. Contains both pork and tiny shrimps. Vegetables appear to be all or mostly cabbage, cut into small shreds. Duck sauce and hot mustard available on the table.
Aggie's Grill Station
June 22, 2023
Average sized, crunchy, and crispy. I got the “lobster egg roll”. Really great, seafoody flavor. I am pretty sure the “lobster” is krab stick. Cabbage and carrots are chopped a little more roughly and cooked on the well-done side. Served with an egg roll sauce that is like a sweet homemade duck sauce.
Chengdu 7
June 9, 2023
Average sized and crunchy. Good texture overall. Contains pork. Chunks of cabbage, carrots, and celery. Extremely well seasoned. Duck sauce and mustard served in packets.
Spring Rolls
June 8, 2023
Small and crunchy. No meat. Contains ribbons of cabbage, carrots, and celery, and also sesame seeds. Comes with a thin, red, sweet and sour dipping sauce.
Beansprout
June 4, 2023
Small amount of meat but mostly cabbage taste. Not the crispiest egg roll but that may be in part due to transit. Not crunchy. Cabbage has a fine dice texture. Duck sauce came in a packet.