What are Egg Rolls/Spring Rolls?

Egg rolls, spring rolls, lumpia, Chả Giò… whatever you choose to call it is one of the most well loved appetizers and snacks to have and make anytime of the year. In the Hmong Leeg dialect, we like to call egg rolls: Kab Yaub. Egg rolls are either filled with vegetables, meat, noodles, and then wrapped in a thin wheat based wrapper. It’s then fried until it’s golden crispy and enjoyed with a side of your favorite dipping sauce.

Now, most people call these goodies SPRING ROLLS, but I grew up calling them EGG ROLLS since spring rolls can get confusing when referring to the Vietnamese “fresh spring roll” which is made with rice paper, fresh vegetables/meat, and is not fried. But you can often see egg rolls being called spring rolls. What’s the difference? From my understanding, spring rolls are usually made with spring vegetables as the filling (hence the name). It’s mostly made with only vegetables and no meat. This type of spring roll can be found at most Chinese restaurants. Light and crispy on the outside while fresh tasting on the inside. Egg rolls on the other hand are usually filled with meat and vegetables. In the United States, you can see egg rolls being made with a thicker wrapper and filled with meat. This makes it a little hardier and less delicate. What do you call them? 

Egg Roll Wrapper

Besides the filling, the wrapper is also the most important ingredient. Most egg rolls are made with a wheat-based wrapper, but you can also find some being made with a rice based wrapper. Ingredients vary by brand but the main ingredients are essentially flour, water, oil and salt. Other ingredients are added for preserving and or more flavor.

These wrappers can be used not just for egg rolls, but for other goodies as well such as fire cracking shrimp, samosas, sweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be fried either. Some steam them and use it as a fresh wrap. There are multiple different types of brand and style sold at many supermarkets. They can be found at the frozen section. 

Especially in the United States, you can find up to 10+ different brands, ranging from different textures, thickness, shapes, and so on. Today, I tested out some of the ones I found at my local Asian grocery store and wanted to see what the differences were with all of them. I’ll compare and contrast the top 4 most common ones you can find at any Asian grocery store and then 3 other off brands just for fun (because why not?). So overall, I tested out 7 kinds of egg roll wrapper to look for how evenly they fry, color, texture, thickness, ease of use, storing, price of each… and more. It was quite the experiment. Depending where you are from and where you live, you might see even more other brands! But let’s begin and dive into the 7 brands I found. 

-WRAPPERS-

Most common ones that are sold or can be found at Asian supermarkets

Spring Home, Menlo, Simex & Wei Chuan

These are probably the most common wrappers you can find at almost any Asian grocery stores

1) SPRING HOME

Spring Home is probably the most common brand you can find at any Asian grocery store. They are square shaped, thin, flexible & easy to work with. They are sold by the sheet count. You can buy packets that contain 25, 40, & 50 sheets. They also come in small dimensions. So if you want to make super small egg rolls or use them for firecracker shrimps & or Lumpiang Shanghai, it’s convenient.  Price for the 25 sheet pack starts at $2.49.

Pros

• The most flexible (texturally) to use. The wrappers were pretty soft to use which means they don’t break/crack easily on the edges (makes good looking egg rolls when wrapping).
• Peels nicely
• Great to re air fry
• Has different sheet count per pack and different dimensions you can buy
• Cheap per pack ($2.49 for 25 sheet pack)
• Refreezes well (if you don’t end up finishing the pack)
• Decent crisps texture after frying

Cons 

• Had a longer cooking time to get to that golden color look. It had probably the lightest color compared to all the other brands. When cooking them, I felt like they weren’t ready because they weren’t turning golden brown, so I kept cooking them hoping they would get a little more golden but then they just started to burn.
• Can be a little too thin to work with. If you make a semi wet filling, the moisture will seep out.
• Not much flavor to the wrappers but does the job.

2) Menlo

Menlo is another common brand you can find at most Asian grocery stores. They are square shaped & a little thicker than Spring home. Has the most ingredients compared to all the other brands. It contains eggs which I noticed others didn’t. This resulted in a more golden color when frying. Menlo only comes in a 30 sheet pack. Price starts at around $2.00 to $2.49.

Pros

• Has the most golden color out of all the ones I tested when fried
• Has more flavor than all the other wrappers
• Can be easy to peel depending on the packs
• Decent thickness
• Great to re air fry
• Egg rolls has a nice crisp (but can get soggy easily)
• Holds its shape well when rolled/frozen/& fried if filling isn’t too wet etc
• Affordable ($2.49 per pack) and easily accessible

Cons

• Some packs may have inconsistent wrappers: Sometimes I’ll buy one that is more dry/thick than the others. Sometimes some have more wasted edges that cracks.
• Some packs are harder to peel than others
• Soaks up a little more grease when frying compared to the other brands
• May be a little too thick for others to use
• Best use to day it’s thawed (does not refreeze well, it will dry out)

3) Simex

Simex is a Filipino brand that comes in either a 30 or 50 sheet pack. The 30 pack sheet comes individually separated so you don’t have to peel (you will need to peel the 50 pack sheet though). It can be easily found at most Filipino grocery stores and or any other Asian grocery stores. They are circle shaped and are a little more rustic looking. Has the least ingredients compared to all the other brands. The 50 sheet pack starts at a price of $5.49. The individually separated 30 sheet pack was way more expensive ($6.99) than the 50 sheet pack.

Pros

• Has a good golden & pretty even color when fried
• Super light and crispy when fried
• Texturally pleasing and fun to eat
• Very mild flavor so the filling shines as the wrapper texture balances it
• Great to re air fry
• Great for frying and steaming
• It’s got the homemade look to it

Cons

• Thin…which can be hard to peel (but they sell individually separated ones so that’s a plus)
• Easy to roll but can easily crack and dry out so keep them moist
• Because it’s got the homemade look to it, each wrapper can be inconsistent in shape/sizes
• Does not refreeze well as it will continue to dry out and crack when reusing them to wrap again
• A little more on the expensive side ($5.49 per pack)…But you are getting 50 sheets in the red pack, so it’s almost the same price as getting two 25 sheet packs.

4) Wie Chuan

Wie Chuan is another brand you can easily find at any Asian grocery store. Although I did notice not some didn’t have it. So it depends on the store. They are square shaped and thick & thin like Spring Home & Menlo mixed together. Peels easy as labeled on their packaging. Each pack contains 25 sheets per and cost $2.29 which was the cheapest one compared to the other ones. They do provide smaller size wraps as well which was nice. I also noticed Wie Chuan having quite a variety of packs that are in different shapes, sizes, & thickness so that’s a plus.

Pros 

• Cheap to buy ($2.29) for a pack of 25 sheet
• Soft, Flexible & easy to use. Which means they don’t break/crack easily on the edges (makes good looking egg rolls when wrapping)
• Peels nicely
• Great to re air fry
• Has different dimensions/sizes you can buy
• Has a nice golden even color to it when frying
• Good crispness

Cons 

• Nice crispness when it’s fresh and hot from the fryer but it does get soggy fast.
• Refreezes ok if stored correctly. I notice if an ice particle touches the middle of the wrappers, when thawing, it will create holes in the wrappers. So it was harder to use.

Other brands

Summit (made locally), O-Tasty & Dynasty

These brands are ones I found that were made locally (Summit), one that I saw for the first time (O’Tasty), and one that I wanted to share with you since it’s the kind that you can commonly find at your general grocery store & is used in most American/ Chinese American Egg roll recipes (Dynasty).

1) Summit

Summit is made locally in my State of Oregon. It’s sold at mostly all the Asian grocery stores in my area so I thought I’d try it. It’s square shaped, thin, and easy to peel . Each pack comes with 30 sheets and costs $2.69 per pk.

Pros

• Pretty easy to work with.
• Peels easily
• Great to re air-fry
• Decent crispness
• Affordable ($2.69 per pk.)

Cons

• Since it’s made locally, it can be hard to find across the states. It depends if your grocery store provides them or not.
• A little on the thinner side so the filling moisture can seep out.
• Color is a little on the lighter side. A little more golden than Spring Home but still a little too light for me.
• Lacks flavor

 2) O’Tasty

O’Tasty is one I just randomly found at my local Asian grocery store and thought to try it. I’m not sure if it’s easily accessible in your area but here are my insights. It’s square shaped and peels easily. It’s more on the thicker side compared to all the other brands. The pack comes with 25 sheets and costs $2.49 each.

Pros

• Thick in texture but doesn’t crack as easily as Menlo/Simex so that’s a plus.
• Easy to work with
• Great to re air-fry
• Has the most even and nice golden color when fried
• Great crispness and flavor
• Affordable ($2.49 per pk)

Cons 

• Can be too thick to use.
• Can be a little chewy in texture compared to light and crispy
• Might not be easily accessible
• Can get soggy and chewy easily

3) Dynasty

I just wanted to share with you this kind of egg roll wrapper because it’s the one mostly used in American or  American-Chinese restaurants. Mostly what is known to be Egg Rolls. Dynasty is just one of the many brands of this kind of egg roll wrapper. It has that bubbly texture on the outside. You can find many other brands at your general and or Asian grocery store. It’s square shaped and is the thickest out of all the wrappers. Each pack I think has around 20-25 sheets and costs $4.79.

Pros

• Pretty bubbly outer texture
• Nice flavor with savory fillings
• Peels easily

Cons 

• Too thick to work with
• Too powdery (It’s dusted in corn starch to keep them separated)
• Can take a little longer to fry, the center dough doesn’t seem to cook all the way
• Ideal for making bigger egg rolls (but it will take longer to cook and you must have proper oil temp control)
• More on the expensive side
• Doesn’t refreeze well as it will continue to dry out.
• Doesn’t have that light and crisp texture you want compared to the thinner spring roll/egg roll wrappers

Handling the wrappers

Since egg rolls come frozen, you will need to thaw them before peeling and using them. They thaw fairly fast.

TIP: Peel while they are still cold (not frozen). Do not let it come to room temp as they will get too soft or dry to work with. Do not thaw overnight in the fridge. Just take it out from the freezer and thaw on your counter for 15-30 minutes before using. 

If the wrappers are too dry to work with, you can simply place the whole block into the steamer and allow it to steam for 1-2 minutes to give it a little bit more moisture. Use them immediately or else they will get hard/dry.

Steaming the wrappers

Egg roll wrappers in general should be used immediately the day they are peeled. Keep them covered if you can so they don’t dry out as you roll. Some of the brands do refreeze okay if you end up not using all of them (which I mentioned above). Some do not, as they will get too dry.

BEST WAY TO COOK EGG ROLLS

The best and only way I like to cook egg rolls: DEEP FRIED

The wrapper needs to be cooked in oil to get it to that crisp texture and golden color. Deep frying in the best way to achieve that.

An OKAY way: Air Fryer

Air frying raw egg rolls works too but they need to be spray with oil before cooking. They will take longer to cook and will he harder to fully get it to that golden color. It won’t look as pretty as deep frying. It can also taste more dry. But if you want a healthier option, this one may be for you.

Works, but the not the best: The oven

The oven will make your egg rolls a little more on the soggier side. It will also not be golden brown as deep frying. I don’t recommend using the oven for cooking egg rolls.

Frying the day of and how long they stay crispy

Egg rolls are best cooked DEEP FRIED in oil. The oil helps cook the wrapper to its golden crisp texture you want. I don’t like to air fry raw ones since they can get a little dry. Cooking in the oven works too but they take a little longer and they don’t bake as even or have that oily golden crisp to it.

Egg rolls are best eaten the day they are fried. Depending on the filling you end up making, it will truly determine how long the wrapper stays crispy. If you make a filling that contains a lot of vegetables that has quite a bit of moisture, as the egg roll sits, the moisture from the vegetables will start to evaporate and that will cause your wrapper to slowly get soggy. I don’t have an exact answer on which wrapper stayed crispier the longest because that really depends on the filling you make, how much filling you put, and the environment (moisture/humidity/etc) you’re in. I noticed that all the egg rolls I tested lost its crispness after an hour or two of sitting. So enjoy egg rolls the hour or day they are made. 🙂

How to rewarm egg rolls?

Yes! You can rewarm fried egg rolls.

AIR-FRYER: The best way is to air fry it for about 5-8 minutes at 350′ F. If you have an air fryer, this is your best gadget to get your egg rolls back to its overall crispness. Air frying also drains a little bit of that frying oil that the wrapper soaked up, so that’s kinda nice.

THE OVEN: The oven works too but you will have to turn them once in a while to get them evenly crisp again. Reheat at 350′ for 8-10 minutes or until your desired crispness. It can get dry and also chewy though.

PAN:  You can pan fry it (dry) on a good nonstick pan but make sure to put the heat on medium low and turn them constantly to get them evenly heated. This will work but it’s a little bit more work and may take longer.

DO NOT DEEP FRY AGAIN: You will just get super oily egg rolls.

Freeze and storing uncooked egg rolls

Lay your egg rolls on a parchment lined sheet tray and freeze them first. After they are frozen, bag them and then place it back into the freezer until ready to use. It’s best to freeze egg rolls RAW, then fry them whenever you want. That way the filling is still juicy and the wrapper is freshly fried. I don’t like to fry them, freeze them, then rewarm them since they seem to dry out for me. But it’s up to you.

Frying frozen egg rolls

Make sure to let the frozen egg roll sit at room temp for about 1-1.5 hrs before frying. Fry at an oil temp of 375’F since the temperature of frozen egg rolls does drop the oil temp. Do not overcrowd your pan though or else your egg rolls will get soggy. You can always adjust the oil temp when it starts to get golden brown. 

Depending on the filling you make, moisture will find a way to seep out. Because frozen meat/vegetables release more moisture when it cooks, you will notice the ends of the egg rolls getting a little dark since moisture is trying to find a way to escape. The picture below is what cooked frozen egg rolls look like. Not too bad but they won’t be as pretty as frying the ones made the day of.

This is what frying frozen egg rolls looks like

Honest opinion on frozen egg rolls and which wrapper is the best for frozen egg rolls:

All the wrappers worked fine for making frozen egg rolls. I didn’t have a problem with how they turned out when they were fried. They still maintained their golden color and were crispy. It won’t look as pretty as the freshly rolled egg rolls but they are still tasty and texturally good. 

Other brands and ones I couldn’t find or use

The picture below shows you another Wei Chuan brand egg roll wrapper. This one is similar to the Dynasty one. Thick and has a bubbly exterior when fried. Next to that one is pretty much the same style but different brand.

The picture below is also another Wei Chuan brand. This one says it’s thinner than the other Wei Chuan I used above, but I tried it out and it did feel a little thicker than the other one. But honestly, it works the same as the other one since the ingredients are almost EXACTLY the same. The one with the orange border has rice starch and the one in the yellow border does not. This one does fry evenly and has a really nice golden color to it but it does lose its crispness a lot faster than the other one. But both works just fine. So choose either or.
The picture below is the tiny size Spring Home brand spring roll wrapper. As you can tell, this one is a lot smaller than the normal size wrapper one. This size is great if you want to make tiny egg rolls, samosas, or firecracker shrimps.

LITTLE CHEF brand

A lot of people have told me to try this brand since it’s one of their favorites because of how easy it is to peel, use, and how it fries up. However, I cannot find it in my area so I wasn’t able to try it out. From my understanding it can easily be found in Wisconsin and Minnesota. All the Asian grocery stores in Oregon do not have it in stock & I know a few of my relatives and followers have told me they cannot find it in California either. So hopefully I can try it out when I do get my hands on it. 🙂 

Final Thoughts

While there may be a lot of spring roll/egg roll brands out there, they all do the job as needed. Being able to try all these other brands has helped me see that anyone of these will make beautiful looking egg rolls depending on what YOU are looking for. 

The brand I grew up using

• Menlo: I sure like many out there, this brand has or still is the brand to use. I grew up using Menlo since it can easily be found at almost any Asian grocery store and it’s cheap. I like Menlo for the fact that they do fry egg rolls into a nice golden color. However, they can be inconsistent in texture/quality at times. It’s a decent go to one if your local Asian grocery store does not have the one you like to use. 

Would buy again

• Simex: This was my first time using Simex and I was pleasantly happy using it. Though they may be on the thinner side, they however fried up super light and crispy. The egg rolls were texturally pleasing and fun to eat. I also appreciate the handmade look/style of each wrapper. They can be a little painful to peel, but having the option to buy individually separated ones is nice. The only downside to Simex is they are expensive.  
• O’Tasty: I was pleasantly surprised by the O’Tasty brand because of how evenly golden they fried up and also stayed crispy. They were also easy to use and peel. The only downside is that they might not be available in certain areas. 
• Wei Chuan: Wei Chuan is a decent brand. I’d say I would get this brand over Spring home if my grocery store didn’t have Menlo or O’Tasty. They make great looking egg rolls and have a nice crispness to them. They do get soggy a little faster than others but they are still pretty decent to use! 

Would not be my go-to purchase (unless that’s all that is available) 

• Spring Home: The most widely available brand you can find at any Asian grocery store. Though they are easy to use and make really pretty looking egg rolls, I just didn’t like how they looked when fried. I wish it had more of a golden color to it. However, if this is the only brand available, it will work just fine. 
• Summit: This one was also lighter in color when fried. It also lacked flavor. Easy to peel and use though. 
• Dynasty: This style of wrapper is not for me unless I want to make a fancier or particular type of egg roll. Flavor is pretty good and the bubbly outer texture is fun but it’s just too thick to use and the center always looks like it’s not cooked properly. 

So I hope this was helpful for you all. I know there are way more brands out there so if you have any other brands you love to use, let me know. Until then, happy cooking!

-Cindy (C.HerCreations)