Vietnamese Rolls (Bo Bia Chay)

Bo Bia is a popular snack food in Vietnam. It is rice paper filled with Chinese sausage, eggs, dried shrimp and other ingredients, like carrots, jicama, and basil. Even though the word "Bo" means "beef", there is no beef in the rolls. I do not know how this snack food got its name. This roll is a refreshing meal to serve as an appetizer or even as a main course in a family setting. Each person can roll it at the table, and the fillings are kept warm in a cook pan in the middle of the table. I replace the Chinese sausage with tofu to change these rolls for the meatless eaters. By adding dry Shitake mushrooms for more flavor and skipping the dried shrimp as well, no one will miss the Chinese sausages originally called for in this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 block firm tofu
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 jicama, peeled and julienned
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
4 dry shitake mushrooms, soaked and thinly sliced
1 tsp five spices and seasonings
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 leaf of green lettuce
1 cup fresh herbs – basil, cilantro, and mint
1 cup roasted peanut, crushed
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup oil
Dipping Sauce:
1 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
1can Coco Rico® soda
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced

Serve with daikon-carrot pickles (Do Chua)

Vietnamese rice paper wrappers

Directions:
In a deep sauté pan, add 1/2 cup of oil and heat to medium heat. Add shallot and fry until the shallots are crispy.

Remove fried shallots and drain on a paper towel. Reserve 1/4 cup of shallot oil
Cut the tofu block into 1/4 inch thick slices. Fry the tofu in the same oil used to fry the shallots to enhance the flavor. Fry until the tofu is golden brown and then drain on a paper towel.

When the fried tofu cools off, cut into matchsticks the same size as the jicama and carrots.
In a nonstick pan, add 1 tbs shallot-oil. Pour the beaten eggs and make a thin omelet.

Remove and cut into a thin matchstick the same size as the tofu.
In a large sauté pan, Add the 2 tbs reserved oil. When the oil is heated up, stir in the jicama, carrots and mushrooms. Stir and add the five spices, salt, pepper, and sugar.

 Cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are wilted but still keep their crunchiness. Re-season again with soy sauce and remove from heat.

To make a dipping sauce:
In a small saucepan, add shallot-oil. Stir in minced garlic and cook in low heat until fragrant.

Add the rest of the dipping sauce ingredients and bring to boil. Cook for 5 minutes.

Adjust the taste by adding more salt or soy sauce, if needed. Put this sauce in a jar if it not finished. This sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for days.
To assemble the rolls, wet a sheet of rice paper wrapper. Then lay on a plate.

 Add the filling starting with a piece of lettuce, then follow with egg strips, tofu strips, and the jicama-carrots mixture and herbs. Sprinkle with crushed roasted peanuts.

 Fold the two sides into the center over the filling. Then fold the bottom up and roll over to form a tight roll.

 

 

Divide the dipping sauce into each serving bowl. Add chili sauce or fresh chopped chili pepper. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts and fried shallots.