Ingredients
- 1 oz mung bean noodles, or cellophane noodles or glass noodles, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes or until soft
- 6 oz ground pork
- 2 oz shrimp, minced
- 1 oz crab meat, coarsely chopped, optional
- some shredded carrots
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 dash esground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- salt, to taste
- 1 small egg, lightly beaten (use only half)
- Vietnamese rice paper
- oil, for deep frying
Instructions
- Chop the soaked mung bean noodles into shorter threads. In a bowl, mix the ingredients together (excluding the Vietnamese rice paper) to create a sticky filling.
- To roll the Vietnamese spring rolls (cha gio), place a piece of rice paper on a clean, damp kitchen towel. Dip your fingers in a bowl of warm water and run them over the entire rice paper to soften it. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling onto the moist rice paper, fold the rice paper over the filling, tuck in the sides, and then roll to form a cylinder about 3 inches (7 cm) long.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a wok or large frying pan. Once the oil is hot, gently add a few rolls to the oil. Fry them slowly until they turn light brown. Remove from the oil and drain the excess by placing them on paper towels.
- Serve immediately with nuoc cham, or wrap the spring rolls in a fresh lettuce leaf with some aromatic herbs and dip them into the nuoc cham.
