CRISPY SPRING ROLLS (CHA GIO)

Crispy Spring Rolls (Cha Gio) image

The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Mai Pham's book The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking. Pham also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.

Provided by Mai Pham

Categories Chicken Mushroom Onion Pork Appetizer Fry Carrot Noodle Sugar Conscious Kidney Friendly Dairy Free Wheat/Gluten-Free Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free

Yield Makes about 25 pieces

Number Of Ingredients 22

Ingredients

FILLING
1 ounce dried bean thread noodles, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces with a scissors (about 2/3 cup)
1 tablespoon dried tree ear mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained, and stems trimmed and chopped with a scissors
2/3 cup finely minced yellow onion
2 carrots, grated
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 eggs
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 pound ground chicken
1/2 pound ground pork
ASSEMBLING AND FRYING
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup water
15 thin spring roll wrappers such as Menlo brand
Oil for frying
ACCOMPANIMENTS
Table Salad
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

Steps:

Combine the bean thread noodles, mushrooms, onion, carrots, and green onions in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the fish sauce, garlic, salt, sugar, and black pepper. Add the chicken and pork and using a fork, break up the meat, so it is thoroughly mixed with the seasonings. Add the noodle mixture and mix well. Set aside.
Combine the cornstarch and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat and stir often to prevent sticking. If mixture seems too thick, add more water. This will be the "glue" to seal the edges of the wrapper.
Cut the wrappers in half diagonally. You will have two equal triangles. Starting with the longest side toward you, place about 2 tablespoons of filling on the bottom area of the triangle. Using your fingers, mold the filling into a cylinder 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. Fold the two pointed ends of the wrapper in and roll to enclose. Dab a little cornstarch mixture along the edges (do not use too much "glue") and seal the roll. Set aside while you finish making the remaining rolls. Do not stack them.
To fry, preheat a large wok or fry pan. When hot, pour enough oil in to completely cover the spring rolls. Heat to about 325 degrees. Carefully place the rolls into the oil. Do not crowd the pan or place the rolls on top of each other. Fry the spring rolls until filling is cooked, about 5 to 6 minutes on each side, turning often until they are nicely brown and crisp. If they brown too quickly, reduce the heat as the oil is too hot. Remove the cooked spring rolls from the pan and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with dipping sauce and table salad .
To enjoy a spring roll the Vietnamese way, put it on a lettuce leaf, top with cucumber and mint, and wrap it up. Then dip in Vietnamese dipping sauce.