In the yard, Mr. Hong Pham gently coated a thin layer of light powder on the stretch cloth on the boiler and then gently closed it. Americans probably don't know what it is; This is the first step to make rolls - a typical dish of Vietnam. After that, people will sprinkle a little more meat and mushrooms.
"It's like you're making a pancake," Hong Pham explained to the cooking class with about 20 students. "I mean the first time I always did it, it wouldn't work as expected."
About a minute later, Mr. Hong Pham carefully picked up the swing; thin and tangy, up-and-down rolls are also visible through, as if floating in the air. Mr. Hong slowly rolled away from the corner and rolled up.
"It is really too delicate and surprising," says Rose Lawrence, a bakery chef who observes the rolling process. "I have never seen such a way."
Although in some restaurants in the US, people call rolls as a kind of ravioli (a traditional Italian dish), the way of making is really different. Usually made of rice flour, the rolls are made with special techniques - they look very delicate, soft and juicy like soft glue, a mild flavor, a simple form, a rustic touch but no less elegant.
If a piece of ravioli in Los Angeles costs nearly 500k or more, diners will only pay more than 130k for a plate of rolls.
Hong Pham and his wife, Kim Pham, have been holding this cooking class for some time with some friends. Like many other immigrants, your husband and wife have been pondering for years about what determines how diners value restaurants and food? How can you develop Vietnamese specialties?
"It takes a lot of techniques to be able to make a plate of rolls. It took me a while to practice this dish, both of them want the food to be loved by many," said Hong. Pham has just poured dough into the cloth, grabbed wooden spoon and rolled it all over the surface.
Cathy Van, a nurse living in Los Angeles, registers to attend the class. For a long time, she considered rolls to be a dish for special occasions. When she was young, her family often went to eat rolls in the restaurant or was given a delicious meal by a good relative.
Van's mother tried making pancakes at home once or twice, using a non-stick pot. The method above is simpler, but the cake is usually thick and does not have the delicate softness as the traditional way.
In California, USA, especially the Orange County area, there are many Vietnamese restaurants serving traditional rolls. This is a place with a large Vietnamese community of more than 200,000 people.
Every morning, Pho Tau Bay LTT at an outdoor shopping mall serves a lot of customers, from teenage boys to retirees or nearby workers. Henry Le, owner of the store, said Pho Tau Bay has been in operation for more than 20 years. The shop specializes in serving two dishes: pho and spring rolls. Each roll is served with spring rolls, sprinkled with dried onions, and served with a rack. The rolls here are considered soft, thin and smooth, pale white. Whether in the US or Vietnam, sweet and sour fish sauce is indispensable when eating rolls.
In Hong Huong restaurant in Garden Grove, diners are also fascinated with spring rolls with spring rolls, dried onions and herbs. It was sunny outside but still cool inside, the rolls kept the appearance of the dish. The children poured a whole bowl of dipping sauce on the rolls while their parents slowly dabbed each piece into the bowl to fully feel the delicate taste of the dish.
When Hong Pham wanted to learn about spring rolls, he realized that no chef could teach him, and no school in Los Angeles held classes on this dish. The best way to make a good dish is to practice a lot under the observation and guidance of a professional chef. From the stage of preparing the cookware, stretching the fabric into the pot, rolling the cake with chopsticks all require trial and error many times. How to make spring rolls is passed down from one generation to the next, as Hong Pham learned basic techniques from his mother, Ly Pham. He and his wife bought rice paper making equipment from Vietnam, taught themselves and taught their daughters Emi and Mira.
At the restaurants in Little Saigon area, the generation of Vietnamese people who always made traditional rolls before, families like Mr. Hong Pham's house also focus on the modernity of the dish. They like to experiment, make a light yellow dough with turmeric or make vegetarian rolls with jackfruit filling, served with soy sauce instead of fish sauce. Steaming an egg and a roll is also a method to get a new egg, delicate taste.
In the classroom of Mr. Hong Pham's family, students - including many food bloggers, cooks or housewives take care of their rolls. However, they are not always successful because making rolls really requires a lot of feats and meticulous techniques.
Van and Lawrence enjoyed the roll of bread they had just made; Wrapper leaves are thicker and thicker than expected. However, its taste is still quite good, juicy and hot. They know they will return to class next week.
