Chả Giò - Vietnamese Style Eggrolls Version 2.0

This version of egg-roll is what everyone is familiar with.  It is a flour based wrapper used to make popiah.  It was readily available in America during the early years and has replaced the rice paper as the wrapper.


Filling:
1 lb ground pork/chicken
4-5 shiitake mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup shredded cabbage
1/3 cup shredded carrots
1 small bundle mung bean thread


1 pkg egg roll/Spring roll wrapper
Oil


Note on the wrapper brands:
The wrapper choice is a personal one.  I recommend the Spring Home brand.  I know many who like Wei-Chuan but it burns too easily for me.  I don't know if it is the filling that contributes to how it cooks, but I have never had any success with Wei-Chuan.



Combine all the ingredients under filling and set aside.  Use about 2 Tbsp of filling.

Below came from my version 1.0 post.  It is a similar concept , but it is shaped like a square.  Just turn it sideways to a diamond/rhombus shape, with a corner pointing at you.

You want to make sure that your oil is hot.  Fry it until is a golden brown color.

Bò Lúc Lắc - Shaken Beef Salad

Bò Lúc Lắc literally translate to shaken beef.  Normally, the beef are cut into cubes pieces so when you cook it, it is still rare/medium rare in the middle.  The method I prefer is to do thin slices so when I marinade it, the flavors will come through.  You don't have to get a expensive cut of beef to make this dish.  I suggest a London broil because usually it a single muscle.  In order to achieve a very thin slice, you need a very sharp knife and the beef to be frozen enough where it is stiff yet pliable.

You can substitute the watercress with a lettuce.

1/2 lb beef, sliced thinly
3-5 cloves garlic, finely minced, divided
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white mushrooms, optional

1 large ripe tomato, vine ripen preferred
1/2 cucumber sliced in rounds or half rounds
1 pkg watercress or head lettuce of your choice (not romaine) or 1 prepackage bag of salad mix


3 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp neutral oil, like canola
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp of sugar
1-2 tsp lime juice


Marinade the thinly sliced beef with oyster sauce and half the minced garlic.  Set aside for about 15 minutes.  Heat up a pan with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Drop in the garlic, onions, and mushroom.  Sautee until the mushroom takes on color.  Add the beef and cook as long enough to your liking.

Prepare the salad and arrange on the plate.  Mix the vinaigrette and drizzle over the salad. Toss the warm beef mixture on top.

Chả Giò - Vietnamese Style Eggrolls Version 1.0

I know many of you are looking at this picture and thinking that I am crazy.  When you ordered your egg rolls at restaurants, it doesn't look like this!  I thought the very same thing 20+ years ago.  My mother told me that the flour sheets that we all are familiar with isn't what is used in Vietnam.  When I asked her why she doesn't make it like how it is made in Vietnam, she told me that the rice paper that is used, at that time, was too salty and the flour sheets are easy to fry and doesn't pose any danger when making them.

When I went away to college, I decided to give the rice paper a try.  My mother's words were right.  It is also difficult to make because the rice paper that is available in America is dry and there is an extra step of wetting them.  When I went to fry them, they bubbled up and will explode hot oil at you.

Now that I am older and more experienced with my techniques, I tried making it again with rice paper.  Now the rice paper that is available now isn't as salty before.  I buy the 16 cm rounds, so that I can wet two at a time, making process faster.  I allow the rolls to dry up a little before I start frying them.  I use a sauce pan to fry them in, instead of a frying pan.  The higher sides blocks a lot of the splattering oil.  I also cook in smaller batches, giving me the chance to control the "bubble" and avoid being hit by hot oil.

The recipe I am sharing here is a drier version of the eggrolls I normally make.  It is usually a hybrid of the Chinese version, mixing cabbage into the filling to lighten it up.  Cabbage has a higher water content and frying with the rice paper equates to a dangerous combination.

Filling:
1/2 lb ground pork/chicken
4-5 shiitake mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
1 carrot, chopped finely
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt

16 cm rounds of rice paper
Oil

Combine all the ingredients under filling and set aside.

For beginners, you need to do one rice paper at a time.  Don't wet it like how you see people do it online or on tv by letting it sit in the water until it is limp.  Just dip the rice paper into the water and wet the sheet completely and put it on your flat surface immediately.  Take 1-2 tsp of the filling and add it to lower center portion of your paper.  The paper should have soften enough to work with. Fold up the bottom portion, making sure that the filling is tucked in tightly.  Fold the two sides in.  Roll up to close.  I made a diagram and I hope it is helpful.  It's like rolling a burrito.

When you are frying, add one at a time and turn it continuously in the oil.  Doing this will allow the eggroll to develop a "skin"  of bubbles.  When you see the skin of bubbles, add the next roll and do the same thing.  Repeat this process.  Don't overcrowd the pot or you will have one big eggroll.  You will fry them until it has a gold brown color.  

I love serving this with some pickled daikon and carrots with some soft leaf lettuce and Vietnamese dipping sauce.

Thuy's Wanton Soup - Sup Hoanh Thanh

Filling:
1/2 lb ground pork/chicken
2 stalks chopped green onion
2 Tbsp dried chopped onion (or 1 small onion diced and sauteed until translucent)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp sugar

Soup:
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp kosher salt, optional
2 tsp fish sauce
3 cups roughly chopped bok choy
1-2 drops of sesame seed oil

wonton wrappers
chopped green onions and cilantro


Mix all the filling ingredients and place 1/2 to 1 tsp of filling per wrapper.  Seal edges with water and set aside.

In a soup pot, sautee the garlic until fragrant and add the broth.  Throw in the wonton and bok choy.  Cook until bok choy is wilted.  Add in the remaining ingredients for the soup.  Taste and adjust to your taste.  Add the cilantro and green onions at the end.