Bite Knights aims to inspire college students to experiment in the kitchen and try new dishes. The series encourages students that there’s no right or wrong way to cook, as long as you are having fun and staying safe.

In this episode, UCF social media ambassadors Regin Mantuano ’21 and Kim Hong swap traditional spring roll recipes — Lumpia (Filipino) and Cha Gio (Vietnamese). Mantuano lived in the Philippines until he was 11 years old and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from UCF. Hong, who studies health sciences, pre-clinical track, grew up in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam before she moved to the United States six years ago.

If you enjoy these dishes (recipes below) and how-to video, you can find more Bite Knights content on UCF’s YouTube channel.

Cha Gio (Vietnamese spring rolls)
Ingredients 

– 1 cup uncooked bean threads (cellophane noodles)

– 1 large dried shiitake mushroom

– 1 pound ground pork

– ½ pound shrimp, chopped

– 1 large carrot, peeled and grated

– 1 small shallot, minced

– 2 ¼ teaspoons fish sauce

– 1 ¼ teaspoons white sugar

– 1 ¼ teaspoons ground black pepper

– 24 egg roll wrappers

– 1 egg beaten

Oil for frying

Directions

Soak vermicelli and shiitake mushroom in warm water about 15 minutes and drain well. Mince shiitake.

Combine vermicelli, shiitake, pork, shrimp, carrot, shallot, fish sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss well to break up pork and and evenly distribute filling ingredients.

Lay 1 egg roll wrapper diagonally on a flat surface. Spread a scant 2 tablespoons of filling across the center of the wrapper. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners to enclose filling. Brush egg on top corner of wrapper and continue rolling to seal. Make additional egg rolls in same manner.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer, wok, or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), or until a drop of water jumps on the surface.

Fry egg rolls until golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels or paper bags. Serve.

Lumpia (Filipino spring rolls)

Ingredients 

– 1 ½ pounds ground pork

– 1 large onion, minced

– 2 pieces carrots, minced

– 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

– ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

– ½ cup parsley, chopped

– 1 ½ teaspoons salt

– 1 tablespoon sesame oil

– 2 eggs

– 50 pieces lumpia wrapper

– 3 cups cooking oil

Directions

Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

Scoop roughly 1-to-1 1/2 tablespoons of filling and place over a piece of lumpia wrapper. Spread the filling and then fold both sides of the wrapper. Fold the bottom. Brush beaten egg mixture on the top end of the wrapper. Roll-up until completely wrapped. Perform the same step until all mixture is used.

Heat oil in a cooking pot. Deep fry lumpia in medium heat until it floats.

Remove from the pot. Let excess oil drip. Serve.