Cha Gio

Special thanks to Phuong for being the cooking instructor.
As she is an intuitive cooker - we were eye balling ingredients & checking the amounts. So this is a guide. 

We made about 35-40 rolls. The extras will be frozen for another day.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 Pack of Bean thread 

Cut up black fungus, approximately 1/4 of bag (0.5 oz) 

4 small taros (These are better than the big taro, which are too dry for this dish) = we want about 1 cup shredded taro

1 cup shredded carrot

½ Onion, diced = approximately 1 cup

1 lb raw shrimp (deveined and chopped)

1/2 lb raw ground pork

1.5 head of garlic, minced

Approx 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of sugar

1.5 tablespoons soy sauce

1.5 tablespoons oyster sauce

·      First, mix black fungus and 1 pack of bean thread in water to rehydrate. Let it sit while you make the rest of the filling.

·      Shred the carrot and the small taros, using the big hole grater

·      Mix the chopped shrimp, ground pork, taro, carrot, diced onions together.

·      By the time this is done, then the fungus and noodles should be rehydrated. Cut up the fungus into small pieces. Pick out the mushroom stems if present.

·      With the bean threads, cut at the bend , then make about thumb nail length.

·      Add the seasonings (pepper, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce) – to test the seasoning, you can microwave a small portion to taste it (15-30 seconds) 
The ingredients are all raw - they'll cook up when fried. 

·      Make sure to buy the right kinds of wrappers. If it has the multiple labels, then you've got the right one. Other kinds of wrappers would puff up. 

·      Here’s a video on how to roll them!

This was accompanied by a dipping sauce:
Our instructor recommends either fish sauce brands called flying horses or flying lions (pictured below). 

you mix approximately:

2 parts water:1 part sugar: 1 part fish sauce & lime juice. 

Pour fish sauce

Then just cover the sugar with sauce

We added the juice from about 1/4 of a lime

You want everything to dissolve together. You can use room temperature water or hot water to dissolve sugar faster
Add in some chili sauce to taste - which will add color and a little spice. 

Then you fry them, and they are all done!