Vietnamese Egg Rolls | Cha Gio

We had a Secret Santa gift exchange on Wednesday at the company and held a potluck to open the gifts while enjoying good food. I signed up to bring in egg rolls. This was my second time ever making them, usually I just help with prepping, rolling, or frying while Phuong or Mom does the seasoning. I'm substituting what usually would call for ground pork with ground chicken.

For 50 egg rolls:

You'll need to defrost 2 packs of wrappers (Spring Roll Pastry).


Soak a handful of dried woodear mushrooms in warm water for 10 minutes.


At the same time, soak 2-3 bundles of cellophane/bean thread noodles in warm water for 10 minutes(I used 4, but should have cut back on 1)


Meantime, shred 1 medium carrot.


Drain and mince the mushrooms. Drain and cut the softened noodles into about 1 inch pieces. Cut the carrots into small pieces. Combine 2 lbs of ground chicken with the mushrooms, noodles, carrots, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 3 shallots. Season to taste with fish sauce, salt, black pepper, hot pepper flakes, and sugar.


Mix ingredients thoroughly. (Microwave test to see if you may need to adjust seasoning)


Lay the wrapper so that it looks like a diamond and spoon some of the filling onto the corner closest to you.


Roll forward 1/3 of the way, tightly.


Fold in the two sides, and continue to roll forward. When you reach the end, dab a little water on the tip and seal.


Continue to roll the rest of the egg rolls, best to lay it on seal side.


Heat up some corn oil in a shallow pot (or deep fryer)


When oil is hot enough for frying, drop the egg rolls in and cook on medium heat, when they're golden brown and floating to the top, they're done.


Pull from oil and let drain on basket lined with paper towels and newspaper.


Phuong taught me a tip on how to transport them easily and keep them crispy (not putting them in a tubberware and covering it). Fold down a large brown paper bag and line with paper towels.


Stack the egg rolls straight up. Neat way to serve it too!

The delicious spread: Meatballs w/ BBQ sauce, Spinach Pie, Sushi, Wings, Stuffed Grape Leafs, Fruit Salad, Salad and various Pasta Salads, Turkey Chili, Hummus, Tamales, and Banana Pudding.














Yum!

All these good eats along with all the chocolate gifts scattered all around the office...will have to hit the gym for sure after the holidays.