Why Are Egg Rolls Called Egg Rolls?

Not to go all “where’s the beef?” on the classic Chinese-American appetizer, but the snide literalist in me has occasionally taken pause to wonder why the egg roll only delivers on half of its name. (Only brief pauses, of course, in between crunchy, enthusiastic bites.)

No but seriously, why egg roll?

One possible explanation is that the dough traditionally used to make the wrapper calls for eggs. Even though recipes now often omit the egg, it’s possible that the name stuck. Although, to be honest, I have a hard time buying that so many doughs are made with eggs and yet the foods and dishes made from them don’t find it necessary to give the ingredient a special title shout-out.

Another interesting theory posits that instead of being an Americanized variation on the Chinese rice paper-wrapped spring roll (allegedly introduced in New York in the early 1930s), the egg roll is actually a riff on a dish called Dan Gun. Featured in a Chinese-American cookbook from 1917, the recipe calls for chicken, ham, sprouts, and mushrooms to be wrapped in a thin egg omelette. So, literally, an egg roll.

Unfortunately, speculation is about as good of an answer as we’re going to get on this one—while it may not be satisfying, at least dish still is. Here are nine favorites to try.

Crispy Chinese Egg Rolls

Hey, you there, put down the takeout menu. Once you see how easy it is to make these deep-fried rolls stuffed with ground pork, cabbage, carrots, and shiitake mushrooms, you’ll have no excuse not to choose DIY over delivery. Get our Crispy Chinese Egg Rolls recipe.

Crispy Avocado Egg Rolls

I Am a Food Blog

Forget toast, the next time you’re looking for an inspired way to enjoy your favorite lime zesty, jalapeño, and onion-flecked avocado mash, try wrapping some in egg roll paper. Sure, the crispy, deep-fried finger food doesn’t have quite the same good-for-you vibes as the toast, but trust, it’s just as addictively delicious (and not to mention a unique egg roll variation for vegetarians). Get the recipe.

Cuban Egg Rolls

A Zesty Byte

The Reuben? Philly cheesesteaks? Sloppy Joes? Yup, all of these iconic sandwiches have been given the egg roll treatment (and rocked the look to boot), but if we have to play favorites, this ham, roast beef, Swiss cheese, and pickle-filled variety really captures the vibe of the beloved Cubano. The only thing missing is a Mojito and a lounge chair on South Beach. Get the recipe.

Freezer-Friendly Shrimp Egg Rolls

Damn Delicious

Looking for a good make-ahead cooking project? These savory, crunchy shrimp and slaw-stuffed egg rolls can easily be prepped out in large batches and kept frozen until needed (like, say, in the middle of the week when you’re working late, haven’t had time to go to the store, and don’t want to drop cash on takeout). Get the recipe.

Breakfast Egg Rolls

The Candid Appetite

If you’re like, literally in the mood for an egg roll, these come stuffed with a mixture of cheesy scrambled egg, bacon, and potato hash. Think breakfast burrito but skinnier, crispier, and deep-fried. Get the recipe.

Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls

Small Town Woman

If you’re a two-for-one special kind of person, there’s no way you aren’t swooning over this classic Chinese-American appetizer mash-up. Besides, from a more-is-more perspective, how do you not love that these crab and cream cheese-filled rolls are about double the size of the usual crab puff. Get the recipe.

Baked Tofu and Vegetable Egg Rolls

Food 52

The fact that these are baked instead of fried and teaming with tofu and fresh veggies means that you can feel totally guilt-free about going back for thirds (and fourths), right? Get the recipe.

Egg Roll Soup

Gimme Some Oven

If you’re looking for a clever way to shake up your egg roll routine—besides simply switching the filling, of course—give this deconstructed soup variation a try. Here, the classic filling ingredients like carrot, cabbage, and ground pork take center stage, but don’t worry, the broth-based soup is still garnished with fried egg roll wrapper strips so you still get that satisfying crunch of texture. Get the recipe.  

Apple Pie Egg Rolls

Just a Taste

The egg roll proves it can play sweet just as well as savory in this creative bite-sized revamp of the iconic dessert. Think of it as a kind of Chinese-American spin on an apple hand pie. Get the recipe.

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New York’s Chinatown Isn’t What It Used to Be, But Is That Okay?

When you go up the massive escalators into Jing Fong, a dim sum restaurant and staple of the New York City Chinatown food scene, you know you’re ascending into something extraordinary. The dining area occupies over 20,000 square feet and has the capacity to sit up to 800 people. Despite the sheer size, on a typical weekend, customers are still found amassing at the entrance, waiting for their chance to have pushed carts of food bob and weave around them. For Jing Fong first timers, it really isn’t until they have reached the top of the escalator and set their sights on the banquet hall, do they even have a taste of the awesomeness of Jing Fong.

Restaurants like Jing Fong serve as a window into the culture and energy of New York City’s Chinatown back when it was first settling its roots. Jing Fong was originally situated on Elizabeth Street, back in 1978, only three decades after the Chinese Exclusion Act (prohibiting the immigration of Chinese laborers) was lifted.

Jin Fong

For many Chinese immigrants, New York City’s Chinatown serves as the beginning of their American dream, and the origin story of the generations of Chinese-Americans that are now witnessing the evolution of their very neighborhood.

“Most Chinese immigrants have lived or worked in Chinatown at one point in their lives,” said Richard Tam, a long time resident of Chinatown and co-founder of 10Below, an ice cream shop serving Thai-inspired ice cream rolls, located right in the heart of the neighborhood. “For my parents’ generation, they view Chinatown as the landing spot for most immigrants.”

New York City’s Chinatown is still a tightly-packed neighborhood, sprawling with grocers, restaurants, and mom-and-pop shops, but now, it’s experiencing a fast crawl towards a more contemporary future. This kind of transformation is often a harbinger of incoming wealth and affluence, as well as the positive infrastructure changes—cleaner streets, construction and more proper repairs—that come with wiping out the culture of a neighborhood and displacing its veteran residents.

Nom Wah. Photo by Barbara Leung.

Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a dim sum restaurant that first opened in 1920, sporting a vintage aesthetic that channels 1960s Hong Kong, has found the sweet spot of having history and a stake in the culture, while also making Chinatown accessible to tourists, young professionals, and the like. For Nom Wah’s head of marketing, Barbara Leung, Nom Wah is “a living reminder of the history in the neighborhood.”

More contemporary restaurants like Danny Bowien’s Mission Chinese and Jeff Lam’s Chinese Tuxedo are the kind of establishments that are a marker of the changing neighborhood’s clientele—shifting away from the cheap eats crowd and their demand for heaping bowls of BBQ Roast Pork Noodles that go for under $6, to one that can drop over $20 on an appetizer or salad.

Nom Wah. Photo by Paul Wagtouicz.

Chinese Tuxedo’s proprietor Edward Buckingham understands the impact commercialization has on a historic neighborhood like Chinatown, as well the imperative to sustain its culture.

“Price points, offerings, and the values of food and beverage ventures can go a long way in impacting a neighborhood or community’s identity,” said Edward. “Change is a constant, particularly in NYC, but there is a difference between thoughtful and thoughtless change. All of our decision-making is inspired by the simple informing principles—does this honor the traditions and history of Chinatown, and does this represent a positive move, born of love, for our favorite neighborhood moving forward?”

Much of Chinatown’s burgeoning modernization can be attributed to increasing rent costs and property values, pushing out residents and businesses that have called Chinatown their home for decades.

Chinese Tuxedo

According to a 2016 report from the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, the Lower East Side/Chinatown sub-borough area experienced a 50.3 percent change in average rent between 1990 and 2014, whereas the average percent change for all of New York City was only 22.1 percent.

Soaring rents, an aging population, and younger, more educated generations moving out of the area, is causing growing concern that the neighborhood is losing its character, and even potentially, its future.  

“Things aren’t how it is was back in the day, and if we want Chinatown to still be ‘Chinatown,’ we need to make sure that local mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, and signages must be kept as part of history,” said Truman Lam, general manager for Jing Fong. “It’s sad to say this but, Chinatown might not be around for the next 5-10 years if we keep modernizing it this quickly.”

10Below

Richard Tam’s ice cream shop, 10Below, dons a clean, sleek and minimal design, obviously contrasting the neighborhood’s busy, crowded interiors, but as a local, Richard wants to preserve the culture and history of the community while helping it grow. “This is our home and this is where my grandparents, parents, myself, and my future children will frequent, and I want to be able to share with them the rich Chinese-American history,” he said. “It is important to my own cultural identity and I think that it is important to share that with the next generation.”

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Lucky Charms Is About to Change Forever

Time is up for one of Lucky Charms’ marshmallows. The yellow hourglass, which has been in every box for over a decade, is being retired this spring. Its replacement has yet to be announced.

There isn’t a specific reason for this announcement, beyond marketing hype. But we should come to expect this by now. Historically, Lucky Charms is merciless with its marshmallow rotation. When the cereal was first introduced in 1963, it contained green clovers, pink hearts, orange stars, and yellow moons. Of that original line-up, only the hearts remain today. Those leprechauns sure are a fickle bunch.

Over the last five decades, a variety of limited edition charms have come and gone. Most are nonsensical, like the swirled whales in 1986 and the blue diamonds in 2015.

But some actually have legit meaning behind them. In 1990, a pine tree marshmallow was added to help promote Earth Day. They even offered free Colorado Blue Spruce seedlings with proof of purchase. And in 2013, two new rainbows were created for LGBT pride month. How else would leprechauns show their support of gay marriage?

It’s also worth noting that the mythology behind the cereal is far more expansive than we ever imagined. Each one of the marshmallow charms represents a different special power that  their cartoon mascot, Lucky the Leprechaun, has. The heart signifies the power to bring things to life, shooting stars represent the ability to fly, and blue moons equal the power to become invisible. I had no idea.

The newly retired hourglass symbolized Lucky’s power to control time, but we’re guessing he’s losing that ability? I’m not sure how these magical creatures operate. Lucky for us, General Mills’ press releases rival Tolkien in their fantastical logic and expansive world-building. I’m eagerly awaiting a three-hour cinematic saga. ‘Lord of the Rings’ has got nothing on Lucky the Leprechaun.

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Roast Chicken on Angel Hair Pasta

If you’ve ever watched a rotisserie chicken turning slowly on a spit—my local supermarket has several going at once— then you’ve seen the tray underneath the birds to catch the drippings. Those drippings are gold!

Now, imagine those chickens roasting over a baking dish filled with pasta: All those juices from the bird would drip into the pasta and give it an unbelievably delicious roasty flavor.

This idea of roasting meat on top of other ingredients is actually an ancient technique from when individual families didn’t have their own ovens, and cooks brought pans of meat or poultry and whatever went with it to the local baker to roast in the baker’s big oven. This approach inspired this recipe.

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Cranachan (Scottish Whipped Cream With Whisky, Raspberries, and Toasted Oats)

Get Recipe!

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10 Best Side Dishes to Serve With Steak

Steak and potatoes are often paired together for a reason—it’s a delicious and mouthwatering combination. We’ve got you covered where that’s concerned, no worries.

But there’s also this whole world of other side dishes available to you, some of which we think will make you rethink the concept of a traditional steak dinner.

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How Moon Pies Became a Mardi Gras Tradition

Mardi Gras is synonymous with certain foods and places—king cake and New Orleans top the list. Most people don’t think of MoonPies and Mobile, Alabama, but in fact, they both have a long-standing connection with Fat Tuesday.

Mardi Gras’ Mobile Beginnings

Mobile Mardi Gras poster circa 1900 from The Library of Congress

The very first Mardi Gras celebration in the United States was in Mobile, Alabama, all the way back in 1703, well before New Orleans was even founded (in 1718). The early processions weren’t quite the grand spectacles you see today, but they were the start of it all, and little by little, lots of specific Mardi Gras parade traditions were established and added to. Most of them are still a vital part of the celebration today.

Take, for instance, “throws”—the trinkets thrown from floats to all the people watching on the sidelines. The custom seems to have started in the 1870s, and although beads may be the most well-known throw today, there are lots of other items tossed to spectators too, from plastic cups and foam footballs to food.

Perhaps the most popular edible item that gets chucked into the crowd is the MoonPie (which, despite auto-correct’s insistence on underlining it in red squiggles, is the official spelling). Obviously, this is a relatively recent evolution of the long-standing “throws” tradition, since MoonPies are a 20th century foodstuff.

MoonPie On the Rise

Vintage 1950s ad from MoonPie (ignore the 7Up in the background; RC Cola is the proper pairing)

The MoonPie—two soft graham cracker cookies sandwiching squishy-but-stable marshmallow filling, all enrobed in a thin, chocolatey shell—came to be in 1917, when a traveling salesman from the Chattanooga Bakery encountered a Kentucky coal miner who expressed a desire for a hearty, portable snack, about the size of the moon. The famous result of that request cost just 5 cents when it was introduced, and quickly became a Southern staple. In the 1950s, the classic combo of MoonPies and RC Cola (another good bang-for-your-buck convenience store snack) was even immortalized in a country song by Big Bill Lister.

The Chattanooga Bakery eventually added the miniature MoonPie to their offerings, allegedly in response to grumblings that the full-size pies were ruining kids’ appetites. Happily, these smaller treats would also prove to be perfect for throwing into crowds.

A Match Made in Heaven

Mardi Gras MoonPie, via Twitter

So Mardi Gras and MoonPies both became beloved Southern institutions over the course of many decades, on separate paths. But how did those paths meet?

Well, that was in Mobile, too, where grand Mardi Gras parades continued to be held, even though New Orleans eclipsed them in national and global recognition.

Cracker Jack had been a popular Mardi Gras throw; it was affordable enough to give away and delicious enough to appeal to most everyone, but the bulky boxes were hard to aim accurately and the corners could be painful when they hit people in the head. It was such a problem that Mobile banned the tossing of Cracker Jack boxes in 1972. Smaller, softer, blessedly round MoonPies were a safer option, and they were already a long-cherished Southern delight, so they became the standard sweet treat thrown off of floats in Mobile. Once again, New Orleans followed suit—so if you’re in the Big Easy for the occasion, you’re likely to catch at least one MoonPie when you cry, “Throw me something, mister!” And of course, you can still snatch them from the air in Mobile, too.

More Ways to Eat MoonPies

Since the introduction of the classic chocolate flavor, there have been countless variations on the MoonPie: banana, coconut, salted caramel, strawberry…and while they’re all good as-is, if you’re near a microwave, try heating one up for a few seconds, so it’s a little like an inside-out s’more. But if you’re a bit more ambitious, you can also enjoy more elaborate desserts inspired by (and sometimes actually using) MoonPies—just the thing for a Mardi Gras party at home!

Caramel Moon Pies

Sass and Veracity

These homemade MoonPies combine whole wheat graham cracker cookies, fluffy marshmallow, bittersweet chocolate, and rich caramel. (If you’re gluten-free, just add some caramel to these GF Moon Pies if you like.) Get the recipe.

Banana Moon Pie Trifle

Mobile Bay Mag

Banana pudding is another Southern dessert staple, but this ingenious version switches out the usual vanilla wafers for classic chocolate and banana MoonPies (plus, there are several other amazing Mardi Gras treats at the link, including a MoonPie Martini and King Cake MoonPies). Get the recipe.

Marshmallow Moon Cake

Cake by Courtney

If you love a layer cake but prefer banana MoonPies, try this recipe. For chocolate diehards, this beauty really takes the…well, you know. Feel free to make extra ganache and fully cover the sides of the cake for a more traditional MoonPie look (and in order to eat more chocolate too, always a plus). Get the recipe.

Brown Butter Moon Pie Ice Cream

Feast and West

Chunks of MoonPie generously stud this creamy brown butter ice cream, for a sophisticated yet unpretentious dessert. Get the recipe.

Golden Oreo Peanut Butter Moon Pies

The Domestic Rebel

For a fancier inside-out version that’s all made from scratch, try these chocolate peanut butter Moon Pies, but if you’re a fan of shortcuts, twist apart some Golden Oreos and add marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, and Nutella, then sandwich back together and dip in chocolate bark. Feel free to skip the Nutella and/or scrape out the original creme filling if you think this might be too sweet. Get the recipe.

MoonPie Bread Pudding with RC Cola Sauce

Delta Magazine

And finally, here’s a more convoluted way to enjoy the perennial pairing of MoonPies and RC Cola, the former baked into a buttery bread pudding and the latter mixed with powdered sugar for a sticky-sweet glaze to pour over top. Get the recipe.

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