Last month, I discovered a great alternative to traditional Chinese eggrolls: cha gio, or crispy Vietnamese spring rolls.  Made with rice paper, they’re the perfect gluten-free option, with all of the flavor and nearly all the texture of a proper eggroll.

Notice I said “nearly all the texture”?  There was a slight problem, which I was unable to remedy during four other times making these delectable treats throughout the last seven weeks.  The wrappers would fry up to an ideal crispiness, then as they sat cooling, would turn a bit limp.  The longer they sat, the limper they became- so if you’re chowing down on a platter of them, the first one would have ideal texture, but the last one would be severely lacking in the mouthfeel department.  Sometimes there was an outer veneer leftover of crunchy rice starch that hinted at the previous crispiness, and only the over-cooked ones- which were consistently soggy and greasy on the inside- would retain the outside crunchiness I was craving.  I tried various methods of cooling: on a paper towel, on a wire cooling rack, on a rack in the toaster oven set to warm, and wiped with a paper towel immediately upon removal from the fryer and put on a rack.  Nothing yielded the results I wanted.  Until, of course, last night.

My life is going to be changing a lot this year, which translates to the need for convenience foods.  Since I can’t (and won’t) purchase and consume pre-made meals from the supermarket, research on proper home-cooked food preservation has been my obsession for the last couple of weeks.  Among my inquiries was whether or not it was possible to freeze cha gio.  I happened across a Filipino cooking video that briefly mentioned freezing instructions for lumpia- close enough, right?

The advantage of homemade food is that it lends itself to experimentation: usually inexpensive, plus it only takes a small portion of a whole meal to fiddle with for future reference.  In my case, I’d taken a single partially-fried cha gio roll straight from the fryer, wrapped it in aluminum foil, and stuck in the freezer.  Excluding the frying oil, I calculate each veggie cha gio costs me about $0.17, so the experiment was a cheap one indeed!

Last night, after about two weeks of hanging out in my freezer, I pulled the roll out and stuck it in hot oil.  I was surprised to watch as it began to brown- I mean, really brown up, like a proper eggroll!  After about three minutes of frying and another four minutes of cooling, I dipped the end into a bit of sweet chili sauce and bit into it.

CRRRRRUNCH!

Finally, the elusive texture I thought I’d never enjoy again!  The vegetable mixture filling held up great to the freezing, and all the flavors were just as strong and delicious as freshly-made cha gio.

Synopsis for gluten-free crispy spring rolls:
– FILLING: chopped/shredded cabbage, carrot, scallion (green onion), garlic, egg, sesame oil, GF soy sauce, ground dried coriander, ground pepper.  Optional: rice vermicelli (broken into 1-inch segments and soaked in hot water for 10 minutes), mushrooms, cooked meat (poultry, pork), etc .
– OIL: peanut oil is best, but any type of oil can be used.  These fry best between 350-365F; if the oil temp falls below 350F, they will absorb too much oil and become greasy on the inside.
– COOKING: they can be pan-fried, but it’s best to deep-fry them if possible.  Deep-frying can be done on the stove in a stainless or enamel-coated pan, or in a counter-top deep fryer appliance.  The rolls will stick together if they touch in the early stages of cooking: don’t try to separate them while cooking, wait until they’re done and break them apart.  The rolls will probably float as they’re frying; if they do, be sure to flip them over a few times to ensure even cooking on both sides.
– CRISPINESS: to achieve the crispiest shell possible, only partially cook the rolls (about 3 minutes, or until they just begin to take on color).  Transfer to aluminum foil and wrap each one individually.  Freeze for at least 24 hours.  When ready to eat, just remove from foil and fry (about 3 minutes).