The Scrumptious Vietnamese Cha? Gio` or Spring Roll

Cha? Gio` or Vietnamese Spring Rolls are not as big as the Chinese rolls ; however they are crisper and can be prepared many hours in advance then refrigerated until ready to be cooked . They can stay nice and crisp for a couple of hours if kept warm in the oven. They are usually served with lettuce leaves, slices of fresh cucumbers together with other garnish such as cilentro leaves, basil leaves , mint leaves and dipped in a small bowl of fish sauce or Nu+o+'c Ma('m ( see May 2000 Article). It is really delicious and very healthy.

Ten easy steps to a very tasty appetizer:

1) First you need to soak a package of bean thread or cellophane noodles (sold in Oriental stores in packages of 2 to 3 oz) until soft, cut into small bite size lengths

2) Add about 1 oz of softened pre soaked finely chopped dried black mushrooms

3) Add four cloves of finely chopped fresh garlic to the mixture

4) To ½ lb of ground pork and ½ lb of chopped shrimp (shelled) and/or crab meat, add 1 chopped onion , ½ teaspoon of black pepper, pinch of salt to taste

5) Blend all the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl and set the mixture aside

6) Dip the dried rice paper ( one package of about 30 round sheets) in warm water until it becomes softened and pliable.( About 3 minutes)

7) Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of the mixture onto the rice paper and fold the sides over to enclose the filling then roll tightly

8) Seal with a mixture of beaten egg and cornstarch.

9) In a wok or a frying pan, heat to 375F degrees, 2 cups of peanut or vegetable oil and fry the rolls until golden crisp on all sides. This should take about 3 to 5 minutes for each roll

10) Remove the rolls and place them on a plate layered with paper towels (to remove any excess oil) and serve . Make 30 rolls.

Cha? Gio` is usually served as an appetizer but in our family, on some special occasions, my mother would prepare the ingredients the day before and refrigerate the mixture for about 8 hours.

The day of the party we would get up early and help her make the rolls. We used to make at least a hundred rolls and gather around the table and eat the whole meal of spring rolls with different garnishes and we dip the rolls in the fish sauce It is such a wonderful family gathering.

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