Once a year or twice if we were lucky, my parents would set aside a whole day to make egg rolls. At least a crispy hundred or two. All six kids would gather around the kitchen table where my parents took turns mixing bean thread noodles, pork, shredded cabbage and carrots, and bits of cilantro and onion. When the mixture was perfect, there was the tedious task of wrapping, and despite our pleas, only my parents were allowed to wrap. They couldn’t afford to have egg rolls with too much air or torn wraps go into the fryer for those would burst open and ruin the oil.

As I got older, my parents stopped making egg rolls because of how time-consuming it was, from boiling the noodles and preparing the vegetables to carefully wrapping and deep frying every single one. That’s not all, though. In the middle of wrapping and frying, someone had to make the peanut sauce, and no one could ever remember where the peanuts were.

Egg rolls were one of my favorite childhood snacks, so I eventually picked up the tradition of making them at least twice a year. Three times if we were lucky. Without fail, I always selected the hottest days of the year, and despite the groans, my family pitched in.

When the mixture was perfect, there was the tedious task of wrapping, and despite our pleas, only my parents were allowed to wrap. They couldn’t afford to have egg rolls with too much air or torn wraps go into the fryer for those would burst open and ruin the oil.

As the years went on, though, people moved away, got busy with school and jobs, and had to tend to children. I would show up to my parents’ home with all the ingredients only to find myself wrapping on my own and even deep frying too. In time, I found my own rhythm and became the fastest wrapper in my family, averaging two egg rolls every minute. I could single-handedly produce a hundred, sometimes even two hundred.

During one of the times, my 5-year-old niece proudly announced she was helping too. I was hesitant for all the reasons my parents did not let me wrap growing up. My niece was eager to learn, though, and I could use another set of hands. After teaching her how to scoop the perfect amount of mixture, we practiced folding in corners, gently squeezing to release air bubbles, and sealing to ensure nothing came undone. We made a few before I let her continue on her own. As she attempted to fold and roll, I caught her looking at my hands producing one egg roll after another.

I leaned over and whispered, “Guess who’s the fastest egg roll wrapper.”

My niece answered, “Grandma.”

I shook my head and pointed to myself. “Tais Yia.”

“How did you get so fast?” she asked.

“I’ve had many years of practice,” I responded.

There was a pause. “How old were you when you first started wrapping?”

I thought about it. “Probably in my early 20s.” 

My niece marveled. “I’ll be faster than you someday, Tais Yia, because I started when I’m 5.”

My niece has helped me wrap almost every single batch I’ve made since. Together, we discovered how to make extra-crunchy egg rolls by double wrapping. One time, my niece proudly handed me an egg roll that she had triple wrapped, and indeed, it was the crunchiest. We’ve made egg rolls in the shapes of squares and triangles. We’ve also invented a game where we stuff a few egg rolls with a large chunk of carrot. Winner bites the crunch.

Someday, I look forward to my niece surpassing my record of being the fastest egg roll wrapper. Maybe she’ll start a tradition of making egg rolls at least three times a year. If we’re lucky, four.