Cha Gio (Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls)
Traditional chả giò, Vietnamese fried spring rolls, with ground pork, noodles, and vegetables. This easy recipe includes expert tips for wrapping and frying each roll perfectly.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 10 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 pack rice paper wrappers
- 1 pack glass noodles ((80g))
- ½ cup wood ear mushrooms (rehydrated, finely chopped)
- ½ carrot (shredded)
- ½ onion (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 10 oz ground pork
- ½ tbsp chicken bouillon
- black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- oil (as needed for frying)
Instructions
- 1
Ingredient preparation
- 2
Soak the glass noodles in warm water until softened. Drain and cut or slice into short pieces.
- 3
Rehydrate the wood ear mushrooms in hot water, then finely chop.
- 4
Dice the onion, shred the carrot, and mince the garlic. Set everything aside.
- 5
Make the filling
- 6
In a large mixing bowl, add the ground pork, soaked noodles, shredded carrot, diced onion, chopped wood ear mushrooms, minced garlic, egg, chicken bouillon, salt, sugar, and black pepper.
- 7
Knead the mixture thoroughly with clean hands until it feels sticky and fully combined.
- 8
Wrap the spring rolls
- 9
Fill a shallow plate or bowl with warm water. Dip one sheet of rice paper in for a few seconds until just softened, then place it on a flat surface.
- 10
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of filling and place it near the bottom third of the wrapper.
- 11
Fold the bottom over the filling, roll upward once, then fold in the sides, and roll it up tightly like a burrito. Set aside seam-side down and repeat with the rest.
- 12
Refrigerate the wrapped rolls for at least 30 minutes. This helps them firm up and prevents tearing during frying.
- 13
Fry the spring rolls
- 14
Heat oil in a pan over low heat. Fry the rolls in batches for several minutes or until lightly golden. Remove and let them rest for 5–10 minutes.
- 15
Increase the heat slightly, then fry them a second time until deep golden and even more crisp.
- 16
Transfer to a wire rack to drain excess oil. Serve hot with dipping sauce.