Spring rolls, a classic feature of any Chinese feast, are made from crispy wrappers filled with a variety of ingredients ranging from duck to chicken and vegetables.
The distinctive crunch of a well-made spring roll, coupled with its hot savoury filling, is something anyone who enjoys a Chinese meal is familiar with.
For those planning to prepare their own meal at home but don’t have the time to make their own spring rolls, supermarkets offer pre-made versions of this dim sum staple that simply need to be heated in the oven or microwave.
Given the popularity of Chinese meals around the Lunar New Year, the Liverpool Echo team decided to compare the spring roll offerings from several supermarkets to determine which one was the best.
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The team visited Tesco, M&S, Asda and Morrisons to purchase a pack of spring rolls. They also tried Aldi and Lidl but these budget stores didn’t have any refrigerated spring rolls in stock.
In an effort to maintain fairness, they opted for the supermarket’s own brand spring rolls from each store, avoiding the pricier ‘finest’ options that appeared more luxurious.
They also aimed to purchase similar products from each shop, choosing larger spring rolls over mini versions as the size and shape could affect the cooking consistency.
All spring rolls were cooked in an air fryer to ensure optimal crispiness before being subjected to a blind taste test. Here are their thoughts on each product, along with their respective prices.
Morrisons – Four vegetable spring rolls – £1.50
Regrettably, the Morrisons spring rolls were all filler, no thriller. They were brimming with filling and had a generous amount of crunchy vegetables, but the team found them to be largely tasteless.
The taste testers’ criticisms included ‘too much onion’ and ‘no spice’. The overall consensus was that these spring rolls were bland and uninspiring, but not horrible.
With four in a pack, the individual spring rolls were larger than those bought from other supermarkets selling their spring rolls in a six-pack. And at £1.50 per pack, they were the most affordable option of all the spring rolls.
Score: 2/5
Asda – Six vegetable spring rolls – £1.86
The most significant feedback on Asda’s spring rolls related to the casing, which the taste testers unanimously agreed was too thick. This imbalance between filling and wrapper was a let-down, despite the pastry itself being quite tasty.
Unlike the Morrisons spring roll, Asda’s version was flavourful, nicely spiced and had the classic taste you’d expect from this dim sum item. However, the thick pastry slightly marred the overall experience, leading to a deduction in points.
This one found itself comfortably in the middle of the pack – overall, average.
Score: 3/5
M&S – Six vegetable spring rolls – £3
Priced at £3 per packet, the M&S spring rolls were by far the priciest option, with a price tag double that of the Morrisons alternative. However, it appears that quality comes at a cost, as these spring rolls received high praise from the taste testers.
They were crunchy, flavourful and had the ideal ratio of filling to wrapper. These weren’t just any spring rolls, they were M&S spring rolls.
Score: 4/5
Tesco – Six vegetable spring rolls – £1.75 (Clubcard price)
The taste testers were far from impressed with the spring rolls from Tesco. The overall experience, texture and flavour were compared to eating the cardboard tube from a toilet roll by several reviewers.
One critic mentioned that the proportion of casing to filling was disappointing, while others described the contents as ‘flavourless and limp’. In conclusion, they won’t be adding this item to their shopping list in the future.