In
Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, they are
called popiah similar as in Taiwan while in Myanmar, it is
referred as kawpya
Spring rolls are a large
variety of filled, rolled appetizers or dim sum found in East
Asian, Southeast Asian cuisine. The kind of wrapper, fillings, and
cooking technique used, as well as the name, vary considerably within this
large area, depending on the region's culture. Spring rolls were
a seasonal food consumed during the spring, and started as a
pancake filled with the new season's spring vegetables, a welcome change from
the preserved foods of the long winter months.[1] In Chinese cuisine,
spring rolls are savory rolls with cabbage and other vegetable
fillings inside a thinly wrapped cylindrical pastry. They are usually eaten
during the Spring Festival in mainland China, hence the name. Meat
varieties, particularly pork, are also popular. Fried spring rolls are
generally small and crisp. They can be sweet or savory; the former often with
red bean paste filling, and the latter are typically prepared with vegetables.
They are fully wrapped before being pan-fried or deep-fried.
Non-fried spring rolls are
typically bigger and more savory. Unlike fried spring rolls, non-fried spring
rolls are typically made by filling the wrapping with pre-cooked ingredients.
Traditionally, they are a festive food eaten during the Cold Food Day
festival and the Tomb Sweeping Day festival in spring to
remember and pay respect to ancestors. The Hakka population
sometimes also eat spring rolls on the third day of the third month of
the lunar calendar (三月三
sān yuè sān). The wrappings can be
a flour-based mix or batter.
