CHICAGO — Born and bred in southern China, Fanny Go did not grow up eating egg rolls.

Family meals in her part of Guangdong province were dominated by rice, greens, preserved vegetables and morsels of meat.

But ever since she and her late husband Tom decided to whip up a batch for a Rogers Park Chicago block party 45 years ago, these chubby, stubbly, golden cylinders have become a family — and neighborhood — tradition.

“My parents would make as many as 500 for people at the block party to eat and take home,” says the Gos' eldest daughter, Jean. “They knew that food always brought people together. So, over the years, they created a lot of good relationships around here.”

Like Fanny Go, who came to the U.S. in the early '60s, the egg roll represents a 20th-century meeting of two cultures. Though dim sum chefs in Hong Kong produce a similar snack called a spring roll, the egg roll, as we know it, is a creation of early Chinese-American restaurateurs who used local ingredients to create Chinese-ish foods that would appeal to American diners.

One of the restaurateurs who helped popularize the egg roll was my grandfather, Harry Eng, whose nephew, Tom Go, worked as a manager in the family's downtown Chicago chop suey palaces (among them Hoe Sai Gai and South Pacific) for decades. Tom Go based his egg roll recipe on the appetizers that proved such a hit with the restaurants' clientele.

Today Fanny Go, 87, carries on the Chinese-American tradition by making the savory treats for parties and family gatherings. She recently shared her recipe — which can take up to three days — with a convivial group that gathered at Go's home to learn, cook and eat. One of the biggest surprises was that most of the ingredients can be found in the average American grocery store, if not in your kitchen.

This recipe is adapted from the one Fanny Go has made for decades. The amounts have been reduced from her recipe, which serves a crowd.Look for barbecued pork in Chinese barbecue stores, or you can make it by marinating about 2-inch-wide sections of pork shoulder/butt in store-bought char sui sauce overnight and then roasting in a 350 degree oven on a rack over a pan lined with foil until done.Go suggests several extra ingredients that can be stirred into the filling; see the list and suggested amounts below.½ cup smooth peanut butter1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil2 cups julienned Chinese barbecued pork10 cups shredded green cabbage (about 1 large cabbage), blanched, squeezed dry in a dish towel½ cup chopped green onions2 teaspoons sugar2 teaspoons salt½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper¼ teaspoon cinnamonExtras, see list above12 to 16 large (7-by-7-inch) egg roll wrappers1 egg, beaten in a small bowlVegetable oil, peanut oil or lard for fryingExtras1 tablespoon sesame oil½ cup boiled shrimp chopped into dime-size pieces½ cup soaked, squeezed and thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms½ cup julienned and well-drained bamboo shoots¼ cup thinly sliced water chestnuts½ cup bean sproutsFor the filling, heat the peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat until pourable, adding 1 tablespoon peanut oil if needed to get the proper consistency. Allow to cool slightly.Combine the pork, cabbage, onions, sugar, salt, pepper, cinnamon and any of the optional extra ingredients in a very large bowl until thoroughly blended. Hands work best to do this.Pour cooled, but still liquid, peanut butter into the mixture; mix thoroughly.Cut off 1 inch from each of the corners of the wrappers for easier rolling. Place stack in front of you with one corner pointing toward you.Place a handful (about ¼ cup) of filling near the bottom corner; roll corner over the filling, tightly rolling up to just over half way.Fold in side corners snugly; continue rolling until there are 2 inches of wrapper left.Brush some egg wash over the final corner; continue rolling over it to seal the egg roll.When all egg rolls are rolled, heat oil or lard in a heavy pan or wok until it reaches 350 degrees.Fry egg rolls, in batches, until golden brown; drain in a paper towel-lined pan.Eat while hot, dipped in duck sauce, sweet and sour sauce and/or hot mustard.