PITTSBURGH—Since it was introduced as an appetizer on New York City menus in the 1930s, perhaps no dish is more associated with Chinese-American food than the crunchy, humble egg roll.
Yet there is some confusion as to how the crispy rolls, which are served with hot mustard and a sweet-and-tangy condiment known as duck sauce, got their name.
Some believe it’s because the dish came to be made with egg-rich dough wrappers that blister when they’re fried while others say it’s because early iterations of the dish—including a recipe for “dan gun” in “The Chinese Cook Book” (1917)—were wrapped in a thin egg omelet that was then pan fried.
Typically filled with a savory mix of ground pork, water chestnuts, carrots, lots (and lots!) of shredded green cabbage and sometimes shrimp, egg rolls are a main attraction at Downtown’s Chinatown Inn, which has been owned and operated by actor Ming-Na Wen’s family since 1943.
In her new cookbook, “Have You Eaten Yet?: Family Recipes from a Restaurant Daughter,” Wen shows adventurous cooks just how easy the deep-fried appetizers are to make at home with a step-by-step pictorial. She also shares her family’s recipe for a meat, shrimp, and veggie filling that includes an unexpected flavor enhancer—creamy peanut butter.
“No, peanut butter did not accidentally make its way into the recipe’s ingredient list,” she writes. “It’s the secret weapon to achieving the creaminess in the filling, and it gives the egg rolls a nice, subtly nutty flavor.”
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Somehow, it just works. Not only does peanut help bind the ingredients together and make rolling easier, but it adds a richer mouthfeel.
Cook’s tip: While everyone loves digging into a fat egg roll, be careful not to overfill the wrappers (3 tablespoons is sufficient) or the dough might tear. And don’t forget to seal the edges with an egg wash or water. Otherwise, the oil could seep inside or cause the roll to pop open in the pan.
If you don’t feel like making duck sauce from scratch, jarred is fine! Same with the Chinese mustard.
Homemade egg rolls filled with ground pork, shrimp and lots of vegetables, with Chinese mustard for serving. Gretchen McKay/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS
Recipe from “Have You Eaten Yet?” by Ming-Na Wen (Simon Element, $35, Oct. 6, 2026)
