Vietnamese Egg Rolls (Chả Giò)
These crispy Vietnamese pork and shrimp chả giò (egg rolls) have the perfect golden crunchy exterior and moist, flavorful filling.
- Prep time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 100 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 4 packages Spring Home brand spring roll pastry (8x8 inches)
- 4 lbs ground pork
- 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 oz dried wood ear mushroom (about 1 heaping cup)
- 3 oz bean thread noodles
- 1 bunch scallion, chopped
- ½ lb peeled and shredded taro
- ½ lb peeled and shredded carrot
- ½ lb peeled and shredded jicama
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ tbsp salt
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 4 tbsp corn starch
- ½ tsp MSG (optional)
- 1 egg beaten
- Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce (Nước Mắm Pha)
- sweet chili sauce
- green or red leaf lettuce
- fresh mint leaves
- fresh Thai basil leaves
- fresh perilla leaves
Instructions
- 1
Soak the bean thread noodles and wood ear mushrooms in boiling water until softened, about 1 minute. Drain well. Chop the bean thread noodles into ½ inch pieces and mince the mushrooms.
- 2
Peel and shred the jicama. Add it to a cloth towel and wring out as much moisture as you can. Do the same for the carrot. Then shred the taro, but don't wring it out. Chop the ends off of the scallions and finely chop them.
- 3
Use your hands to squish the shrimp until its flesh bursts. Mince the shrimp finely, until it resembles a course paste.
- 4
In a large bowl, add the ground pork, minced shrimp, chopped mushrooms and bead thread noodles, chopped scallions, shredded taro, carrot and jicama, minced shallot and garlic, sugar, black pepper, sesame oil, salt, fish sauce and corn starch. Add the msg if you're using it.
- 5
Mix all of the ingredients together. It's easiest to do this with your hands, so you can feel how well the ingredients have incorporated.
- 6
Take a bite-sized amount of the filling and microwave it for 10-15 seconds until it's fully cooked. Taste it, and season with more salt, pepper, sugar or fish sauce to taste. These shouldn't be overly salty, because you will dip them in fish sauce dipping sauce or sweet chili sauce.
- 7
Beat one egg and set it aside to seal the egg rolls.
- 8
Place an egg roll wrapper onto a plate with one corner facing you. Fold the corner closesto you about one thirdf of the way up toward the opposite corner.
- 9
Add a small amount of the meat filling to the bottom of the wrapper, on the part you just folded. Shape the filling into a thin, even log.
- 10
Fold the left and right corners of the wrapper toward the center, so that the entire package looks like an opened envelope.
- 11
Roll the filling tightly upward. Once you get to the top corner of the wrapper, use your finger to dab a bit of egg onto the wrapper to seal it.
- 12
Heat oil to 350℉ and fry until golden brown and fully cooked inside. It will take about 10-15 minutes per batch, depending. on whether you're cooking them fresh or frozen, and how stable your oil temperature is. Don't crowd your pot, or you risk lowering the temperature of the oil. Egg rolls are cooked when they float and turn a golden brown color.
- 13
To freeze, layer the egg rolls snugly in a plastic bag. I can fit about 25 in a gallon-sized bag, in two layers. Remove as much air as you can from the bag before sealing.