Where to partake in Vietnam’s greatest culinary gift to us

By Eleanor Ostman

Vietnamese people escaping the horrors of war in their native country have given a delicious gift to their new neighbors, particularly to those of us accustomed to Nordic-American fare here in Minnesota.

Barely resettled in the St. Paul area a half-century ago, they unpacked their suitcases and their repertoire of recipes from the homeland. Soon after, small Vietnamese restaurants started popping up, not only as money-making businesses for the newcomers, but as dining refuges for other refugees.

When I first discovered those eateries, it didn’t take long for me to adopt one particular specialty: egg roll salads. I’ve ordered them in every Vietnamese restaurant visited, and they are all comparable, but here are three of my favorites.

So what’s in a Vietnamese Egg Roll Salad?

The base is chopped lettuce, crispy bean sprouts, shredded carrots, cucumber and  sometimes daikon amid a tangle of rice vermicelli noodles. Added are sliced green onions and chopped peanuts. Some places garnish with cilantro. If you’re averse, push it aside. Lime wedge for piquancy. Crowning it are crispy deep-fried egg rolls stuffed with ground pork (or only vegetables if you prefer) with almost transparent glass noodles and other bits such as carrot. Some are dusted with pulverized peanuts. Rice paper wrapper holds it all together.

Fish sauce is the dressing. Pour it over to get a burst of heat and flavor the salad deserves. I always order an extra portion.

Pho 79 adds grated carrot and fragments of red pepper to their sauce, creating a more powerful aftertaste. That’s where it differs from Hoa Bien’s version, which is slightly sweeter and not so fiery. Stone Pho’s fish sauce is the most powerful— my nose runs the whole time I’m eating their salad.

I talked egg rolls with my hairdresser, Tina Ngo. She makes egg rolls a hundred at a time, but only in summer when she can fry them outdoors, and no actual egg is involved.

After her rolls are wrapped, with the help of her deft husband, she freezes them. At cooking time, she lets them slightly defrost while the oil comes to a bubble. Peanut oil is her preference, adding subtle flavor.

“They come out perfect,” she said.

If, unlikely, there are leftovers when she invites relatives to partake, she chops them to add to stir-fried rice. Brilliant!

Hoa Bien

1105 W. University Ave., St. Paul, for 20 years at the corner of University and Lexington. 651-647-1011. Closed Wednesdays.

When my husband was alive, we would go to Hoa Bien at least once a month to get our egg roll salad fix. As we ordered, we didn’t give a name; we said a number, 55. That was its placement on the menu. It was always a treat. I could chomp a whole bowlful, but my husband usually took leftovers home. The next day, after they’d soaked in fish sauce overnight, his anticipated lunch was soggy, soupy. My advice: dig into the whole bowlful when it’s fresh. Over the years, Hoa Bien’s version has remained my standard of excellence compared to other Vietnamese restaurants.

Only one time at Hoa Bien did I order something else: sweet and sour chicken, and it was the best I ever had. Sadly, it’s being removed from the menu as the restaurant is moving away from Chinese dishes to be more authentically Vietnamese.

Pho 79

2233 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul. 612-644-2327. Closed Sundays.

There are two explanations for 79 in its name: One credits the street address of a favorite restaurant in Vietnam. The other, according to co-owner Andy Truong, commemorates the year his family came to the United States.

In any case, the strip mall location is popular, a line sometimes forming out the door. Only 45 can be seated, and in summer, egg roll salad is their top seller. As soon as the weather chills, people order pho: noodles, meat, bean sprouts and other veggies in a flavorful steaming meat broth.

I’ve been a customer there for the past two years, and their salad equals that of Hoa Bien. As mentioned above, their fish sauce is more peppery.

Stone Pho

1885 Perimeter Drive, Roseville. 651-999-3240. Closed Mondays.

The Stone Pho space has previously housed Chinese and Mexican restaurants, but it has been enhanced with classy black and white decor and huge white floral bouquets under interior arches. It’s a newer destination which I discovered only a few months ago. On a recent visit, I noted that most of the customers were Asian— a good sign. Most were slurping pho noodles, but I asked for the salad with a double dose of fish sauce. Wow! It was potent! They gave me four napkins which were all used to wipe my dripping nose. I also asked for a mango smoothie, big enough to serve as drink and dessert, with leftovers taken to my home freezer for another day. Delicious!

My one criticism of Stone Pho’s version is that there are four egg rolls, but they are about the size of a middle finger, more rice paper wrapping than filling. No knife was provided, so they became finger food. I prefer pairs of plump rolls sliced atop Hoa Bien’s and Pho 79’s offerings, but Stone Pho’s salad itself was up to par.

A waiter told me that a covered patio is under construction at Stone Pho, and it will serve from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Great for a late night bowlful.

Not interested in salad but still craving a Vietnamese egg roll? Try the double-whammy version at Pho Pasteur, 694 N. Snelling Ave., just south of Hamline University. Tucked inside a delicate rice-paper-wrapped spring roll stuffed with noodles, lettuce, carrots and cucumbers is a traditional deep-fried egg roll. Excellent peanut sauce and fish sauce are on the side, best spooned into the behemoth mouthful. One $12.50 serving satisfies four. As far as I know, it is unique to Pho Pasteur and worth a trip. While you’re there, try the crumb-coated crispy butterflied shrimp.

Top photo credit: Hoa Bien’s egg roll salad. KTP Photography/hoa-bien.com