ACCOMPANIMENTS
1 vegetable platter
8 oz thin rice vermicelli (bun) or:
2 bunch japanese alimentary paste noodles (, somen).
1 peanut sauce or nuoc cham
FILLING
1 oz cellophane (bean thread) noodles
1 tbsp dried tree ear mushrooms
6 dried chinese mushrooms
1 large carrot, finely shredded
1 large leek, white part only, chopped
6 water chestnuts, or
1/2 small jicama, peeled and chopped
1 lb firm bean curd (tofu), crumbled
1 cup fresh bean sprouts, coarsely choppe, d
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp nuoc mam (vietnamese fish sauce)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
ASSEMBLY AND FRYING
1/2 cup sugar
40 small rounds of rice papers (banh trang),, 6 1/2 inches in di
1 peanut oil for frying
Directions
The book notes that true Buddhist vegetarians would not use garlic or
fish sauce and would limit the dips to plain soy or plum sauce.
Unless you are in this category, Peanut Sauce (Nuoc Leo) and Nuoc
Cham are great dips as well.
Prepare the Vegetable Platter, noodles and dipping sauce. Set aside.
Soak the noodles in warm water and the mushrooms in hot water for 30
minutes; drain. Cut the noodles into 1/2-inch lengths. Remove and
discard the stems from the mushrooms; squeeze to extract most of the
soaking liquid. Mince all of the mushrooms.
Combine all of the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl; blend
well with your hands. Set aside.
Assemble the rolls: Fill a large bowl with 4 cups of warm water and
dissolve the sugar in it.
Rice paper is quite fragile. Work with only 4 sheets at a time,
keeping the remaining sheets covered with a barely damp cloth to
prevent curling.
Immerse the rice paper, one sheet at a time, into the sweetened warm
water. Quickly withdraw it and lay it flat on a dry towel. Do this
with 4 sheets without letting them touch each other. The rice paper
will become pliable within seconds.
Fold over the bottom third of each round. Put 1 generous teaspoon of
filling in the center of the folded-over portion. Press it into a
compact rectangle. Fold one side of the paper over the mixture, then
the other side. Roll from the bottom to the top to completely
enclose the filling. Continue until all of the mixture is used. (The
rolls can be prepared 1 day in advance. Wrap and refrigerate.)
Fry the rolls: If possible use 2 skillets. Pour 1 to 1 1/2 inches
of oil into each skillet and heat to 325F. Working in batches, add
some of the rolls without letting them touch, or they will stick
together. Fry for 10 to 12 minutes, turning often, until golden and
crisp. Remove the rolls from the oil with tongs and drain on paper
towels. Keep warm in a low oven until all of th rolls are cooked.
To serve, each diner wraps a roll in a lettuce leaf along with some
noodles and selected items from the Vegetable Platter and dips the
package in the dipping sauce.
NOTE: The fried rolls can be frozen, then thawed and reheated in a
350F oven just to crisp and heat through.
Yield: 40 rolls.
From "The Foods of Vietnam" by Nicole Rauthier. Stewart, Tabori &
Chang. 1989.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; April 14 1991.
Servings: 1 servings
Cha Gio Chay (Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Vegetable; Vegetarian
The History of Recipes
Food historians have tracked the existence of recipes far back into ancient history, in fact as far back into recorded history as the early Egyptians, and maybe even further. Interesting though that is, generally, these early recipes were just very basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for food preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to experts in ancient history is a series of stone tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel blissful and exhilarated. Later on, there are two books published in the 1300s ; a book called `Forme of Cury`, and another named `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, these two books are unconnected to the curry that is served today, but rather descriptions of the types of food cooked for the rich people of those days. For the centuries that followed, the wealthy families of the West strove to lay on the most extravagent banquests, and consequentially chefs and their recipe collections increased in prestige. Notwithstanding that, it was during the nineteenth century that formal cookery and cookery books became really popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, trying out, and recording recipes to help cooks of their time. By the time we get to the 20th century, cooking books were starting to become popular as a result of better eduction, leisure time and a general increase in wealth. |
We hope you enjoy this Cha Gio Chay (Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls) recipe.
