American Chinese egg rolls are usually wrapped in a thick skin made from wheat flour.
The classic American Chinese egg roll has a thick, chewy, crisp wrapper made from wheat-flour dough. It is typically filled with shredded cabbage, meat, or other ingredients and deep-fried, producing the rough, blistered exterior associated with New York-style egg rolls.
This wrapper is one of the clearest differences between an American egg roll and many spring rolls. Spring rolls may use thinner wheat sheets, rice-based wrappers, or fresh rice paper, depending on the cuisine. Egg rolls are also often served with duck sauce, plum sauce, soy sauce, or hot mustard.
Despite the name, modern American Chinese egg rolls generally do not contain egg in the filling. The name’s origin is disputed: proposed explanations include an association with Chinese spring rolls, the use of egg in older wrappers, and early recipes that rolled fillings in fried egg rather than flour pastry.
The modern American version emerged in the United States in the early twentieth century, with its exact creator still debated. Its thick wheat wrapper became a defining feature of the restaurant-style appetizer.