Cha Gio – Fried Spring Rolls

Cha Gio – Fried Spring Rolls (Vietnam)

Chef Devan Rajkumar fries up golden, crispy Cha Gio—Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls filled with savory pork, mushrooms, and noodles. Served with bright, tangy Nuoc Cham dipping sauce, these irresistible bites balance crunch, freshness, and umami for the ultimate Vietnamese street food experience.

Makes 12 Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

For the Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce:

• ½ red Thai chili, finely sliced
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ cup (60ml) water
• 3 tbsp (44.4ml) lime juice
• 3 tbsp (44.4ml) fish sauce
• 2 tbsp (29.6ml) rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp (29.6ml) granulated sugar

For the Spring Rolls:

• ½ lb ground pork
• 1 oz thin rice vermicelli
• 1 carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
• 2 small shallots, cut into thin matchsticks
• ¼ cup (60ml) dried wood ear mushrooms
• ½ inch hunk of ginger, peeled
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) ground black pepper
• ½ tsp(2.5ml) granulated sugar
• 12 large spring roll wrappers
• Neutral oil for frying, such as vegetable or peanut oil.
• 1 small head Boston lettuce, leaves separated (optional)
• 1 bunch cilantro (optional)
• 1 bunch mint, leaves separated (optional)

Method:

Make the Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce:

Combine all the nuoc cham ingredients in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside while you make the spring rolls.

Make the Spring Rolls:

Soak the rice vermicelli in a bowl of room temperature water for 15 minutes. Pour boiling water over the wood ear mushrooms and soak them for 15 minutes. Drain both. Cut the rice vermicelli a couple times to make them shorter and easier to work with.

Add the ginger and garlic to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to chop. Add the wood ear mushrooms, salt, pepper, and sugar, and pulse to chop the mushrooms.

Add the wood ear mushroom mixture, rice vermicelli, ground pork, carrot, and shallots to a large bowl and mix well with your hands to combine.

Fill a small bowl with water and place near you. Have the spring roll wrappers and filling ready and make sure your work surface is clean.

Lay out a spring roll wrapper in front of you so one corner is pointing towards you. Fold that corner that is closest to you over slightly to form a flat edge. Place a scoop of filling in the center of the wrapper so it overlaps that folded over edge. Fold the two sides over the filling to hold it in on the edges. Roll up the roll from the edge closest to you (the one you folded over initially) until only a pointed tip of wrapper remains. Dip a finger in the water and dampen the tip of the wrapper, then continue rolling to seal.

Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling (there might be some leftover filling – that is OK. It can be used to fill wontons, more spring rolls, or sauteed and eaten with some nuoc cham poured over).

Fill a large, heavy bottomed pot with neutral oil and heat over high heat until the oil reaches 350 F (175 C). working in batches so as not to crowd the oil, carefully lower spring rolls into the hot oil. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the spring rolls look golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined tray to drain. Repeat with the remaining spring rolls until they are all fried.

Serve with lettuce leaves, cilantro sprigs, and mint leaves for wrapping around the spring rolls, if desired.

Serve with nuoc cham for dipping.