hello hi everyone! Today we’re adding to our series on food from TV and Film with some inspiration from this Rush Hour 2, which I thought I’d use as an opportunity to take a crack at a request a few folks have asked for now, which is the Chinese Egg Roll. A LOT of folks have also been asking about what the differences are between the chinese egg roll, a filipino lumpia, and a vietnamese spring roll, and after doing a WHOLE bunch of research, I discovered that I honestly have no earthly idea.

What we generally refer to as the Chinese “egg roll” is actually made with wonton wrappers, giving it that super blistered exterior quality that you’ll probably associate with the egg rolls you’ll find at Chinese American places like Panda Express. However! I have been making egg rolls with my family for my entire life, and I have never made an egg roll like this. My family has instead always used a thinner pastry sheet, which you can see in the video is referred to as a “spring roll lumpia wrapper,” which just makes everything even more confusing (is it a spring roll or a lumpia? i have no idea). What’s most important to note though, is that if you want those blistered, puffy “panda express” style egg rolls, you should use either wonton wrappers, or wrappers specifically labeled as “egg roll wrappers.” If you want thin, flakey egg rolls, use lumpia wrappers.

It will be out on Friday May 7, 2021, so bookmark the recipe here, and be sure to subscribe and hit the bell on YouTube to get notified when it’s out!

Woo Can Cook is a series where we reproduce fun foods and recipes from my childhood. Some of them are authentically Chinese and/or pan-Asian, but a lot of them are odd Americanized versions that I inherited from my parents and grandparents while growing up in the Bay Area/California.

We're live streaming every Mon/Tues/Thurs at 6:30PM PST, with new recipes out every Friday!