Spring Roll Wrappers
I tried making spring rolls with my nieces last month and they couldn't get into them. It wasn't that they didn't like the taste, it was the texture of the wrapper they couldn't bring themselves to like. The four-year-old said they were "too soft." I wanted to say, "Uh, yeah. Duh," but that would have been unkind.
I've heard, and I don't know if this is true or not, that you can actually fry the spring roll wrappers once you've soaked them and rolled them up with goodness. Does anyone know if that's true or not? If that's the case I will be making friend spring rolls for dinner tomorrow night.
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3 Comments:
There are 2 different spring roll wrappers. One, the one you would fry, is like a larger, thinner egg roll wrapper. I don't know the name of the brand I usually use (it's written in Japanese), but I look for the yellow and red package. There are instructional diagrams on the back. You use flour and water as glue to hold them together.
The other one, and probably the one you used, is rice based, and is intended to be served raw. I'm not sure how they would turn out if you fried them, or how you'd get them to stay together. Hope this helps.
beth1 at 12:54AM on 07/24/08
I'm not an afficianado on this. This is from observing my mother cook gyoza, wonton, and lumpia when I was a kid ~20+ years ago, my father make cha gio (spring rolls) and goi cuon (summer rolls) ~15 years ago, and from just eating them at restaurants. :P
If it's written in Japanese, they're likely for gyoza. They're a different thickness from Chinese won ton pi, circular, and small (fits in avg female's palm laid flat). They're meant to be folded "raw" and then pan fried.
Won ton pi is the small Chinese wheat wrappers that are square, similar in size to gyoza (above). They can be deep-fried or used in soup, and are different thickness depending on whether you're deep-frying or using it in soup.
Rice paper comes in different sizes and shapes (circular and semicircular - are there other shapes?) used in Vietnamese cuisine. With spring rolls, you deep fry the rolls and with summer rolls, the wrapper is eaten as-is. Of course, in both cases, you have to dip the rice paper into a warm water bath to make them pliable to put stuff in.
Egg roll wrappers are square, made of wheat, and larger in surface area than gyoza and won ton. I don't know anyone that's makes egg rolls so that's as much as I know.
If it's texture that your kids desired, I can understand them being disappointed with the spring roll versus the egg roll. Chinese egg rolls are thicker and have a hard crunch then gooey, whereas Vietnamese spring rolls are thin and crackle. Plus the egg rolls are larger, so more filling (cabbage, pork, onions, celery, bean sprouts, etc.) versus Vietnamese spring rolls, where they're crisp, slender, and have at most 3 ingredients (?pork, shiitake, and probably water chestnuts). Or did you make the summer rolls? If that's the case, they were probably thrown waaaay off with the soft and, of course, fresh vegetable crunch and flavor. :P
Cassaendra at 8:05AM on 07/24/08
Cassaendra has the Vietnamese spring roll & summer roll description correct. I have notice some restaurants use the wrong english translation for summer rolls (calling them spring rolls) perhaps that is where the confusion lies?
wonton wrappers are smaller, square , and comes in varying thickness (I perfer thin wonton wrappers). I think it has egg in the dough...but whatever it is it's more yellow then gyoza wrappers.
Chinese spring rolls wrappers is made with the same stuff as wonton wrappers, but just bigger and thicker, but still square.
Gyoza wrappers are round and white. I think it's suppose to only have flour and water.
Egg rolls are something entirely different. It's a Chinese-American takeout food invention. I don't even recall seeing it in Canada growing up. I have no idea how it's made (and taste), but looks like maybe spring rolls dipped in egg and then deep fried?
Chinese wonton, gyoza, spring roll wrapper don't really need flour and egg to seal. just a bit of water would do it.
gnomatic at 2:11PM on 07/24/08