In case we haven’t mentioned it HERE, HERE and HERE, Chinese Lunar New Year is coming upon us on Saturday, January 25. London is going to come alive with dragon dance processions, the beat of gongs, fire crackers, red lanterns and burning incense as communities with origins from across East Asia herald in the Year of the Snake (my snake-print shirt will also be making an appearance…).
If the noise and hubbub of street parties is not your thing, then why not make the most of the occasion with a Chinese banquet at home? Spring rolls (chun juan) derive their name from the Lunar New Year (chunjie) and they are a traditional snack to celebrate it. The long golden rolls are said to represent bars of gold, signifying wealth and good fortune in the year ahead.
Traditionally, spring rolls have a unique filling of shredded carrot, shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, bean sprouts, and pork, dressed in a sauce of Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, and ginger. An ambitious cook may want to try making them. But for most of us, Britain’s supermarkets all have their own variations of this Chinese treat – although the fillings, whether vegetable, duck, or sacrilegiously, hamburger (more on that later) are a bit of a lottery. This week, I’ll try spring rolls from Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Tesco, Waitrose and M&S to find the perfect nibble for your Lunar New Year.
Sainsbury’s 4 Duck Spring Rolls – £2.90
Sainsbury’s duck spring rolls is a solid hors d’oeuvre, although the filling is too much of a paste for my liking
(Image: Stewart Carr)
While popular, spring rolls are not exactly a national dish and when scouting for them in supermarkets, and it’s a pot luck the kind of filling they will have. Sainsbury’s duck spring rolls are an easy win for a starter for your Chinese meal – the pastry is perfectly golden and crispy at the edges, while the duck filling is doused in hoisin sauce to add some authentic flavour. The duck itself is a little bit too much of a paste for my liking, to my mind, meat should always retain its rugged texture, but this is a solid hors d’oeuvre.
3/5
Lidl Chef Select 4 Vegetable Spring Rolls – £1.85
Lidl’s 4 vegetable spring rolls with garlic and ginger have the taste of a traditional chun juan,
(Image: Stewart Carr)
These are lovely! Now if I can explain, Lidl’s spring rolls are perhaps the most genuinely Chinese of those on my list. Mixed vegetables, garlic and ginger combine to give the taste of a traditional chun juan, missing only the mushrooms but it’s still 90 per cent of the way there. True to form, the vegetables are stir-fried and have quite a crunch, which sets these scrumptious spring rolls apart from supermarket rivals. It depends on whether you like Chinese stir-fry or not, but for those of us that do, these are spring rolls to try out.
5/5
Tesco 6 Vegetable Spring Rolls – £2.50
Tesco’s vegetable spring rolls are distinctly alright but they could do with some added zest
(Image: Stewart Carr)
Tesco’s vegetable spring rolls are distinctly alright but they could do with some added zest. These little snacks are made up of finely chopped vegetables that have a chewiness besides their crunch, and they’re doused in ‘aromatic spices’ but I couldn’t discern any particular flavour. They don’t quite have the panache of Lidl’s garlic and ginger dressing, and the golden pastry of these spring rolls is like a shell – not quite as succulent as others on this list. Perfectly edible but an uninspired effort.
2/5
Waitrose 6 Duck Spring Rolls – £3.90
Waitrose spring rolls have a delicious duck filling in thick, bitey chunks, doused in a rich and bold hoisin sauce
(Image: Stewart Carr)
Oh… yes! This is the one the carnivores are waiting for. Waitrose has a selection of duck and veggie spring rolls to choose from, but for variety’s sake, I wanted to try another duck option. Oh and this puts right where Sainsbury’s went slightly wrong, the duck is gorgeously well-preserved in thick, meaty chunks, doused in a more rich and bold hoisin sauce – one that sends my taste buds buzzing with delight. With flavours big enough to make your mouth go pop, this one is my meat lover’s recommendation.
4/5
M&S Burger Spring Rolls – £3.75
M&S burger-filled spring rolls are an odd-tasting experiment that should never have reached the shop floor
(Image: Stewart Carr)
“Let’s make a spring roll for people who don’t like spring rolls.” This seems to have the mindset of M&S when they came up with this car crash of a morsel. I scoured the aisles and these burger-filled spring rolls were all they had. Imagine bludgeoning several hamburgers with a hammer, then placing poor hamburgers into a blender and squirting the paste inside a spring roll carcass? Does that not sound lovely? No? Well, tough! You’re getting it!!! These odd-tasting monstrosities should have been laughed off at head office when pitched. How many hamburgers had to die for these? Proof you can combine two foodstuffs and end up with the best of neither.
1/5
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And the winner is…
Lidl! The everyman supermarket has knocked it out the park with tasty and authentic spring rolls that are just right for your dining room feast for Lunar New Year – and all for £1.85! But Waitrose comes in at a close second with its lovely duck-filled entrees, a recommendation for those who want a meaty substance to their appetisers. Beat those January blues as we count down to the 25th and get stocked up with chun juan treats to celebrate the wisdom of the snake!
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