Cha Gio (Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls with Taro)
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
1 hr 30 mins
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Cook Time
30 mins
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Total Time
2 hrs
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Servings
50
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Calories
117 kcal
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Course
Appetizer
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Cuisine
Asian, Vietnamese
Cha Gio (Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls with Taro)
Description
Cha Gio combines a mixture of shredded taro, carrot, cabbage, ground pork, and mung bean vermicelli noodles seasoned with fish sauce, soy sauce, and spices. The filling is prepared by extracting excess moisture from the vegetables with salt, then mixing all components with starch to bind them together. The filling is wrapped in square spring roll wrappers, carefully sealed with a cornstarch slurry, and fried in hot vegetable oil until crispy. The taro adds a distinct texture and mild sweetness that complements the savory pork and vegetables.
The fried spring rolls finish with a crunchy texture on the outside and a tender, flavorful filling inside. They can be served warm as an appetizer or part of a meal. The recipe details soaking and cutting specific ingredients like mung bean vermicelli and wood ear mushrooms to add layers of texture. The cornstarch slurry helps keep the rolls sealed during frying to prevent filling leakage.
Ingredients
Filling:
- 160 g carrot 1 ½ cup, shredded
- 160 g Napa cabbage 2 cup, shredded
- 1 teaspoon sea salt for extracting moisture from veggies, coarse
- 1 lb ground pork about 80/20 mixture of meat to fat, lean
- 300 g taro about 2 baby taros, peeled, 2 cup, shredded
- 265 g jicama ½ small sized jicama, optional, 2 cup, shredded
- 40 g mung bean vermicelli soaked, drained and cut into 1" long pieces, 1 package, aka bean thread
- 3 Wood ear mushrooms soaked, drained and julienned
Seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
Wrappers:
- 1 pkg spring roll wrapper square size 15cm x 15 cm, or you can use homemade (link
Cornstarch slurry:
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1-2 teaspoon water
For frying:
- 2-3 C vegetable oil such as peanut, canola or grapeseed, high smoke-point, for frying
Instructions
For key visual folding step-by-step photos, refer to body of the post.
Make the filling:
- In a colander, combine the shredded carrot and cabbage.
- Sprinkle coarse sea salt over the carrot and cabbage and massage it into the vegetables. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Squeeze the excess water from the carrot and cabbage and place into a large bowl.
- To the bowl, add in the ground pork, shredded taro and jicama, mung bean vermicelli thread that has been cut into 1" pieces, and julienned wood ear mushrooms. Give everything a mix.
- Add in the fish sauce, soy sauce, fine sea salt, black pepper, granulated sugar and potato starch. Mix well to incorporate the seasonings.
- Cover and store the filling in the fridge until ready to assemble.
Assemble:
- Peel the spring roll wrappers and place onto a plate covered with a damp paper towel. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water and give it a stir. This will be the cornstarch slurry to seal the spring rolls. Set aside.
- Taking one wrapper, place it on a plate with a pointed side facing down facing you.
- Add about 1 heaped tablespoon of filling and add it about ⅓rd from the bottom.
- From the bottom, fold up the wrapper covering the filling and push back slightly to ensure there are no air pockets.
- Tightly roll it up almost halfway and tuck and fold in both ends of the wrapper into the centre. It should now look like an envelope.
- Dab a finger into the cornstarch slurry and dampen the seams ("triangle" at the top) and continue to roll to seal.
- Place the spring roll seam-side down on a large baking tray.
- Repeat with the remainder.
Fry:
- Add vegetable frying oil to a sauce pan or pot and heat to 350°F/177°C.
- Tip: Test the oil to see if it's hot enough by dipping a chopstick into the oil and if bubbles appear, it's ready.
- Add in the spring rolls (don't overcrowd the pot) and fry for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
- Drain the fried spring rolls on paper towel.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 50Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 117 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 117kcal | 6% |
| Carbohydrates | 2g | 1% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 11g | 17% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 3g | 18% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 7g | 35% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 7mg | 2% |
| Sodium | 154mg | 6% |
| Potassium | 70mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 548IU | 11% |
| Vitamin C | 2mg | 2% |
| Calcium | 7mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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