Wandering Boston Eater

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Chả Giò: Egg Rolls with Little Leaf Farms Lettuce

I teamed up with Little Leaf Farms to present one of my favorite summer recipes. Even though it is now the middle of August, I have fond memories of eating this dish with my family in the summertime (but I also ate it all year round)!

Little Leaf Farms is a high-tech and completely sustainable greenhouse that primarily grows baby green and red leaf lettuce. They’re based out of Devens, MA and only ship to retailers that they can deliver to within 24 hours — New England and parts of New York. That means their lettuce is fresher and lasts longer than most of the other brands you’ll find in your grocery store, which are typically shipped in from CA and AZ and spend a week on a truck before they even get to the store.

Big thanks to Mama WBE for sharing me her recipe so I can share with all of YOU how easy it is to make egg rolls, also known as chả giò in Vietnamese. I love my mom for helping me with this video, and spending the day with me to work on this project!

Egg Rolls

Time: 60 Minutes | Yield: 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

Filling:

  • 1 lb de-shelled shrimp, cut in small pieces

  • 1 lb ground pork

  • 4 cups diced cabbage

  • 1 large diced white onion

  • 1 large shredded carrot

  • 1-2 cloves minced garlic

  • 1 bunch of bean thread noodles soaked in warm water for 30 seconds, cut in 1/2 inches (this can typically be found in any Asian market)

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • Pinch of sugar (optional)

  • Pinch of black pepper (optional)

Wrapping & Frying:

  • 4 cups vegetable oil

  • 1 pack egg roll wrapper (25 count) thawed

  • Water (in a small bowl)

Preparation:

Egg Rolls and Vermicelli Noodles with Little Leaf Lettuce

  1. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together and divide in 25 portions

  2. Separate the egg roll wrapper, and wrap each egg roll by scooping a tablespoon of the filling on the wrapper end closest to you

  3. Spread the filling about 4-5 inches long and 1 and 1/2 inches wide

  4. Fold the edge from both sides over, then start rolling the edge close to you over and roll until near the end

  5. Dip your finger in water to rub the end of the wrapper to seal the roll

  6. On stove, pour vegetable oil into a deep frying pan and turn heat to high

  7. The homecook way of testing if the oil is hot: use a wooden chopstick or kabob stick and dip into the oil and see if bubble is coming up - if there are bubbles, the oil is hot enough to start frying

  8. Do not overcrowd your egg rolls when frying - based on the size of your pan

  9. Turn the heat down to medium high after you put egg rolls into the pan and fry until golden about 10-15 minutes each, turning egg rolls occasionally

  10. Remove the egg rolls and place into colander vertically to allow oils to drip out of egg rolls

  11. Let the oil dry off of your egg rolls before serving

The dish I am making with my egg rolls is bun chả giò, also known as Egg Rolls with vermicelli noodles. I assembled my bowl with vermicelli noodles, Little Leaf Farm lettuce, cucumbers, scallions, and fish sauce (nước chấm). What are your favorite summer recipes?

This content was created in paid partnership with Little Leaf Farms. For more information on Little Leaf Farms, please visit http://www.littleleaffarms.com/