Spring Rolls

A thin wheat wrapper is rolled around shredded cabbage, carrot and sometimes pork, then deep-fried until shatteringly crisp and golden. Eaten at Lunar New Year, their shape recalls bars of gold.

Spring rolls take their name from the Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, when they have long been served as a festive dish. Their slender, cylindrical shape traditionally evokes bars of gold, making them a symbol of prosperity and good fortune for the coming year. While the dish's exact origins are debated, its deep connection to New Year celebrations is well established in Chinese culinary tradition.

Regional variations across China are considerable. Cantonese-style spring rolls are prized for their thin, shatteringly crisp shells, while other regions favor softer wrappers or distinct fillings, such as the vegetarian rolls popular in Shanghai. The dish has also spread widely beyond China, inspiring adaptations like Vietnamese summer rolls and Filipino lumpia, each reinterpreted with local ingredients while retaining the essential rolled form.