Vietnamese egg rolls, also called spring rolls, are one of
my favorite Vietnamese treats! Called “cha gio” in Vietnamese, they can be
served as a delicious crispy appetizer, party snack, or incorporated on top of
vermicelli noodles as a meal.
Outline of steps to make 50+ egg rolls:
- Lay out all 3 bowls (A, B, C) and mix according to the ingredients below.
- Combine and mix bowls A, B, C into one large bowl.
- Wrap egg rolls using wrappers and egg roll filling mix (2.5 inch average length, slightly flat). Use egg white to seal wrapper ends. [See photo diagram below]
- Deep fry until crispy.
- Make dipping sauce.
- Serve with dipping sauce and fresh vegetables of your choice (i.e. lettuce, mint, cilantro).
Ingredients to make the egg roll filling:
Bowl A (mix all well):
- 4-5 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in hot water, drained – then small diced
- 2 bundles of dried bean thread noodles (or 1 cup), soaked in hot water, drained – then chopped (0.25 inch strands)
- 1 slice of large taro root, peeled and small diced (making 1 cup)
- 6-8 fresh water chestnuts, small diced
- 4 scallions, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4-6 shallots (medium-sized), minced [or 0.5 onion + 2 shallots, minced]
- 20 cilantro stems, minced
- 1-2 carrots, peeled, finely shredded, and chopped (1.5-inch strands)
- add 2 eggs, beaten (full eggs or egg whites only OK)
- add seasoning (see below)
Bowl B (mix):
- 1 lb shrimp (or 20 shrimp medium-sized), washed with vinegar & salt water, then rinsed. Peeled, deveined, and minced [pounded to tenderize, and chopped into chunks]
- add seasoning (see below)
Bowl C (mix):
- 1 pork tenderloin (or 1 lb ground pork), minced [tenderloin cut into smaller pieces, pounded to tenderize, and finely chopped]
- add seasoning (see below)
Seasoning for egg roll filling (total – the following split between all 3 bowls):
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1.5 teaspoons fine ground pepper
- 1.5 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
Ingredients for wrapping & frying:
- 2 packages of spring roll wrappers, thaw for 5 minutes
- 1 egg (use egg whites only) as “glue” for sealing wrapper ends
- Canola Oil for deep frying
Dipping sauce ingredients:
- 1 part sugar
- 2 parts water
- 1 part fish sauce
- 0.25 part lime/lemon juice
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- Chili – as needed (fresh or garlic chili sauce)
Optional ingredients (for egg roll filling):
- Use ground pork instead of pork tenderloin
- Use jicama (to replace water chestnuts or as addition to current recipe)
- Add 1 can (4 oz) crab meat
- MSG as flavor enhancer
Advice:
- After step 1, test the egg roll filling mix by taking 1 teaspoon of the mix and insert into microwave until cooked. Taste, then add additional seasoning as necessary.
- Do not wrap egg rolls too tightly or too round – they will expand slightly when fried and cause egg rolls to break. Slightly flat rolls will round out once fried.
- Wear gloves when handling taro root, to avoid itchyness
- Use large / big taro root (not the small type which will become mushy)
- Asian supermarkets are recommended to find ingredients such as: dried bean thread noodles, dried wood ear mushroom, large taro root, fresh water chestnuts, spring roll wrappers, fish sauce, and soy sauce
Select ingredients (for reference purposes, from left to right): dried wood ear mushrooms, dried bean thread noodles, large taro root, water chestnuts, scallions, garlic, shallots, cilantro stems, bowl A, bowls B & C, spring roll wrappers (use of either brand is recommended: TYJ spring roll pastry or Menlo wrappers)
Egg roll wrapping steps (from left to right): Lay wrapper on plate and fold bottom corner, spread spoonful of mix evenly on top of corner, roll mix forward so it touches wrap & tuck edges in, fold over 1 side, fold over other side creating "envelope shape", roll mix forward once, use back of spoon (or brush) to apply small amount of egg white onto edges as a sealer, roll forward to complete egg roll
