The perfect introduction to Vietnamese food!
Whether you’ve been to Vietnam or not (we unfortunately haven’t…. Yet!), making spring rolls at home (also known as Goi Cuon in South Vietnam or Nem Ran in the North) is easy and so rewarding!
Servings
4
Prep time:
45min
Cook time:
15min
Difficulty:
Easy
Ingredients
- pack of rice paper sheets
- carrots
- shiitake mushrooms
- egg
- glass noodles
- ground pork
- shallot
- salt pepper
- coriander and mint
- oil (for frying)
Chả giò or Nem Ran take a bit of prep and a little bit of skill but they are great as a quick dish you can freeze and fry whenever you feel like it!
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Prep your dry shiitake and noodles
In a bowl, pour hot water over the shiitake mushrooms for at least 15 minutes
Same for the noodles, put a handful of noodles in a bowl and let them sit in hot water for about 10-15minutes (until they are soft)
Step 2
Meanwhile, peel the carrot and shred it either with a knife or using a food processor, chop the shallots finely and prep your minced pork (if you are doing it yourself instead of buying a pack at the grocery store)
Step 3
In a bowl, mix the ground pork, carrots, shallots and add the shiitake and noodles which you will have chopped finely beforehand.
Add the salt & pepper and the egg yolk and mix the whole thing together by hand until it’s blended together well.
Step 4
Prep your worktop to assemble the rolls. You need a bowl or a pan with warm/hot water (to plunge the sheet in) and a nice surface where you will put a clean tea towel damp to assemble the rolls on.
Step 5
Lay the towel on the surface, and dip your first sheet in the warm water all the way. Lay it on the towel, then add some of your filling at the edge closest to you.
Step 6
Fold the left and right sides towards the center, then fold the edge closest to you onto the filling and start rolling
Step 7
Once you’ve done your rolls, heat up a large saucepan with vegetable oil up to 180 deg and fry your rolls one or two at a time (so that they don’t stick to each other until they are golden.
Step 8
You should be able to fry these in a pan to save on using a great amount of oil, but you’ll have to turn them every now and then. I recommend par frying each side first before you let the sides cook through properly.
Step 9
If you want to make a big batch, you can easily freeze them once you’ve par fried them a little on each side, just make sure you lay them on a sheet where they won’t touch eachother, otherwise they will stick.
It’s an easy recipe to adapt, whether you want to make them vegan or with fish or if you’d like to impart a bit more flavour by adding herbs to the filling, taro root or bean sprouts.
Serve with lettuce, mint and the nuoc mam dipping sauce and voila!
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