How to Pair Asian Rolls With Whisky

In this age when we can have almost anything delivered to our door, it’s easy to forget that not so long ago the only places delivering food were pizzerias and Chinese restaurants, the latter serving an assortment of Americanized Asian cuisine that always seemed to include some sort of spring or egg roll.

While spring rolls are definitely Asian in origin, the egg roll is an American creation, likely dating from the 1920s and Lum Fong’s Restaurant in New York City. The owner, Lum Fong, is the probable inventor, as he and his egg rolls are mentioned in newspaper articles published in the early 1930s.

The origin of spring rolls is harder to trace, to the point that what you think of as a spring roll is probably not a traditional spring roll at all! The original spring rolls were more akin to what modern restaurants sell as fresh or salad rolls: rehydrated rice paper filled with fresh vegetables and sometimes cooked shrimp or sliced mango. They’re thought to have originated sometime during China’s Jin Dynasty of 266 to 420 A.D. and were so named because they were stuffed with the first vegetables of spring.

The fried spring roll comes to us via Shanghai, although variations are popular throughout Southeast Asia. In Chinese culture, a stack of spring rolls is said to represent gold bars, and their consumption within two weeks of the new year is supposed to bring wealth to the eater.

Pair Egg Rolls, Spring Rolls, and Fresh Rolls With Whisky

Today, while a minority of restaurants use the various terms somewhat interchangeably, there are pretty much three widely accepted versions of Asian rolls: egg rolls, covered in a substantial, wheat-based wrapper and deep-fried to a chewy texture; spring rolls, wrapped in thin wheat or rice paper and also deep-fried, usually although not necessarily vegetarian; and fresh rolls, mostly vegetarian, wrapped in rice paper, and always served raw.

The last, fresh rolls, are basically salad and as such require a delicate touch when choosing a whisky partner. Dilution is your friend here, with a Toki Highball pairing nicely with plain rolls and something a bit bolder, such as a Maker’s Mark and club soda, for rolls accompanied by a soy or peanut-based dipping sauce.

Egg rolls with a meat filling require a sturdier whisky to balance their greater heft. Try a medium-weight bourbon such as W.L. Weller Special Reserve when having the rolls on their own, or a lightly spicy, somewhat oaky, and slightly sweet Canadian whisky to balance both the meatiness and the sweetness when plum sauce is added.

Vegetarian egg rolls deserve a softer touch. When taken on their own, an unpeated sherry-finished single malt is ideal, with the softness of the whisky balancing the flavors of the roll, and the sherry finish providing a hint of sweetness. Add the sugar of a traditional plum sauce and you’ll fare better with a lighter, leaner, unsherried malt like Bushmills 10 year old.

An unencumbered vegetarian spring roll is an ideal partner to a fresh and lively malt whisky, preferably one with a fair amount of fruitiness to balance the sesame flavors often present. Add a chile dipping sauce, and a fruity rye like George Dickel will serve you well.

Try These Whisky and Asian Roll Pairings

Meat Egg Roll with plum sauce and J.P. Wiser’s Triple Barrel Rye Irish

Blended exclusively for the U.S., the spice and oak tame the sugary sweetness of the sauce while the chewy, meaty roll elevates the body of the whisky.

Vegetarian Egg Roll without sauce and Balvenie DoubleWood Scotch Single Malt

The combination of vanilla and sherry flavors adds a sweetness to the roll, while the crispiness of the wrapper accentuates both attributes.

Vegetarian Spring Roll without sauce and Nikka Coffey Malt

The light banana notes and caramel of the malt serve as an ideal foil to a spring roll accented by a hint of sesame oil, with the roll boosting the fruit of the whisky.