Vietnamese egg rolls

Cha Gio

The Vietnamese name for egg rolls is cha gio, and they are quite different from the traditional Chinese egg rolls. The secret is the use of rice paper. Rice paper is hard to work with, but you will never go back once you try cha gio.

I worked with a Vietnamese petroleum engineer in Houston, Texas. He and his wife escaped Vietnam after the collapse of South Vietnam. We became good friends and his wife invited my wife and I over for this delicacy. I coaxed her into giving me the recipe, and I am eternally grateful.  As you might have guessed, I have made a few variations on the original recipe.

Ingredients (serves 6):

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons – fish sauce (can be purchased in most supermarkets, or if not there, in an Asian market)
• ¼ cup – peeled cucumber (seeds removed), shredded
• 1 tablespoon – sesame seeds
• ½ cup – rice vinegar
• 5 tablespoons – sugar
• 2 tablespoons – fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons – water
• 1 tablespoon – red pepper, shredded
• 1 clove – garlic, minced

Filling:

• 1 pound – ground pork (I prefer to grind it myself to keep the fat down)
• ½ pound – cooked shrimp, diced
• ½ -- medium onion, chopped
• ½ head – cabbage, shredded
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 – large eggs

• 30 sheets – rice paper (also called spring roll wraps – available in Asian markets)
• ½ to ¾ gallons – canola oil

Fish sauce

Cooked shrimp

Shredded cabbage

Preparation:

Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce in a medium bowl and place in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, mix all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Heat the oil to 300 degrees F. Dip a sheet of rice paper in warm water just to moisten (the paper should remain somewhat firm). Place flat on a plate and add a large spoonful of filling near the end of the wrap. Fold the short end of the wrap over the filling and then drap each side of the wrap over the filling lengthwise.  Then roll the filling up.  The rolls should end up about 3 inches long and about the size of a quarter thick. Do not make them the size of regular Chinese egg rolls. These should be smaller. Let them set out to dry for about 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.

Filling

Sequence of pictures showing how to roll egg rolls

Add the rolls to the oil and cook until they begin to brown. If you have let the rolls dry properly they should not stick to each other.  But try to keep them apart when you first put them in the oil.   I try to cook 3 or 4 at once perhaps even up to seven depending on the size of the skillet.

Egg rolls cooking in oil

Cooked egg rolls

 

Serve with the sauce.  Bon appétit.

 

J. Botticelli