The Spring Roll has a long history of over a thousand years. It was called Spring Cakes in the Sung Dynasty. This dynasty reigned in northern China from 992AD to 1126AD. A paper thin pastry is wrapped round shredded ingredients and fried.
Spring Rolls are especially popular during the Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, hence the name now most commonly used.
The filling can be meat or vegetarian, economical or rich. Fujianese Spring Rolls have very thin pastry and exotic filling. Shanghainese Spring Rolls have a diversity of fillings, one typical ingredient is bamboo shoot.
The Cantonese Spring Roll has travelled Overseas and is known in the many western countries as Egg Rolls. In Chinese cuisine, egg rolls are sweet spring rolls with red bean paste inside from areas such as Zhejiang in eastern China, and northern China.
Thai Spring rolls have uniquely Thai spices and herbs added to the filling. Authentic spring rolls are still hand made in the traditional way.
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