Cha Gio (Vietnamese Eggrolls)

Mom's eggrolls have always been delicious and now she's teaching me how to make them! I figured why not share with you all! Please continue reading if you want to learn how to make awesome eggrolls :)

Ingredients:

2 lb ground pork
2 cups taro, julienne or chopped
1 cup carrots, julienne
2 bunch vermicelli glass noodles/bean thread (see pic, pink package)
1/2 cup sliced black fungus (dried mushroom, see pic)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
1-2 tsp salt to your taste
2 packages frozen egg roll wrapper/sheets, thawed (you can find these at most oriental food markets)
1 egg (yolk and white separated)
1 tsp Knorr chicken broth mix powder (optional)

Yield: This recipe makes 45-50 eggrolls, you can cut the ingredients in half if you want to make less.

-Before we get rolling (pun intended ^.^), we have to soak the black fungus in water (15-20 minutes) to soften it. Rinse the black fungus several times to eliminate the smell. Dry the black fungus really well and chop the black fungus into smaller pieces (see pic).
-Next soak the vermicelli in water for (15-20 minutes) to soften and expand. Dry the vermicelli really well and cut into smaller pieces (same size as fungus).
-Peel carrot and taro and cut into small pieces (see pic).
-Remember to thaw the egg roll wrappers so they are pliable to work with.

In a large bowl, mix pork, onion, garlic and shallots together. Then continue to mix in black fungus, carrots, and taro. Lastly, mix in salt, pepper, sugar, fish sauce, egg yolk and chicken powder. Mix with hands (gloves recommended) to ensure the ingredients are well mixed. We also need to prepare a small bowl with egg white and a small pastry brush. Now we're ready to roll!

Please refer to pictures if needed.

Step 1
Place egg roll wrapper on a large plate and fold about one third way up.

Step 2
Place about one full Tbsp of eggroll meat onto the wrapper.

Step 3
Fold the outer sides in so that they almost touch the opposite side.

Step 4
Roll tightly up about halfway.

Step 5
Brush a little bit of egg white around the top of the wrapper.

Step 6
Then continue to tightly roll all the way up. Repeat until you run out of eggroll meat.
You can place the finished egg roll on a large plate and when you're all done you can fry them.

Frying:
I suggest you deep fry your eggrolls (350 degrees) to get that awesome crispy shell, but if you don't have a deep fryer then you can just shallow fry the eggrolls, but remember the eggrolls must be completely submerged in the oil so make sure you put enough oil into the pan/pot. Keep the heat on high to heat the oil at first before you put the eggrolls in. You can check by using a wooden chopstick and putting it into the heated oil, if it starts to bubble then it's ready. When the oil is heated turn down to medium-high then place eggrolls seam down into the oil. You must turn the eggroll occasionally to ensure even browning. When the eggroll is a golden brown color then it's done. Place eggroll standing up in a tray or basket lined with paper towels to soak excess oil.

Tip: You can fry up all of the eggrolls at once and store the leftover eggrolls into zip lock bags and you can put these eggrolls in the freezer until ready to reheat and eat. Reheating is very simple. You can put them into a toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!