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

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