Vietnamese Spring Rolls - Cha Gio
These little morsels are probably the most popular dish to come out of Vietnam. Each one is filled with pork, prawns and a variety vegetables which are seasoned with traditional Vietnamese flavours. Bean thread noodles and wood ear mushrooms are added to provide extra texture as you bite through the crispy golden pastry.
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 50 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 cups boiling water
- 60 medium (12.5 cm x 12.5 cm) spring roll wrappers ((available at Asian groceries) (Note 1))
- vegetable oil (for deep frying)
- 10 gm dried black fungus / wood ear mushroom, (finely chopped (available at Asian groceries))
- 1/2 brown onion, (finely chopped)
- 150 gm carrot, (grated)
- 100 gm green cabbage, (finely chopped (do not use the hard part in the middle))
- 100 gm white potato, (chopped into small cubes)
- 30 gm dried bean vermicelli
- 400 gm pork mince
- 200 gm raw prawn meat (approx 400 gm of prawns with shell), (chopped into small chunks (Note 2))
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
- Vietnamese dipping sauce
- sweet chilli sauce
Instructions
- 1
In a bowl, soak the black fungus in boiling water and leave aside.
- 2
Prep all your vegetables and proteins.
- 3
Add the cubed white potato in a bowl with 1 tbsp of water. Cover with cling wrap and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
- 4
Strain the black fungus and pat dry with some kitchen towels. Roughly chop.
- 5
Rinse the bean vermicelli noodles under a tap for a few seconds and cut into 2 - 3 cm pieces with a pair of scissors.
- 6
Take out a mixing bowl and thoroughly combine all the filling ingredients with your hands.
- 7
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water.
- 8
Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. If the mixture hasn't thickened, then microwave for a further 10 seconds.
- 9
Separate a few spring roll wrappers at a time and put rest back into the packaging. Do not separate them all at once because they will dry out.
- 10
Place the wrapper in front of you with a corner pointing towards you, like a diamond.
- 11
Place a heaped teaspoon in the middle of the wrapper and spread the filling out in a small log shape going across the wrapper. Do not spread all the way to the side corners, and make sure the mixture is evenly spread.
- 12
Fold the side corners towards the middle and press down around the filling to make sure it is compacted.
- 13
Lift the bottom corner over the filling and roll tightly without squeezing the filling out.
- 14
Finish the roll with a bit of cornstarch mixture on the top corner to keep it together.
- 15
Add enough vegetable oil to a pot so that the depth is at least 3 cm. Heat the oil on medium heat.
- 16
Slide the fresh / frozen spring rolls into the oil one at a time and be careful of splash back. Try not to overcrowd the pot with spring rolls.
- 17
Cook the spring rolls until they are floating on top of the oil and are a golden colour. It usually takes roughly 3 mins for fresh spring rolls and 3 - 4 for frozen. (Note 3)
- 18
Take them out with a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs and let them drain on a rack. Do not let them cool on top of each other.
- 19
Repeat until all done and serve ASAP!