Name: Chả Giò (Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 10 Rice Paper Wrappers; 180 g Pork Mince; 120 g Prawns, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped; 40 g Glass Noodles, soaked and chopped; ¼ cup Wood Ear Mushrooms, soaked and finely chopped; ½ Carrot, grated; ¼ Onion, finely chopped; 2 clove Garlic, minced; 1 tbsp Fish Sauce; ¼ tsp Black Peppercorns, freshly crushed; 1 tsp Sugar; 1 Lemon, juiced; 1 Green Chili Pepper, finely chopped; 1 cup Lettuce, leaves separated; ¼ cup Mint Leaves, leaves picked; 2 cup Neutral Oil, for frying; to taste Salt

1 hrtotal

Prep 35 min · Cook 25 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Mild

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Method

Mix pork mince, chopped prawns, glass noodles, wood ear mushrooms, carrot, onion, garlic, fish sauce, black pepper, sugar, and salt.
Dip one rice paper wrapper briefly in water until just pliable, then place it on a clean board.
Add a small amount of filling near the lower edge, fold in the sides, and roll tightly without tearing the wrapper.
Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Keep the rolls separated so they do not stick.
Heat oil over medium heat and fry the rolls in batches until golden, crisp, and cooked through.
Mix lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar, green chilli, and a little warm water to make a dipping sauce.
Serve the fried rolls with lettuce, mint leaves, and the dipping sauce.

How to tell it's done

The outside should be crisp and blistered, while the filling should be juicy and fully cooked.

Getting it right

Tip

Fry on medium heat, not high heat; rice paper can brown before the meat filling cooks through.

What to serve it with

Wrap each crispy roll in lettuce with mint, then dip into the sauce.

Common mistakes

The wrappers tear or stick together.: Dip each one for a second or two only — it should still feel slightly stiff when it comes out and will soften on the board. Left in the water until floppy, rice paper tears as you roll and welds to its neighbours.
The rolls burst or brown before the filling cooks.: Fry at a moderate heat, not a fierce one, and do not crowd the pan. Rice paper colours quickly; oil that is too hot gives dark rolls with raw pork inside.

Substitutions

Use Pork Mince and Prawns together for a classic filling; omitting either changes the dish identity.
Glass Noodles should be soaked and chopped so the filling stays easy to bite.
Rice Paper Wrappers become sticky quickly, so roll one at a time.
Fish Sauce and Prawns require fish and shellfish allergen review.

Storing and reheating

Rolled uncooked rolls keep a day in the fridge on an oiled tray, well spaced, and freeze for two months — fry them from frozen. Fried rolls keep two days and re-crisp in a hot oven, never a microwave.

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Ingredients