Chả giò, is a Vietnamese fried spring roll or egg roll. It is a staple at any Vietnamese celebration or party. Ingredients in chả giò vary, but the most common include ground pork, shrimp, mushrooms, noodles and vegetables. All of these are wrapped in a wheat based wrapper or rice paper, then deep fried until golden brown. The secret to a great chả giò is jicama or taro. These root vegetables provide the chả giò with a fatty and crunchy taste which are vital to this recipe. Chả giò is so tasty and is served multiple ways. My favorite way to enjoy them, is by wrapping the chả giò in a big piece of lettuce/herbs and dipping it in the nước mắm chấm sauce from one of our earlier recipes. I cannot wait for you to try this recipe at your next big party!
Cook Time: ~60-120 minutes
Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
INGREDIENTS
1lb raw shrimp, peeled and minced
2lb ground pork
5 oz wood ear mushrooms, rehydrate in water then drain water
6 oz carrots, shredded
8 oz cellophane noodles, soak noodles in warm water until soft, then cut into 1 inch long strips
1 large onion, chopped
16 oz taro of jicama, shredded or minced
2 eggs, separate yolk from the egg whites
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp chicken bouillon
5 tsp fish sauce
2 packages of egg roll wrappers, thawed
RECIPE
Chả Giò Filling
In a large bowl, combine ground pork, shrimp, wood ear mushrooms, carrots, cellophane noodles, onion, taro or jicama and egg yolk.
Add pepper, garlic salt, sugar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, chicken bouillon and fish sauce and mix well using a large spoon or your hands.
You can test the flavor of your filling by cooking a small amount on a pan. Adjust flavor accordingly.
Chả Giò Wrapping
For these next steps, see the photo above as reference. On a large plate, lay out the egg roll wrapper oriented with a corner pointing down. Fold the bottom corner up about halfway up the wrapper.
Next, add 3-4 tbsp of filling at the bottom of the wrapper where you folded up the corner. Make sure the filling is evenly distributed across the bottom of the wrapper, about 3-4 inches long
Fold the side corners over the filling. It should look like an open envelope.
Finally, begin to TIGHTLY roll the egg roll from the BOTTOM up. When you get to the end of the egg roll wrapper, dip your finger into the egg whites and paint it onto the top corner of the wrapper. This will allow your egg roll to seal so it does not unravel.
Chả Giò Frying
In a pan or pot, heat neutral oil to about 270°F. To test if the oil is hot enough, I throw a small piece of the egg roll wrapper into the oil and it should immediately bubble.
Carefully place the wrapped egg rolls into the hot oil. Do not to overcrowd your pan. Fry for ~5 mins on each side.
When fully cooked, place egg rolls on a rack or a plate with paper towels to soak up the excess oil
CONCLUSION
Chả giò is a tasty and versatile dish, perfect for large gatherings. They are easy to eat and made in generous batches. I personally make a large batch and store them in ziplock bags in the freezer. When I crave some chả giò, I heat up some oil and fry up the frozen egg rolls. To reheat already cooked egg rolls, I recommend reheating them using a toaster oven or air fryer to revive the crispiness of the egg rolls. Chả giò is such a filling and savory appetizer. It pairs perfectly well with the freshness of herbs such as mint, shiso, perilla and the sweet and tangy nước mắm chấm sauce. I personally believe however, that the star ingredient is the taro or jicama root. It adds such an amazing hearty component of flavor to the chả giò. The root vegetables allows all the flavors and textures of the other ingredients to blend perfectly together. The amount of aprons I will award this recipe is...
