Hanoi Deep Fried Spring Rolls (Nem Ran Ha noi, or Cha Gio) Print E-mail

Recipe makes about 20 small rolls

There are many versions of this classic spring roll.  My husband and I have even shredded beets and green papayas to make a festive roll for a holiday party.  Here we have included the smaller style rolls which contain a mixture of pork and prawns and sometimes crabmeat. Other versions, usually larger rolls, also include bean sprouts and vermicelli in the filling.

Ingredients:

For rolls

100g
ground pork (you may also mince with a cleaver)
100g
prawns, minced
(optional: you may add 50g of crab meat, substituting for some of the pork and prawns)
50g
turnip or jicama, chopped finely
20g
dried black wood ear mushroom (soaked to hydrate), chopped finely
1-2
spring onions, sliced thinly, white and light green portion only
1 Tbsp
shallot, minced
1
egg
2tsp
fish sauce
1tsp
pepper

Rice paper wrappers (one package—how many you need will depend on how much filling you use for each roll)
Water or beer or coconut juice (in a bowl for moistening wrappers)
Clean dishtowel (for moistening wrapper or for wiping off excess water after dipping wrappers)

Cooking oil (enough to reach over half way up the rolls)

Serve with
Fresh herbs
Fresh rice noodles
Classic nuoc cham dipping sauce (recipe below)

Preparation
Marinate minced pork and shrimp with fish sauce.
Mix pork, shrimp, turnip, wood ear mushrooms, scallions, shallots and pepper together in a large bowl with the egg. Mix well with wooden spoon or spatula until mixture forms a paste.

Moisten rice paper by dipping quickly in water (beer or coconut juice will help the rolls brown nicely when frying, but water is fine) or wiping with a damp cloth. Roll a little of the mixture into a rice paper.

Instructions for rolling spring rolls: first fold over the edge closest to you up about 1 inch; place about one tablespoon of the mixture on this folded area; gently fold the two sides of the wrapper toward the center, making sure the sides two sides are parallel; from the bottom, roll the wrapper over the filling one time, and press along the open edge to squeeze the filling back into the wrapper securely; finish by rolling up the spring tightly up the rest of the wrapper. Use a bit of water to seal the edge if it does not stick.

Traditional rolls of this variety are quite small, about 5cm long and 2 cm thick. There are different sized rice paper wrappers available, so you if you can only get a large size, you can cut them down before wrapping.

Deep fry until lightly browned.

Serve hot with the sauce on the side (see Classic Nuoc Cham recipe), adding marinated papaya and carrot slices. The rolls can also be served with herbs or lettuces and fresh rice noodles on the side to wrap up the rolls before dunking in sauce.