About This Vietnamese Egg Roll (Chả Giò) Recipe

As a Vietnamese gal, I couldn’t believe this was my very first time making Vietnamese egg rolls (and just how easy it was)! I’ve helped my mom roll egg rolls when I was a kid but I had never ventured into making it on my own. I think I’m always intimidated by any deep-fried recipes because I have a tendency to mess them up. Firstly, because it’s hard for me to gauge the right oil temperature. Secondly, because it’s hard for me to find the balance between getting the right crisp and overbrowning. And thirdly, because it’s a lot of pressure to ensure the inside is cooked without actually being able to see it.

Luckily, I basically made all of those mistakes in this Vietnamese egg roll recipe for you so you don’t have to ;P Turns out, it’s a lot easier than I had thought. Aside from having the dried mushrooms and noodles soak for 30 minutes, this recipe requires just 10 minutes of prep and 10 minutes of cooking. The most important part is just finding the right ingredients – and I’ve provided substitutions to many of them below.

Speaking of ingredients, make sure you read the section titled 'The Wrapper in Vietnamese Egg Rolls' very carefully! I made SO many mistakes trying to get the right wrapper. To save yourself some time, money, and hangriness, take a minute to read through that section to ensure you get your hands on the right type of wrappers. The labeling will fool you!

What are Vietnamese Egg Rolls?

Vietnamese fried egg rolls are called Chả Giò in Vietnamese and literally translates to minced pork roll (though sometimes minced shrimp is involved too). These are crispy rolls typically stuffed with ground pork, bean thread noodles, wood ear mushrooms and jicama. I’ve also seen them with shrimp, carrots and green onions. The filling is usually seasoned with none other than the Vietnamese staple – fish sauce. Oh, but the fish sauce goodness does not stop there, it’s also served with a sweet fish sauce dipping. You can spice up the dipping sauce with some sliced chilies as well.

You might occasionally see Vietnamese egg rolls identified as fried spring rolls, though that is not common where I live in Orange County. For us, spring rolls are typically soft and though ground pork may be part of the filling, it includes different types of seasoning and is never fried. Instead, it's more like a salad with freshe vegetables like lettuce leaves, chive, and mint wrapped in rice paper (but a different type of rice paper than what you'd use with Vietnamese egg rolls), and dipped in a peanut sauce.

After centuries of Chinese rule, Vietnamese cuisine is heavily influenced by the Chinese culture. As a result, there are many similarities and crossovers between Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine. Where I live in southern California, there are a slew of restaurants that are Chinese-Vietnamese fusion. This is to say that that Vietnamese egg rolls and Chinese egg rolls are very similar. However, there is one main difference between Vietnamese egg rolls and the very common Chinese egg rolls. While Chinese egg rolls are made with a thicker, wonton wrapper that is wheat-based, traditional Vietnamese egg rolls are made with a rice paper that is very thin. When fried up, Chinese egg rolls typically form bubbles on the wrappers. In contrast, Vietnamese egg rolls will crisp but stay smooth.

The Wrapper in Vietnamese Egg Rolls [VERY IMPORTANT]

I failed at getting the right wrappers for these egg rolls TWICE. I knew instantly after putting the egg roll into the oil that something was wrong because the skin started forming bubbles. This may be typical in Chinese egg rolls or spring rolls but, for Vietnamese egg rolls, the skin/wrapper should stay flat and smooth.

Anyway, after I saw the bubbles, I started googling and found that I need to find SPRING ROLL wrappers, not EGG ROLL wrappers (odd, I know, considering we’re making egg rolls!). So, I went to my closest Asian grocery store (H Mart) and found two types of spring roll wrappers – one in the refrigeration section and one in the freezer section. I got them both because well.. Murphy’s Law!

The refrigerated ones turned out to be the wrong ones once again. Similar to the previous egg roll wrappers I got, these were thicker wrappers and formed bubbles on the skin in the same way. However, the frozen ones were thin (semi-transparent almost) and got the job done! Want to know the main differentiator? If there is any type of white powder / flour dusting on the skin, you know you’ve got the wrong ones! Head to the freezer section and grab the package labeled “Spring Roll Wrapper” or “Spring Roll Pastry”.

The exact wrappers I got were the Wei-Chuan Spring Roll Pastry Lumpia Wrapper. These actually say “Super thin for crispier spring roll” on them. Other brands should work too, just steer clear of the ones with the flour dusting on them!

The Filling in Vietnamese Egg Rolls

Vietnamese egg rolls are typically filled with a ground meat and vegetable mixture. The egg roll mixture usually contains ground pork, jicama, mushrooms, and noodles. For the ingredients I listed in the recipe below, you may have trouble finding the specific type of mushrooms and noodles. The mushrooms are woodear mushrooms (sometimes labeled as black fungus at asian markets) that can be found fresh or dried. At my local Vietnamese supermarket, I was only able to get my hands on the dried ones, which require soaking in warm water for 30 minutes. For noodles, you’ll need bean thread / cellophane noodles.

For those of you who don’t have easy access to an Asian market, I provided substitutions below that can be more easily found. But to be honest, you could probably throw together ground pork with fish sauce and still have a fairly delicious filling.

The Dipping Sauce for Vietnamese Egg Rolls

The dipping sauce for Vietnamese egg rolls is a sweet fish sauce (nuoc cham). It’s a simple dipping that combines fish sauce, sugar, water and lime juice. Add in some chopped red chilies for spice and that’s it! Occasionally, you will also find shredded carrots and jicama in the dipping sauce.

How to Enjoy Vietnamese Egg Rolls

I grew up eating Vietnamese egg rolls two main ways. The first way is just as is – as a finger food. I rarely even cared to use the dipping sauce, I'd just crunch into them like French fries. I especially loved the mini egg rolls that typically came pre-made and frozen. My family called them egg rolls but I honestly don't even know if that's what they were. Unlike the larger egg rolls that we focus on in this recipe, these had bubbly skin and are only about two-inches long with a chewier texture.

The second way was in a dish called Bun Cha Gio – vermicelli with grilled pork, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, herbs, and egg rolls showered with none other than a sweet fish sauce. The dish itself is cold but the meat and egg rolls were usually warm. Picture a steak salad of sorts.. but Vietnamese style. Something about the freshness from the vegetables, the savory pork, fragrant herbs, and crunch from the egg rolls really compliments one another. It's one of those dishes that I rarely ever order but when I do, I always love it.

Vietnamese Egg Rolls with Fish Sauce Dipping Recipe

Filling Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
¼ cup fresh or dried wood ear (or shiitake) mushrooms – julienned
¼ cup bean thread / mung bean noodles (or vermicelli)
¼ cup jicama (or radish) – julienned
¼ cup shallots (or onion)– minced

Egg Roll Ingredients:

About 12 spring roll wrappers [HIGHLY recommend you read the ‘The Wrapper’ section above to ensure you get the right ones!]
Canola or vegetable oil for frying
1 egg – beaten

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

3 Tbsp fish sauce
3 Tbsp sugar
1.5 cups water
1-2 Tbsp lime juice to taste

Instructions:

In a large bowl, soak noodles (and mushrooms, if using dried) in hot water until soft (about 30 minutes). Remove and pat dry.
Combine ground pork with all remaining filling ingredients.
Lay the egg roll wrapper in a diamond shape in front of you. Place two tablespoons of filling about 1-inch from the bottom corner.
Pull the bottom edge of the wrapper corner up and over the filling and roll to the halfway mark on the wrapper (stop where the left and right corners of the wrapper are). Then pull in the side corners, and complete the roll from the bottom up. Once you get to the top corner of the wrapper, dip your finger in the beaten egg mixture and wet the top tip before fully completing the roll. The egg should help seal the egg roll and keep it in place. Repeat this process until all egg rolls are assembled.
Fill pot with 1-inch of oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes. You’ll know when the oil is ready when you put a small piece of the spring roll wrapper in and it bubbles up.
Add egg rolls carefully in small batches and fry until golden brown and cooked through (about 5 minutes on each side). I recommend doing one test egg roll to start. If your egg roll gets too browned on the outside before the filling is cooked through, lower the heat.
Combine all dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Serve egg rolls immediately with the fish sauce dipping sauce.

Simple Vietnamese Egg Rolls Recipe [Chả Giò]