Illustrative AI food photo: crisp golden chả giò spring rolls, some cut to show the filling, on lettuce and herbs with a bowl of nước chấm

Guides · Cook it at home

Chả giò (called nem rán in the north) are the crisp rolls that show up at every Vietnamese family party. In restaurants they often sit on top of a bowl of vermicelli. The filling is simple: pork, shrimp, glass noodles and wood ear mushrooms. The crunch depends on two things, a well-sealed roll and a patient, moderate fry.

Rice paper wrappers give the classic blistered, glassy shell, but they take practice. Wheat spring roll pastry, sold frozen, is more forgiving and very crisp. This recipe covers both. Make a full batch and freeze half; they fry straight from frozen.

Ingredients

Filling

  • 450 g (1 lb) ground pork (regular, not lean)
  • 225 g (8 oz) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and finely chopped
  • 40 g (1½ oz) dried mung bean glass noodles
  • 8 g (¼ oz, about 5 pieces) dried wood ear mushrooms
  • 1 medium carrot (about 100 g / 3½ oz), finely grated
  • 150 g (5 oz) taro or jicama, finely grated and squeezed dry (optional)
  • 3 shallots, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) fish sauce
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
  • ½ tsp (2.5 ml) kosher salt
  • ½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground black pepper

Wrapping and frying

  • 30 small round rice paper sheets, 16 cm (6 in), or 30 sheets wheat spring roll pastry, 20 cm (8 in) square
  • 500 ml (2 cups) warm water mixed with 1 tbsp (15 ml) sugar (for rice paper)
  • 1 egg white or a paste of 1 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp water (for wheat pastry)
  • About 1.5 L (6 cups) neutral oil, for frying

Nước chấm

  • 60 ml (¼ cup) fish sauce
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
  • 50 g (¼ cup) sugar
  • 120 ml (½ cup) warm water
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 or 2 bird's eye chilies, minced

To serve

  • Soft lettuce leaves, mint, cilantro and Thai basil
  • Cooked rice vermicelli (optional)

Method

  1. Soak the dry ingredients. Cover the glass noodles with warm water for 10 minutes and the wood ear with hot water for 20 minutes. Drain both. Cut the noodles into 3 cm (1 in) lengths, and trim and finely chop the wood ear.
  2. Mix the filling. In a large bowl combine the pork, shrimp, noodles, wood ear, carrot, taro, shallot, garlic, egg, fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix with your hand until it turns slightly sticky. Fry a teaspoon to check the seasoning, and adjust.
  3. Roll with rice paper. Dip one rice paper sheet into the sugar water for 2 seconds and lay it on a damp towel; it will keep softening. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling (about 30 g) in a log near the bottom edge. Fold the bottom over, fold in the sides, and roll up firmly with no air pockets. Rest the rolls seam side down on a tray, not touching.
  4. Or roll with wheat pastry. Lay a sheet as a diamond, place the filling near the bottom corner, roll halfway, fold in the sides, then roll up and seal the tip with egg white or flour paste.
  5. Make the nước chấm. Stir the sugar into the warm water until it dissolves, then add the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and chili. Taste it. It should be sour, sweet and salty in balance.
  6. Fry slowly. Heat 5 cm (2 in) of oil in a heavy pot or wok. For rice paper, heat to 160°C (325°F) and fry 6 to 8 rolls at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, turning occasionally, until deep golden and blistered. For wheat pastry, heat to 175°C (350°F) and fry 5 to 6 minutes. Drain on a rack.
  7. Optional second fry. For extra crunch, fry the rolls at 160°C (325°F) until pale gold, cool for 10 minutes, then fry again at 180°C (355°F) for 1 to 2 minutes.
  8. Serve. Wrap each roll in lettuce with herbs and dip in nước chấm. You can also cut the rolls into pieces over a bowl of vermicelli with herbs and dressing.

Tips

  • Rice paper rolls stick to each other while raw and while frying. Keep them apart on the tray and add them to the oil one at a time.
  • Wet filling makes soggy rolls. Squeeze the grated taro or jicama, and drain the noodles and mushrooms well.
  • A thermometer helps here. Oil that is too hot browns the wrapper before the pork is cooked through (71°C / 160°F inside).
  • To freeze, set the uncooked rolls on a parchment-lined tray, freeze until firm, then bag them for up to 3 months. Fry from frozen, adding 3 to 4 minutes.
  • An air fryer works for wheat-pastry rolls. Brush with oil and cook at 200°C (390°F) for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once. Rice paper rolls brown less evenly this way, so fry them if you can.

Where to buy the ingredients in Toronto

Glass noodles, dried wood ear, small rice paper rounds and frozen spring roll pastry are standard at Asian supermarkets such as T&T, Btrust and Oceans. You will also find them at the Vietnamese and Chinese grocers around Spadina Ave and Dundas St W, Gerrard St E and Finch Ave W. Taro and jicama turn up at Asian and Latin grocers. Ground pork and shrimp are at any supermarket.

Elsewhere in Canada, large Asian supermarkets and Vietnamese grocers carry the same staples.

Prefer to eat it out?

Want them fried for you? The Vietnamese spots on YumYak: Pho Tien Thanh, Pho Ngoc Yen and The Lunch Lady.