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Jun 25, 2010

Review: Jack in the Box - Egg Roll

Jack in the Box Egg Roll
Out of all the major food chains, Jack in the Box probably offers the most variety. They can dish up a reasonable facsimile of whatever it is you're craving, from their mainstay of burgers and fries to tacos to egg rolls?! Yup. Egg Rolls. Jack in the Box serves Chinese-style Egg Rolls fried crispy and filled with diced pork, cabbage, celery, carrots, and onions with sweet and sour sauce to dip it in.

They're priced at $1.29 each or $3.39 for three. However, if the "3 for $3" promotion is still running in your area, it is available as a selection.
Jack in the Box Egg Roll cross section
Just an FYI, I'm not a fan of Chinese-style egg rolls in general. Most Chinese restaurants don't even serve them and when they do, the egg rolls seem to be inevitably filled with mostly cabbage and bits of every thing else. The result is mostly tasteless. Which is why Jack in the Box's Egg Rolls surprised me.

It was fried fresh to order and was very crunchy as a result. There was also plenty of juicy diced pork inside to complement the cabbage and other vegetables. The Egg Roll was also neutral enough to take on sweet and sour sauce, which it went well with. It was, however, on the small side for $1.29 but I wouldn't say unreasonably so. All in all, probably the best Chinese-style egg roll I've had (I've had much better Vietnamese-style ones though). If you actually like Chinese-style egg rolls, definitely give it a try.

Jack in the Box Restaurant Locations

Nutritional Info - 1 egg roll (58g)
Calories - 147 (from Fat - 65)
Fat - 7g (Saturated Fat - 2g)
Sodium - 317mg
Carbs - 15g ( Sugar - 2g)
Protein - 5g

8 comments:

  1. I've introduced a lot of people to JitB's egg rolls over the years, and everyone has been surprised at how good they are, especially for a fast food chain.

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  2. Just out of curiosity, what are your requirements for an egg roll to be considered "Chinese-style"? And do you mean that most Chinese restaurants don't serve egg rolls? Or do you mean that they serve egg rolls, but they're not "Chinese-style"? Because personally, i've never been to a Chinese restaurant (buffet, sit-down, carry-out, or otherwise) that DIDN'T serve an egg roll of some sort...

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  3. @Andrew: Hm, well, the Chinese-style egg roll isn't really traditional Chinese, it's more typical American Chinese like chop suey. I see them mostly at buffets and Chinese take out places, not so much the sitdown places, which around here, are more traditional Chinese cuisine (which also vary somewhat as they specialize in cuisines from different regions).

    Anyway, a "Chinese-style" egg roll is usually filled with vegetables (mostly cabbage) and ground pork and wrapped in a wheat flour wrapper.

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  4. When I read your first sentence I was thinking "yea yea lumpia's not bad, but I'll take a Jack in the Box egg roll any day"

    Because JITB egg rolls are really good, if on the pricey side for their size. I far prefer them over almost any other egg roll I've ever tried. The review is spot on, they're fried and crunchy, with a good balance of pork and veggies. No, I'm not familiar with the Vietnamese egg rolls mentioned in the review, so again I'm probably missing out there.

    After reading more of your comment though, I realize I probably just haven't had great lumpia. There's a place in my town where it's really popular, and I would say it's just decent. I wouldn't turn it down, but it's nothing special. That's too bad, it sounds like the good stuff is pretty yummy.

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  5. I agree with thee.

    Every lumpia I have eaten that was made/sold within the USA was sub-par in my opinion.

    I never returned to any of the various lumpia outlets I ate at in the Frisco Bay area and I went to several when I lived in that area.

    Basically..... yech!!!!!! Blah!!!!  Greasy and non-tasty... ptui spit spit spit.

    Here, east of the now flattened burgh of Joplin, Mo, I did find one lumpia source... An "Asian grocery store" run by Korean immigrants.

    They have frozen cook-yourself lumpia.  Expensive but I had to try them.

    Made in a factory in Chicago they can be baked or fried in oil per instructions.

    I used both cooking methods and the output was yech, ptui, non-edible. Much like the lumpia I ate in California.

    The Philippine-sourced lumpia were smaller, non-greasy and non-oily.

    Ample meat with roughly equal amounts of veggies.

    Also, made constantly. I did not see any frozen ingredients used. New lumpia constantly being prepared and cooked with a steady flow sent to buyers.

    I wonder if that made a difference for the taste difference between those lumpia and the lumpia I had in the USA were immense!!!!!!!!

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  6. Did you know Shwanns pork eggrolls ARE Jack in The box eggrolls. Schwanns sells them to Jack In The Box.. So If you want them a *bit* cheaper , buy them from Schwanns.

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  7. That's cool, and it's not that surprising. Schwans has some decent food. I wish I would've known this back when we bought from them.

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  8. I finally got some from Schwans and you're right! In addition to saving a little money on the egg rolls, to have the convenience of having them in the freezer is great.

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