Recipe: Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio)

Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio)
Source: unknown

2 oz cellophane noodles
1 lb ground lean pork
1 large onion
2 tbsp tree ears dried mushroom (Nam Meo)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 oz crab meat
4 oz shrimp, shelled and chopped
1/2 tsp pepper

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20 sheets dried rice paper (Banh Trang)
4 eggs -- beaten
2 cups peanut oil

Soak noodles in warm water for 20 minutes and cut into 1-inch lengths.

Soak Tree Ear in warm water for 30 minutes, drain and finely chop.

Combine the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Cut a round rice paper sheet into quarters. Place the cut rice paper on a flat surface. With a pastry brush, paint beaten egg over the entire surface of the rice paper piece. Before filling, wait for the egg mixture to take effect, softening the wrappers; this take about 2 minutes. When you become adept at this, you can work on several wrappers at a time. When the wrapper looks soft and transparent, place about one teaspoon of filling near the curved side, in the shape of a rectangle. Fold the side over to enclose the filling and continue to roll. After filling all the wrappers, pour the oil into a large frying pan, put the spring rolls into the cold oil, turn the heat to moderate, and fry for 20 to 30 minutes until a lovely golden brown. (This is a special method of keeping spring rolls crisp.)

Serving Ideas : Serve with lettuce, cilantro, mint and nuoc cham

NOTES : The Vietnamese spring rolls are much smaller and more crisp than the Chinese version. Unlike the Chinese spring rolls, they can be rolled in the morning, then covered and refrigerated for several hours before cooking. After cooking they will keep nice and crisp in 150-degree oven for up to 3 hours. BTW you can substitute shrimp and crabmeat with more ground pork or chicken if you don't like seafood.