Spring Rolls

Zang Toi's supremely crispy spring rolls are filled with a mix of marinated shrimp, ground pork and a handful of colorful julienned vegetables, like carrot, jicama and beans. The fried shallot rings add alluring flavor and crunch to the spring rolls, too, but they're optional. Toi even makes his own chile sauce to serve as an accompaniment.

At school in Vietnam, Charles Phan and his classmates would buy these chewy rice-paper rolls, filled with crunchy jicama and sweet shrimp, from enterprising street vendors who set up their stalls in the playground at dismissal time. Phan loves the neatness of including the sauce in the roll rather than serving it alongside, but he often makes extra for those who insist on dipping.

David Chang took F&W's Thanksgiving challenge by improvising a Momofuku-style feast from basic leftovers, including turning mashed potatoes and green beans into this crispy canape, a salute to the 1950s.

Star chef Danny Bowien ate crispy Vietnamese rolls for years before he finally got to watch one of Oklahoma City's best Vietnamese cooks make them at home in a little frying pan. Oyster sauce gives the ground pork filling a subtle hit of sweetness.

These spring rolls are an archetypal blend of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's two passions--Asia and France. Chopped mushrooms (like in classic duxelles) are seasoned with soy sauce, lemongrass and Thai chile, folded in an egg roll wrapper, then shallow-fried. They're wildly popular at Spice Market, where he sells 30 to 40 orders a night.