1. CHA GIO BY THAO & THUY

2.  In our family, the most favorite dish has to be Vietnamese egg rolls. There can never be too many egg rolls. We always make a huge batch for most the family party and it always magically disappears or enjoy to take home after.  Vietnamese egg rolls are traditionally made with rice paper giving the egg rolls a nice crispy exterior.  We can also be made with phyllo egg roll wrappers found in the frozen section of the Asian market.  We can make with Chinese egg roll wrappers available at most grocery stores but the egg rolls will have a thicker skin and not as light as the other wrappers.

3. What ingredients go into an egg roll? You can make it with just meat or vegetables. I like the combination of : meat, seafood and vegetables. Below is a list of substitutable ingredients – you can choose one or a combination of ingredients:  Ground meat: pork, turkey, chicken  Seafood: shrimp, lump crab meat  Vegetables: shredded cabbage, shredded carrots The saver is to buy pre-cut Cole-slaw package instead of shredding cabbage and carrots.

5.  1 lb ground meat – pork  ½ pound peeled shrimp  1 cup of lump crab meat (optional)  3 chopped garlic cloves  1 carrot, peeled and shredded  ¼ cabbage, shredded (optional)  2 ounce dried vermicelli noodles  1 ounce dried black fungus/cloud ear mushrooms  2-3 large eggs  Ground black pepper  2-3 tbsp of fish sauce (depending on taste)  2 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)  Egg roll wrappers – 12 oz package (25-50 rice paper sheets, 5 inch diameter)  Frying oil – vegetable, corn, canola, peanut

6.  2 garlic cloves chopped or smashed  1 fresh Thai Chili (or ¼ tsp of hot chili peppers flakes)  ¼ cup fish sauce  2/3 cup water  2 tbsp fresh lime/lemon juice  ¼ cup sugar  2-4 tbsp shredded carrots (or Vietnamese Relish)

7.  1 washed head of lettuce (crisp head, butter head or red leaf)  1 cucumber julienned  1 bunch of cilantro

8.  1. Soak vermicelli noodles and mushrooms in a bowl of warm water for 20 minutes.  2. In a food processor pulse grind shrimp, crab meat, garlic until roughly chopped. Add to mixture, drained vermicelli noodles and mushrooms, pulse grind briefly until all ingredients are integrated.  3. In a large mixing bowl, transfer ingredients from food processor and combine with ground meat, shredded vegetables (optional). Add black pepper, fish sauce, and 2 eggs. Use hands to mix ingredients together. If the mixture seems dry, add the other egg.

9.  4. Wrapping the egg rolls with phyllo egg roll.  Peel it off the towel and place on to a plate.  Lay 1 ½ tbsp of filling on the lower edge of the rice paper, near you, leaving 1 inch edge.  Begin to fold egg roll like an envelope: first, fold over the lower 1 inch edge over the filling, then the left edge, then the right edge. Now roll the roll up to the top edge.  Place the wrapped egg roll on a platter and keep on rolling!

10.  5. Cooking.  Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium high heat. Test the oil by dipping the tip of a wooden spoon or wooden chop stick – if it bubbles around the tip then the oil is ready. Place egg roll one at a time into hot oil, with the seam down (this will keep it from unraveling) and then quickly turn the egg roll to ensure the skin crisp up and does not stick to other egg rolls in the pan.  Adjust heat so that the oil is bubbling gently and not too vigorously around the egg rolls. Each egg roll will take about 5 minutes to cook – golden brown spots and skin is super crispy. Shake the egg roll over the pan to help remove the excess oil.  Place egg roll on layers of paper towels to drain.

11.  6. Make the sweet fish sauce for dipping.  Either finely chop garlic and chili OR use a mortar and pestle to smash garlic and hot chili. If you are using chili flakes, no need to smash.  Place the chopped or smashed garlic and pepper into a small bowl then add the rest of the ingredients for the dressing.  Stir well until sugar dissolves. If the sauce is not quite sweet enough add a bit more sugar. If the sauce is too sweet and not tangy enough for your taste, squeeze in some lime/lemon juice to cut the sweetness.

12.  Of course, we can eat egg rolls without anything else.  Often egg rolls are served at restaurants with the lettuce wrap fixings.  If you want to make egg rolls more of a meal.

13.  Prepare the lettuce wrap fixings: gently unwrap and separate the lettuce, one leaf at a time and arrange leaves on serving platter. On another small plate, arrange the julienned cucumber and the cilantro.  How to eat: use lettuce as a wrap and place the egg roll in the middle with the cucumber, coriander, roll the lettuce up (like a burrito). Dip into sauce and enjoy.

14.  Prepare: you can cut the egg rolls into bite size and serve with rice noodles. The rice noodles (thin, round variety – Bun) are cooked and cooled to room temperature.  How to eat: in individual serving bowls, top rice noodles with shredded lettuce, julienned cucumber, sprigs of cilantro and plenty of bite size egg rolls. Final touch to the cold egg roll noodle bowl is to dress it with the sweet fish sauce.

15.  The left over’s you can place it in a zip-lock baggie lined with paper towels and refrigerate.  Just plop them in the oven on 350˚ for 7-10 minutes and they are nice and crispy again.