Vietnamese Rice Paper Egg Rolls- Chả Giò

Vietnamese Rice Paper Egg Rolls, also known as Chả Giò. These egg rolls are wrapped in rice paper wrappers. They are crispy on the outside and the rice paper wrapper is also a little chewy on the inside.  These are great in lettuce wraps, as a side dish, in Vermicelli Noodle Bowls, or as a snack.

Growing up, my parents' very close friends, the Hoang's were like family to us. My "Ma Yoong" who was a wonderful cook, would dip her rice paper in beer. It makes sense that the alcohol evaporates quickly in the hot oil, leaving the egg rolls crispy. I use water with a splash of canned coconut milk and vinegar. Some people use just water. The coconut milk helps them not stick together for me. 

The egg rolls on the top row are made with rice paper wraps after their second fry. The ones in the middle that are golden brown are fried twice with flour spring roll wrappers. The egg rolls in the very bottom row have been fried only once. 

For egg rolls wrapped with the flour spring roll wrappers, you can find that post HERE.

Making sure the veggies are as dry as possible. Squeeze as much liquid out as you can. If the filling is too wet, the water can expand in the fryer, and the egg rolls can split.

I use these Spring Roll plates that are like a flat colander. You can also use a dinner plate. 

The coconut milk really helps with frying in batches; these won't stick together. I just shake the basket after a minute or two.

Egg Rolls (Updated to include rice paper wrappers)

1 bundle of Bean thread/cellophane noodles 

2 pounds ground Pork

2 large carrots

1.5 cups grated taro (optional)

1  medium onion

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons chicken powder

2 teaspoons mushroom powder, unsalted (optional; but very flavorful. I make my own by blending dried mushrooms into a powder)

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 eggs

1/3 cup black fungus, soaked in water until soft

1.5 teaspoons Black or white pepper, ground

Rice paper wrappers (see picture)

To dip the rice paper wrappers: 

Warm water in a shallow plate like a pie plate

2 tablespoons of canned coconut milk (optional; this helps the wrappers to not stick)

1 tablespoon white vinegar (optional)

Oil for frying

1. Soak cellophane noodles in warm water until they are pliable. Then drain very well and cut into approximately one-inch pieces. 
2. Drain and rinse black fungus, if using. Slice.
3. Peel the onion and carrots. Grate them. Then squeeze out as much liquid as you can from them.
4. Place all the ingredients into a bowl. Mix to combine ingredients.
5. Dip one rice paper wrapper into the water mixture. Just a quick dip. Place on a plate. 
6.  Place about 1-1.5 tablespoons of filling on a wrapper.  
7. Starting from the bottom, roll up once, covering the filling with the wrapper.
8. Fold the two horizontal sides of the wrapper over the egg roll.
9. Then keep rolling up.
10. Roll the wrapper up and make sure it's sealed. I do two plates at a time. I dip one piece of rice paper and place it on each plate. I wrap one egg roll, dip the next wrapper and place it on the plate so it can soften while I wrap the egg roll on the second plate. 
11. Fry them in hot oil (320*F ) for 5 minutes. Remove from oil and continue frying the rest of the egg rolls. Then turn the oil up to 375*-390* and fry them for another 4 minutes until they are cooked through. Frying them twice makes them extra crispy. If frying in a basket in bigger batches, shake the basket after a couple of minutes to check if there's enough room in your basket to make sure the oil can fry the egg rolls on all sides.
12. Place cooked egg rolls on a cooling rack to drain oil and they stay crispy.

Serve with your favorite sauces, or slice and wrap these up in lettuce with herbs, vegetables, and rice noodles as shown.

• There are so many ways to wrap an egg roll; just make sure it's fairly tight and they are about the same size for even cooking.
• These freeze well with the rice paper wrapper but they need to be fried before freezing. 
• Filling- you can add chicken, ground turkey, shrimp, tofu, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, green onion, etc to this filling. Add what you like.
• These heat up well in an air fryer. 
• Two types of wrappers:
  
  
  
   

  

  
  

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Crispy Pork Belly Vermicelli Salad

 

The Crunchy Pork Belly method can be found HERE.

The dressing recipe is here. Just dilute a bit and add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter dressing.

Glazed Pork Belly

What can I say about this pork? It has a similar profile to Khai Palow and it is so flavorful and good. It is great in Coconut Pandan Rolls, Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, or dinner rolls, also great for Spring Rolls. You can slice it and put it in Ramen bowls. It is so good.  You don't have to use pork belly, this glaze can be used on tofu also. It's one of the best things I've made during sheltering in place. So very good.

Crunchy Pork Belly

I find this method the easiest way to get crunchy pork belly. You can season the pork however you like. I've done Five spice,  char sui style. I only season the underside before putting the pork under the broiler. The skin doesn't need seasoning and it'll burn off under the broiler in the oven anyway.

Maple Almond Bacon

I recently went to brunch and they have Maple Pecan bacon. It was so yummy. My oldest can not eat pecans so I thought I would recreate that bacon at home for her with a nut she can have. This is very simple to make. The salty sweet crunchy flavors and texture combined is satisfying, the almonds and bacon both get a little caramelized from the maple syrup.  This bacon is great for breakfast, brunch, on top of a salad, on top of a creamy soup, or served as hors d'oeuvres. 

Sesame Ginger Salad and Kabobs

Whole 30 Sesame Ginger Skewers.

This meal is pretty quick to put together. The marinade doubles as a salad dressing that we just love. Because this is a Whole 30 complaint meal there is no soy, dairy, gluten, grains, or processed sugar. I promise you won't even miss them! My oldest kids and I have this favorite Korean BBQ place that we used to go to before I started Whole 30. They have this salad that is so good, it's light but flavorful. We ask for 3 bowls to share each time we go! Each bowl has a few servings. One day I was making this marinade and my oldest child walked by and goes "Mom, what is that smell! It smells like my favorite salad from the Korean place!" So I asked her to taste it and she said it's even better because the ginger has a kick. The restaurant doesn't use ginger. She asked me to not use all of it for a marinade so she could have it over salad. That is how this Sesame Ginger Salad came about.

Fusion Seen Dat (Lao BBQ)

This isn't a true Lao Seen Dat, the marinades and sauces I developed from flavors we enjoy. It's more a fusion I guess. But Seen in Lao is "meat", Dat means to sear. This method is used to cook meats to wrap in lettuce or rice paper wraps. It's so yummy.

Spicy Sausage Seasoning

Gluten Free Spicy Sausage Patties

Gearing up for another attempt at Whole30 maybe Paleo for this May. Eek. So that means some meal prep. You may think I am constantly eating three square meals a day, but really I sometimes forget about lunch and breakfast during the week. I don't get around it eating sometimes, and I know that's horrible for me. I usually get tired, or end up eating a billion calories late at night. This time around I am going to try to prep some (more) meals ahead of time and see if it helps me be more successful.

Lao Bitter Melon Soup

Bitter Melon Soup

 Bitter melon, or bitter gourd. As a child I didn't like eating it at all. So bitter. But there's something about this flavor. It's not just bitter, it's ... complex. A word I'm using because it's just hard to describe. Like I said, as a child I didn't appreciate this at all. My mom would always say "it's medicinal!" She was really ahead of her time, now you can find this stuff in capsules! We were drinking Aloe Vera tea, artichoke tea, choking down two tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar before it was hipster. Sigh. Maybe that's why I'm built like an ox. *snort*

Roasted Stuffed Bell Peppers

Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers

There are some meals around here that I only make once in a blue moon. One of those is stuffed bell peppers. Besides me, there's only one other person here that likes them. How sad is that? They are so yummy. It's just one of those recipes I don't make often because when I do, I make two meals. Which is something I rarely do, who has time for that? The good thing is I can make a double batch
The original recipe I was given for these uses minute rice. I never have this on hand. I usually have to buy rice just for this. Which isn't wise, because this would be the only recipe I use it in. I asked around about using regular white rice. Some people said they used raw rice, some used under cooked, some used cooked that was day old. Because I like to keep the meat raw and not precook it in a skillet, raw or under cooked rice works best. Fully cooked rice gets a bit mushy. I also discovered that we much prefer the peppers roasted first. The flavor reminds me of roasted Hatch Green Chile. So good, and there's no skin on the peppers which I don't really like. It's perfect.

Double Pan Fried Noodles or Mee Korb

 Chinese New Year comes early this year so I thought I would share a favorite noodle dish around here. Double Pan Fried noodles are an absolute favorite way to have noodles at our house. They have always been a childhood favorite of mine also. If you haven't had them, make sure you try them the next time you're out for Chinese food. Or make them at home.

You can use any vegetables or protein you like for this, just stir fry it all up and ladle over the noodles. YUM!

Here's the method for Double Pan Fried Noodles or Mee Korb, is what we call it.

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Lao Steamed Egg with Minced Pork

Lao Steamed Egg Instant Pot method.

 This is another one of those dishes that I grew up with that I love to eat but just never blogged. I don't have a ton of Lao recipes on this blog because... well because they are dishes that I just make. I never sat down to take measurements of them. I didn't grow up with measurements while cooking them, Neither did my mom. I realize that these may be the recipes the kids want someday. So I'm trying to get through them and post some as much as I can. This dish makes me think of my childhood. I hope you'll try it.

This was steamed in a 8 inch pan.

My mom would make this in a steamer on the stove. I have included instructions for stove top steaming and pressure cooking. I use an Instant Pot. I am sure you can use another pressure cooker though.

Freezer Tip: Stock Bag, Schmaltz Bag

Chicken stock bag and schmaltz bags for the freezer..

Hello! Quick Freezer Tip post today on two things. Stock bags and Schmaltz. I make several types of stock: seafood, beef, chicken, pork, vegetables. Often times I'll combine a couple or more. There's always vegetables in the beef, chicken, or pork. Often times I'll make beef stock and add pork. I don't mind adding chicken bones to a beef stock. But because chicken has a more delicate flavor I don't use beef or pork bones in that stock. For seafood I don't add any other bones or meats. 

So what's a stock bag, and what do I put in them? A stock bag is a I keep in the freezer, labeled with whatever the end result should be. The bag above is obvious as those are all chicken bones, but normally I would label the bag "chicken stock". Any bones from chickens, I throw in there. If I roast a chicken I'll break down the carcass and toss the bones in the bag. Kidneys and hearts we actually eat, but if we didn't they would go into the stock bag. Liver I wouldn't put in stock because it gets cloudy and tends to give off a metallic flavor I don't like. 

Mok Pa

Lao Mok Pa made with Tilapia. 

Mo Pa is a fragrant steamed fish made with fresh herbs like dill, lemongrass, kaffir leaves and garlic. It's a Lao dish that I grew up with, we ate it with sticky rice. Growing up I had Mok Pa made with catfish, but any white fish will do. I have used salmon, you can see in some of the pictures. Salmon needs less time to cook or it dries out, but it's good!

Kālua Pig (Slow Cooker, Instant Pot)

Kalua Pig from the Instant Pot

I've sadly never been to Hawaii. Maybe one day. I have had pork and even beef cooked in a pit/hole in the ground though, and both are insanely delicious. So very tender, juicy, and flavorful, despite the absence of spices and herbs. Usually just salt. I remember as a child, we went to visit my cousins on their farm. One time they had a bunch of people over and they cooked a cow in the ground. IT WAS AMAZING. Just a little salt, smokey good flavor from the smoke and the earth. Perfection. I suspect Kālua Pig, or is like that, if so, this comes pretty darn close. Authentic or not this recipe is so yum. Anything wrapped in banana leaf is going to have a beautiful flavor from them also. I'll be posting a traditional Lao dish using banana leaves soon that is savory. Until then here is a sweet dessert that's wrapped in banana leaves called Khao Tom Mad.

Ginger Soy Short Ribs

I'm updating this recipe that was posted here in 2009. Just some small changes but they pack a punch!  These ribs are so good served with rice, roasted or steamed vegetables, cucumber/papaya salad, and a side of Lao Tomato Chutney.

When prepping one batch of these short ribs, double the recipe! Place one recipe of these Ginger Soy Short Ribs in a foodsaver or zip bag. Put it in the freezer for another night, easy peasy.

All the marinade ingredients can be put in a blender and pureed to make the process quicker.

Creamy Lemon Pasta

Creamy Lemon Pasta with bacon.

 This pasta is the perfect easy weeknight dish. It's so simple and so quick to make. The lemon and parsley brightens and brings freshness. There were no leftovers here!
You can use pancetta for this dish or bacon. Whatever you have on hand.
This is a dish your children can help prep, but it's so easy children 8 and up can prepare it with little supervision. Just draining the pasta really.

Rosemary Molasses Pork Chops and Onions

Rosemary Molasses Pork Chops smothered with onions, drool.

Rosemary. Molasses. MMMM. Something about earthy fragrant rosemary and thick sweet molasses reminds me of Fall weather. I can't wait for the cool crisp weather! These pork chops will make an appearance often!
I'm updating this recipe to streamline it a bit. No oven to finish these off. You can still use and oven, but some nights I just don't have time for that. you can find the original recipe here. Using the oven does make the skillet easier to clean. These pork chops get beautifully caramelized from the molasses, so the skillet also gets well... carmalized. So you may need an extra skillet to cook the onions. Searing the chops and using bone in chops helps keep them moist. They are wonderful served over mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, mashed cauliflower, quinoa, cous cous, rice... or just as is! Need a side dish? How about spiced apples? Oh. My.

Lao Style Egg Rolls

Egg Rolls are a childhood favorite of mine.
My children enjoy them also.
We eat them "plain" or in lettuce wraps.

I originally posted this Egg Roll "method" here. It's not really a recipe because I tend to make my Egg Rolls with whatever is on hand. This time around I threw in 1/3 cup of black fungus, that was soaked in water and rinsed well. I do prefer pork in my egg rolls, but I don't mind doing half

 pork and turkey or chicken. I feel beef is a little over powering.

There is a recipe for Vietnamese Rice Paper Egg Rolls-  Chả Giò HERE.

Golden brown goodness: Egg Rolls

Thai Basil Stir Fry

Thai Basil Stir Fry. Fresh, fragrant, flavorful. This stir fry comes together quickly for a great weeknight meal. I used ground chicken tonight, but ground turkey, sliced pork, slicked chicken, tofu, or sliced beef can be used. I hope you'll enjoy this Give Peas A Chance favorite, you can find the recipe in this post.
I hope that you were able to spend Mother's day with loved ones.