Spring Rolls: A Seasonal Greeting

Spring rolls, in their many forms, are favorites in southeastern China from Canton to Shanghai. The Cantonese for spring roll is “chun guen,” and it is quite literally a celebration of that season. Spring begins for the Chinese on New Year’s Day, the first day of the lunar calendar, and spring rolls are one of the traditional foods served as a New Year’s Day observance. Gastronomically the season is celebrated by the spring roll filled with scallions—often called spring onions—and with tender young bamboo shoots and the crispness of fresh water chestnuts.