Cha Gio: Fried Vietnamese Spring Rolls




 
Fried Vietnamese spring rolls are a favorite of mine. Unlike the typical pork spring rolls or egg rolls usually found at Chinese fastfood chains, Vietnamese spring rolls are slightly different. They differ in the type of wrapper used and the filling. Cha Gio as they are commonly called back in Vietnam makes use of  rice paper wraps and  taro is added in the pork mixture. A mixture of sweet fish sauce is also used as a condiment on the side.


Wrapping with rice paper is delicate but once you get used to working on it, its as easy as ABC! When Chao Gio is fried, they are ugly ducklings compared to their smoother Chinese counterpart (no pun intented) but they make an authentic and unique type of spring roll. If you happen to visit an authentic Vietnamese restaurant I highly suggest you try fried spring rolls instead of the fresh ones.

For the spring rolls

450 grams lean ground pork
325 grams raw shrimp, peeled and chopped
2 eggs
4 shallots
1 1/2 cup carrots, finely diced
1 1/2c dried ear wood mushrooms, soaked in warm water and thinly sliced
1 extra large taro, peeled and grated. Choose the kind that is slightly white on the inside than the purple kind
200 grams, celophane noodles, soaked in water and chopped about 1 1/2 inch long
2 T. fish sauce
1/4 t. salt
1 T soy sauce
Black pepper
Canola Oil for frying
25 - 30 pieces rice paper wraps


Directions


In a big bowl, combine the pork and shrimp. Make sure they are mixed throrougly. Add in the eggs, chopped shallots, carrots, mushrooms, taro and mix again until well combined. Next, add in the cellophane noodles, fish sauce, salt, black pepper. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated well. Set aside.

Prepare a wide-mouth bowl and add luke warm water. Lay out your wrappers and individually dip them in water for about 20 seconds. Transfer the wrapper into a the mat and wait for it to soften. Scoop out the pork filling and place it in the middle on one side of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper that is closest to the filling and press down slightly to tighten the roll. Fold over both sides. Make sure the sides are folded straight and not slanted to avoid making the middle section thicker than the sides. Rice paper burns easily and if they are not folded properly the sides will brown easily. Continue to roll up while holding the sides until the end of the wrapper. Tuck in the sides after. Rice paper tend to stick to each other, when you align them make sure to put a space in between each other.

In a pan add oil enough to fry the rolls. Bring the heat to medium high heat and add the rolls carefully. Space the rolls from each other. Rice paper are very sticky when they are fried. Then bring down the head at medium high to avoid burning them and turn occasionally until light brown. Make sure your attention is at frying since rice paper in high heat burns easily. Once cooked place them in a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the remaining oil.

For the dipping sauce

6 T sugar
3 T vinegar
1/4 C. fish sauce
1 1/4 cup warm
a dash of dried chili flakes or 1 minced bird's eye chili
half a carrot sliced thinly


Directions

Combine all ingredients together until the sugar has completely dissolved.