Deconstructed Vietnamese Egg Roll Bowls

Sometimes you just want egg rolls, or spring rolls, or the delights from the local takeout place that doesn’t deliver and usually has a line out the door. And here’s the alternative that satisfied my craving. Feel free to serve this with lettuce leaves, Thai basil, slivered cucumbers or daikon-carrot salad.

It took me about 30 minutes; my protein was not frozen, but my mushrooms and bean sprouts were. I used my Alligator chopper with the fine dice plate to chop the onions, mushrooms, and jalapeños. I grated about 7 baby carrots with my rotary grater. It’s very flexible on vegetables other than the onions, carrot and mushrooms. You will want more seasonings the more vegetables you use. I based this recipe on The Woks of Life’s Cha gio recipe and adjusted it for both deconstruction and to suit ingredients I had on hand.

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Ingredients:

• fish sauce or vegan substitutes
• sugar (half brown, half white, all brown, or jaggery)
• salt
• pepper (white or black, but white is good here)
• water
• 7-9 cloves garlic
• ginger paste
• a lime
• red pepper flakes
• 1 large yellow or sweet onion
• 1/2 cup Wood ear mushroom (black fungus) soaked in hot water or 2 cups mixed fresh/frozen mushrooms (crimini, lion’s mane, shiitake, enoki, whatever you’ve got)
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 jalapeños
• 4-8 oz bean sprouts (half to 1 package)
• cole slaw mix or broccoli slaw mix (half to one full package) or a bok choy or a savoy cabbage, finely shredded
• Mung bean noodles/vermicelli
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1 lb/half kilo ground pork (or ground chicken substitute) or 1 package drained and crumbled tofu, and an optional up to 8 oz minced raw, cleaned shrimp if that’s an acceptable food. Fully shrimp would probably work. Not sure Beyond ground protein or Impossible would be a good substitute; they’re fairly strongly flavored.
• oyster sauce or mushroom table sauce (Healthy Boy Thai Mushroom vegetarian sauce is my preference)
• soy sauce/aminos
• Chow Mein noodles for serving
• Thai basil for serving

Method

First, boil 1 to 1.5 liters of water. Use a kettle if you have one, or a sauce pan if you don’t. Reserve 2 cups of water in a quart/liter jar or a 4 cup measuring cup. Set aside. Put 1 small bundle Mung Bean noodles (bean thread noodles) ~4oz, into a heat-safe bowl and pour the rest of the water over it. Set aside to soak.

Now, make:

Nouc Mam Sauce

• 1/3 cup fish sauce or subs (see below)
• 1/3 cup sugar (half brown, half white, all brown, or jaggery)
• the previously reserved 2 cups water
• 1 clove garlic minced
• Juice of half a lime (2 TB)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

The longer it sits, the better it is. Boiled and half-cooled water (around 120 degrees) dissolves the sugar faster and it will be room temp by eating time. Put all ingredients in a 20-32 oz mason jar or similar and shake it together. Set it aside.

Now, prepare the

Mise en place: 

• 1 large yellow or sweet onion, minced
• 1/2 cup Wood ear mushroom (black fungus) soaked in hot water or 2 cups mixed fresh/frozen mushrooms, finely chopped (crimini, lion’s mane, shiitake, enoki, whatever you’ve got)
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots, grated
• 2 jalapeños, with seeds and membranes removed, chopped fine

All chopped fine and mixed together with

• 6-8 cloves garlic
• 1 tb ginger paste
• 1/2 to one package bean sprouts
• 1/2 to 1 bag of cole slaw mix (or other)

Next, heat

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil

in a large pan or wok over medium heat. Add the vegetable mix to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Next, add

• 1 lb/half kilo ground pork/chicken/drained and crumbled tofu, and an optional up to 8 oz minced raw, cleaned shrimp if that’s an acceptable food.
• 3-4 tablespoons fish sauce or vegan fish sauce (Red Boat is kosher, or this recipe for vegan )
• 4 tablespoons of oyster sauce or mushroom table sauce (Healthy Boy Thai Mushroom vegetarian sauce)
• 4 teaspoons of soy sauce/aminos

Mix  together well in the pan, breaking up the protein and cook through to 165F/75C on a probe thermometer, especially if using meat/shrimp. Stir frequently! 

Drain the bean thread noodles, squeezing out as much water as possible. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, roughly snip the bundle into short bits to make it easier to eat them.

Mix the noodle bits into the vegetable mixture in the pan, and taste. From here, season to taste. You may need more umami sauces with tofu. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Turn the stove off, and serve on a bed of crispy chow mein noodles. My preference is for wide Gefen Chow Mein noodles but most will do. Sprinkle on finely sliced fresh Thai basil leaves if you have some, and a drizzle of the nuoc mam sauce you made above.