Cha Gio
A Vietnamese snack built around round rice paper wrappers and ground pork — on the table in 60 minutes. The macros do the talking: 30g protein, 9g carbs, and 9g fat in every 238-calorie serving. No specialty equipment and nothing hard to find at a regular grocery store.
✓ USDA-verified nutrition data
238 calories
30g protein
9g carbs
9g fat
2g fiber
Ingredients
- 20 Round rice paper wrappers
- 1 lb Ground pork
- 8 oz Shrimp
- 1/2 cup Dried wood ear mushrooms
- 2 oz Glass noodles
- 1 cup Taro or jicama
- 2 Eggs
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Fish sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1 head Butter lettuce
- 1 cup Fresh herbs
- 1 cup Nuoc cham
Steps
- Soak the wood ears and glass noodles, then chop both fine. Shred the taro and squeeze it dry in a towel; excess moisture is what makes spring rolls burst in the fryer.
- Mince the shrimp and mix with the pork, mushrooms, noodles, taro, beaten eggs, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and pepper. The filling should feel moist but hold together when squeezed.
- Soften one rice paper round in warm water for a few seconds, add 2 tablespoons of filling near the bottom edge, fold the sides in, and roll tight. Seal the edge with a dab of beaten egg.
- Rest the rolled spring rolls uncovered for 15 minutes. This drying step tightens the wrappers and dramatically reduces bursting.
- Fry in 350F oil in uncrowded batches for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and blistered.
- Drain upright in a colander so oil runs off instead of pooling underneath.
- Wrap each hot roll in lettuce with herbs and dip in nuoc cham. For maximum shatter, fry a second time for 2 minutes just before serving.
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