Pork and Crab Rolls Recipe

(Cha Gio)

Everyone loves Vietnamese spring rolls known as cha gio (pronounced 'cha yoh'). These take a little time to prepare but are worth the effort. Look for rice paper wrappers in well-stocked Asian market.

Ingredients : Serves 4 -6

Filling

60 g

225 g

95 g

100 g

1/2

Rolls

24 sheets

500 ml

Accompaniments

40 g

625 ml

Bean thread noodles

Large egg, beaten lightly

Lean ground pork

Crab meat, picked clean

Small onion, peeled and finely chopped

Spring onions

Carrot, shredded

Bean sprouts, blanched and drained

Teaspoon salt

Tablespoon fish sauce

Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Rice paper

Oil for deep-frying

Butterhead lettuce leaves

Fresh mint leaves

Fresh corainder (cilantro) leaves

Cucumber, peeled and cut into thin strips

Nuoc Cham

Method :

Soak the bean thread noodles in cold water for 20 minutes. Drain and cut into 5 cm (2 in) lengths.
To make the filling, in a large mixing bowl combine the snipped bean thread, egg, pork, crab meat, onion, spring onions, carrot and bean sprouts. Season the mixture with salt, fish sauce and black pepper and mix well,
Sprinkle 2 sheets rice paper at a time with water and when each softens and is pliable, put 2 tablespoon filling 1 cm (/2 in) down from the lower edge over the filing, then fold the right and left sides in over the filling. Roll the rice paper away from you, keeping the edges folded in, until the packet is complete. Repeat procedure with rice paper until you have used up the filling. You should have 24 rolls.
Head the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the rolls, a few at at time, until crisp and golden on all sides. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.
To serve, wrap each roll with mint leaves, fresh coriander leaves, and a few strips of cucumber in a lettuce leaf.
Serve with nuoc cham dipping sauce.