Vietnamese Crispy Spring Rolls

Served as a starter or included in another dish, the Vietnamese crispy spring rolls are particularly appreciated. In Vietnam they are called Chả giò (minced pork sausage) or Nem Rán (fried sausage). Traditionally, they contain ground pork, but you can easily adapt the recipe to use chicken or only vegetables. There is no official recipe, it depends on the regions of Vietnam and mostly on the cook.

All the details are important, when making these rolls it is necessary to think about the cooking phase to avoid that they split, inflate, or burst with frying. They must not contain too much water or too much air. Here are some tips.

• The rice papers are dehydrated, do not soak them too much. The move must be quick: just dip a paper in hot water and removed it immediately. Do not wait for it to soften in the water, this will happen a few seconds later in the open air, once laid on the wet and wrung kitchen towel.
• The towel plays an important role, it will absorb the excess of water and keep the rice paper moist while working. Be careful if this towel it is too wet, wring it out.
• The filling can also provide too much water, so be careful with the ingredients: particularly carrots and bean sprouts. These must be well drained. Do not add more to the preparation, some cooks even avoid these ingredients, then they get rolls with a denser stuffing.
• Make sure to tighten the filling while rolling to chase as much air as possible.
• The temperature of the oil is important: too hot it will causes an immediate dilation of the rice paper caused by the water and the air. You must cook the spring rolls in an oil at 300°F to 320°F (150°C to 160°C).
• Do not put too much rolls to fry at the same time, they may stick to each other. If this happens, do not try to separate them immediately, it will rip them apart, wait for the end of the cooking to separate them out of the oil.

When you make your own crispy rolls, make a large quantity because they support very well freezing. They must be frozen once cooled after the first five minutes frying. When you take them out of the freezer. Let them defrost, then fry them until they become golden brown. They should be served with salad, mint, cilantro, basil and a dipping sauce called Nước Chấm. This sauce is easy to prepare at home. Bon appétit.