These Vietnamese spring rolls (Chả Giò or Nem Rán) are worth the effort, trust me. I first tried one on the streets of Hanoi as a side dish with my noodles. It was fried crisp and the savory fillings balanced perfectly with the sweet and salty dipping sauce. I’m glad the dish came with two rolls, because I couldn’t stop at one.
I’ll be honest here, I ordered more to share with my family because I didn’t want them to miss out on these delicious spring rolls.
So what’s the story with my spring roll recipe? I saw them on the menus at restaurants, each one made a little differently. I had my daughter, the Hanoi transplant, investigate this most delicious dish.
Disclaimer: This version uses tofu instead of the traditional pork. My daughter is pescatarian so she's okay to use fish sauce, but meat is a no-no. If you want to enjoy your spring rolls with meat, swap the tofu for ground pork.
When do people make fried spring rolls?
Despite being offered year-round, Vietnamese spring rolls are considered more of a holiday food. Families gather together every year to make their holiday spring rolls. This ritual involves everyone going out to the market together to buy ingredients. After arriving home, all are involved in chopping, dicing, and then rolling the nem or rolls.
Now these do take some effort. The lady in the market sells her tofu in blocks, not pre-minced. Jicamas are a hardy fruit that take some effort to peel and dice. The wood ear and shiitake mushrooms typically are purchased dried and they need to be rehydrated before you chop them. The whole family gets involved in making nem, really. My daughter would vouch for this.
There’s no wrong way to roll it
So after you have the filling prepared and rice paper hydrated, it’s time to roll your nem. There is technically no “incorrect” way to do it. The end goal is a roll that won’t fall apart when fried. Some people prefer a fat spring roll that serves as more of a meal than a side dish. Others make small, finger-sized rolls to enjoy with all the other holiday dishes. There are many ways to enjoy them!
Steps to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls:
Here are the steps for making Vietnamese spring rolls.
- Gather all your ingredients and have then ready to go. The chopping and constructing steps are below.
- Place some room temperature water in three bowls to soak the rice noodles, dried shiitake and dried wood ear mushrooms. While they soak you can start chopping the vegetables.
- Cut the jicama in half and set aside one half. Peel the other half and then julienne into small match stick pieces.
- Mince the carrot, shallot and green onion then mix together.
- Place the tofu between paper towels on a cutting board and press gently to expel most of the liquid. I like to press with the side of a chef's knife.
- Mash the tofu with a fork so it resembles small pieces of cottage cheese. Skip this step if you are using the ground pork version.
- Drain the noodles and mushrooms. Mince the mushrooms and cut the noodles into 1 inch pieces. Be sure the noodles are al dente otherwise soak them a little longer.
- Place the chopped vegetables, mushrooms, noodles and tofu on a large bowl then add the beaten egg. Mix this thoroughly until it comes together into a soft dough like consistency. You can add more egg a spoonful at a time if it does not combine but you don't want it soupy.
- To construct the spring rolls take a large dinner plate and add enough room temperature water to submerge a rice paper round. Lay a round in the water for a few seconds and then flip it over. It will become pliable fairly quickly. Place 1.5 Tbsp of the mixture in the center. Fold the right and left side of the paper toward the center until they just touch.
- Fold the bottom toward the center so it resembles and envelope.
- Gently roll up from the bottom away from you in a cigar shape keeping the mixture packed together. Tip: Do not set the finished rolls on a wooden cutting board as they will stick. Do not let them touch each other as they will be sticky. A plastic cutting board works best to avoid sticking.
- Once all the rolls are constructed heat some canola or peanut oil to 325°F on medium heat in a large skillet. Fry in batches if 5 or 6 depending on the size of the cooking vessel.
Air-Fryer Method to Cook the Vietnamese Spring Rolls:
- Place some canola or peanut oil in a small dish and brush each spring roll on all sides to coat.
- Set your air-fryer to 400°F for 12 minutes. I love my Cosori Air Fryer
for these! - Place the rolls in the fryer then start. Turn or flip them half way through at 6 minutes.
- The rolls should have an internal temperature of 165°F if you are using ground pork in the filling.
Don't Forget Your Dipping Sauce
Whether enjoying your spring rolls at a restaurant or in someone's home, undoubtably they'll come out with a dipping sauce. Here's the kicker, it will be different in every house. My daughter's friend abhorred spicy foods, so spring rolls sauce at that house were always sans Thai chili.
Here's what you need to throw together a quick spring roll sauce. Keep in mind that the rolls will absorb the sauce like a sponge, less is more because this stuff is potent! Now feel free to leave out the garlic as well if you don't like it. At most places, it will come out without garlic or chili in the sauce but in separate bowls. You get to flavor it to your liking.
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons of water
- ¼ tsp of dissolved sugar
- juice from ¼ of a lime
- 2 ⅛in slices of Thai chili
- ⅛ tsp of minced garlic
Add the sugar to the bowl with the water and fish sauce and stir until it dissolves. Squeeze the ¼ lime and stir again. Garnish with Thai chili and minced garlic.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- How long can I store the finished spring rolls? Once they are completely cooled you can store them in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
- How do I reheat them? You can microwave them until they are hot for about 30 seconds but they will be crispier if you reheat in a toaster oven on the toast setting. You can also reheat them in an air fryer for 3 minutes at 350°F.
- Can I freeze the spring rolls? Yes, but freeze them before frying for the best results. Take them out of the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator overnight and fry in oil or air fry as stated in the recipe.
What voice command works with Alexa to run the Cosori Air Fryer?
I have had this question sent to me and it took a little investigation but here is how I got my Cosori Air Fryer to work with Alexa voice commands.
- Download the Vesync app as shown in the quick start guide, setup your account and get your air fryer connected. Confirm you can connect with Vesync and run the fryer with the app as shown in the manual.
- Open the Alexa app and go to "Skills and Games" and search for Vesync. Enable and authorize the skill.
- Tap "devices" and then tap "all devices" and you should see the Cosori Air Fryer.
- I clicked edit on the device name in the Alexa app and changed from "Cosori Air Fryer" to just "Air Fryer" to simplify things.
- The command I use is to state name or "air fryer" and then the time and then the temperature. Here are some examples: "Alexa start air fryer for 6 minutes at 350 degrees." or "Alexa start air fryer for 3 minutes at 400." I found that you don't need to say the word "degrees" but I like to :-).
- To stop I just say: "Alexa stop air fryer." I hope this helps!
Try more Vietnamese recipes
If you want to try some other popular Vietnamese dishes at home that are very easy to make check these out:
Bo Sot Vang (bò sốt vang) is a delicious beef stew you can make in a slow cooker that has very unique flavors and is served with a crusty bread like French baguette or bahn mi.
Vietnamese Pho Tron is a cold and VERY flavorful beef salad that is served during the summer months.
Bun Cha is a grilled pork meatball and it includes the similar traditional dipping sauce recipe also.
Thit Kho Tau are slow braised pork medallions in a coconut sauce that you have to try.
Leave me a comment and let me know how you like these. Thanks!
Looking for more recipes?
Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! You can also find me sharing more inspiration in Pinterest and Facebook.
Chả Giò - Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 5 dried wood ear mushrooms
- ⅓ cup dried shitake mushrooms
- 2 oz brown rice noodles
- ½ carrot
- 1 green onion
- 1 shallot minced fine
- 10 oz tofu pressed and minced (optional: 10 oz. ground pork)
- ½ jicama peeled and minced fine
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 cups canola oil for frying
- 30 Rice paper rounds
Dipping Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp water
- ¼ tsp sugar dissolved
- 1 tsp lime juice fresh
- ⅛ tsp Thai chili about 2 slices work, add more for more heat
- ⅛ tsp garlic minced
Instructions
Prepare the filling:
- Soak the shitake, wood ear mushrooms and brown rice noodles in room temperature water in separate bowls. You can break up the noodles to help them fit the rolls better, about 1 inch noodles work well. Soak all these for 30 to 60 minutes until soft.
- Cut the jicama in half and set one half aside. Take the other half and peel it then julienne into match sticks. Set aside.
- Mince the carrot, green onion and shallot into a mixture.
- Gently press the tofu dry between sheets of paper towels until most of the liquid is expelled. Mash with a fork until it is fine and set aside.
- Drain the noodles and mushrooms. Chop the mushrooms finely. Make sure the noodles are al dente and cut them into 1 inch long pieces.
- Place the mushrooms, vegetables, noodles, tofu or pork, egg, salt, pepper into a bowl and mix thoroughly. It the mixture does not come together like a loose dough add more egg a spoonful at a time. Don't let it get soupy or too loose.
Construct the spring rolls and fry:
- Take a dinner plate and add some water to it. No enough to overflow though.
- Lay one piece of rice paper on the plate then quickly flip and lay down on the other side. It should quickly become pliable.
- Using a plastic or silicone cutting board, lay the wet rice paper in the center and take 1.5 Tbsp of filling from the bowl and place in the center. Spread it out into the size and shape of a finger parallel to the cutting board as you are facing it.
- Fold in the left and right sides toward the center until they just meet.
- Lift the bottom and fold over the center (It will look like and envelope). Make sure you are applying a little pressure to keep the roll together but not too much to tear it.
- Roll the spring roller toward the top flap and it would be in the shape of a small finger sized tube. Set aside on a clean plate or cutting board. Avoid wooden cutting board as the wet rice paper will stick. They will also stick together so avoid letting them touch.
- Once all the rolls are made, add enough canola or peanut oil to a skillet on medium heat so the depth is about half the thickness of your rolls.
- Once the oil hits 325°F, fry the rolls on both sides in batches of 3 or 4 until golden brown.
Air fryer instructions:
- In a small bowl place some canola or peanut oil and brush all sides of each roll with a pastry brush.
- Set the air fryer to 400°F for 12 minutes. Add 1 layer of rolls (do not stack as they will stick together) and start.
- Flip them after 6 minutes and continue air frying. If using ground pork cook until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
Make the dipping sauce:
- Combine the fish sauce, water, dissolved sugar, lime juice, add slices of Thai chili and minced garlic to taste. For more heat, add more Thai chili.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions:
- How long can I store the finished spring rolls? Once they are completely cooled you can store them in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
- How do I reheat them? You can microwave them until they are hot for about 30 seconds but they will be crispier if you reheat in a toaster oven on the toast setting. You can also reheat them in an air fryer for 3 minutes at 350°F.
- Can I freeze the spring rolls? Yes, but freeze them before frying for the best results. Take them out of the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator overnight and fry in oil or air fry as stated in the recipe.
Jessie Amberson-Whelen
Thank you so much for this recipe. I desperately wanted to try these in the air fryer because I couldn’t get away from the wrapper cracking and bubbling using the hot oil method!