Cha gio (spring rolls)
80 rolls
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | ounces | Cellophane noodles, soaked in warm water for 20 min., then drained & cut into 1\" lengths |
| 1 | pounds | Ground pork |
| 1 | large | Onion; finely chopped |
| 2 | tablespoons | Tree ears; soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, then |
| 20 | Sheets dried rice papers (banh trang) | |
| per Deborah Kosnett drained & finely chopped | ||
| 3 | Garlic clove; finely chopped | |
| 3 | Shallots; or white part of 3 scallions, finely chopped | |
| 7 | ounces | Crabmeat; cartilage removed and meat flaked with fingers |
| ½ | teaspoon | Black pepper |
| 4 | Egg; well-beaten | |
| 2 | cups | Peanut oil |
Directions
FILLING
PREPARATIONS FOR ASSEMBLING
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 each of the pieces. Before filling, wait for egg mixture to take effect, softening the wrappers; this takes 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 1 tsp. of filling near the curved side, in the shape of a rectangle. Fold the sides 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 Bach's special method of keeping spring rolls crisp).
from "The Classic Cuisine of Viet Nam" by Bach Ngo & Gloria Zimmerman : (Barron's, 1979)
Now, some notes on this recipe: I had trouble with softening the rice paper with beaten egg; I have another recipe around here somewhere which uses water, I believe. That probably is easier. Also, I deep-fried the spring rolls, and did not put them into cold oil (this increases oil absorption).
Submitted By SAM WARING On 10-31-95