Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls (Chả Giò)

If you’ve ever eaten at a Vietnamese restaurant, you may have shared a plate of Chả Giò. It’s one of the cuisine’s most famous appetizers. There is something so irresistible about crunching your way through a delicately crispy fried pastry wrapper into a warm, earthy, juicy filling. One roll always leaves us wanting more!

Like garlic noodles, potstickers, and fresh spring rolls, we had to recreate our favorite Chả Giò. The impossibly thin pastry wrappers are filled with earthy shiitake mushrooms, juicy shrimp, and pork. Then they’re fried until they’re ready to dip in sweet chili sauce and shatter with your first bite. The best part is how beautifully these freeze, so you can crush your craving with a better-than-takeout fried spring roll faster than any delivery.

How to Make Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls (Chả Giò)

Ingredients

Process

1. Place a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot add oil. Add mushrooms, carrot, and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
2. Fill a tall pot with oil and preheat to 350˚F. Place all filling ingredients (including sautéed mushrooms, carrots, and garlic mixture) into a large mixing bowl.

3. Mix together until very well combined. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day..
4. Place a single egg roll wrapper onto a clean surface (so it looks like a diamond)and brush the surface with a light layer of egg wash.

5. Take the bottom corner of the wrapper and fold it about ½ way up to the opposite corner and press down to smooth and seal.
6. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling into a narrow log onto the overlapped portion of the wrapper.

7. Take both sides of the wrapper and fold them in, towards the center of the log of filling.
8. Brush the ends of the wrapper with more egg wash (as needed) and tightly roll each egg roll until completely closed and sealed.

9. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet, seam side-down. Repeat until all the filling and wrappers have been used.Carefully drop 4 to 5 egg rolls into the hot oil at a time and fry for 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown and filling has just cooked through. Drain onto paper towels for 1 minute before transferring onto a baking sheet, lined with a cooling rack. Repeat until all egg rolls have been fried.

Tips for the BEST Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls

Fried spring rolls are simple, but the little things really do make a big difference. Follow these tips for perfect spring rolls every time.

• The right wrapper makes a huge difference in how crispy these spring rolls become. We highly recommend using TYJ Spring Roll Pastry by Spring Home. They’re easy to handle, and the ultra-thin wheat flour pastry sheets fry up incredibly light and crispy without absorbing too much oil. Careful not to confuse these with egg roll wrappers, which are much thicker, or rice paper wrappers, which we use for fresh spring rolls. Neither of those will give you the same results.
• Do your best to chop the filling ingredients finely and evenly. That way the filling holds together, and each bite has every ounce of flavor. If any of the ingredients are chopped too large, the rolls may have a harder time sealing together.
• Refrigerating the filling for at least half an hour is essential, so don’t skip this step. Chilled filling will be firm and much easier to handle and roll, holding its shape inside the wrapper.
• Two tablespoons is the perfect amount of filling for each wrapper. If you overfill them, they’ll be more difficult to roll tightly and seal. That means you’ll end up with exploded spring rolls and a mess in your oil.
• It takes a bit more time, but work in batches, frying only 4 to 5 rolls at a time. This will help the oil temperature stays up. Overcrowding the fryer will lead to soggy rolls that absorb too much oil.
• Transfer your freshly fried spring rolls to a cooling rack after just a minute of draining onto the paper towel. This helps excess oil drip away from the spring roll so that every side is perfectly crispy and crunchy.

Making Ahead and Freezing Spring Rolls

These Vietnamese spring rolls become the perfect make-ahead appetizer when you make a big batch and refrigerate or freeze them for later.

You can make the filling up to two days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container until you’re ready to wrap your rolls. You can also refrigerate assembled, uncooked rolls for up to a day before frying them. Just place the rolls on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you’re ready to fry them.

For longer-term storage, you can freeze uncooked spring rolls for up to 3 months. Prepare them as directed, placing them in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Freeze for two hours, or until completely frozen, then place the spring rolls in an airtight container or freezer bag.

How to Fry Spring Rolls from Frozen?

When you’re ready to fry your frozen spring rolls, heat the oil as directed, then fry them directly from frozen. You may need to keep them in the fryer for an extra 1-2 minutes to make sure they fully cook through.

Variations

Chả Giò is incredibly versatile; you can’t go wrong with any of these substitutions or variations:

• Adjust the protein – We love the combination, texture and flavor with ground pork and shrimp. You can use all pork or all shrimp, if you prefer. You can even swap some of the shrimp for lump crab meat or lobster, or use ground chicken instead of pork.
• Add cooked and chopped cellophane noodles – They are traditionally added to these spring rolls and add a great texture to the filling. We left it out of our recipe just to simplify it a bit, but feel free to add some to your filling (a 1/2 cup should be good for the amount of filling).
• Switch the mushroom: Maitake mushrooms have a really lovely, nutty, earthy flavor and meaty texture, but wood ear mushrooms are another traditionally used option. If you can’t get your hands on either, shitaki or even chopped portabellas will work.
• Add veggies – For a little extra texture and flavor, add a bit of grated jicama or diced taro to the mix for a touch of sweetness.
• Make it a meal – Instead of an appetizer, serve these fried spring rolls with Yum Woon Sen, Chicken Satay, or Lettuce Wraps for a full meal.

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