Chả Giò đặc biệt

As made famous by Huong Lien, the Hanoi restaurant Obama and Anthony Bourdain ate Bún chả at, the giant spring rolls served there definitely made the experience there memorable. I've never had spring rolls like that anywhere else. After my trip to Vietnam, I was still thinking about those rolls! I wanted to try replicating it at home, since flying back to Vietnam just to eat it at Huong Lien again wasn't an option. This recipe comes very close to how I remembered how it tasted!
Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer

Ingredients
  

Filling

  • 1 lbs Ground pork
  • 1/2 lbs Chopped raw shrimp (peeled)
  • 2 medium Carrots
  • 1/3 cup Woodear mushroom
  • 1.5 oz Dried Mung Bean Noodles (about 1 package)
  • 2 cloves Grated garlic
  • 1 tsp Grated ginger
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tbsp Fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp Chicken flavoring powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3 tsp Sugar

Other ingredients

  • Large Rice paper (regular size can work too)
  • OiI for frying

Instructions
 

Filling

  • Soak mung bean noodles in warm water for approximately 30 minutes. Drain and chop roughly into 1/2 inch pieces
  • Mix together all the ingredients for the filling until evenly distributed.

Assemble

  • Fill bowl with water (can be warm or room temperature). Dip rice paper in water for a few seconds until fully wet. If you're using the large rice paper, you can just use one sheet.
  • Place about 4 tbsp of filling onto wrapper and form a square or rectangular shape. If you're using extra large wrappers, you can just use one sheet and wrap as you would a regular spring roll. If you're using regular size wrappers, you can place two wet wrappers overlapping about 3 inches from the side. Then, wrap as you would a regular spring roll. With rice paper, you will not need egg to seal the ends.

Fry the rolls

  • Heat oil to 335°F in a wok or pot. Depending on the size of the pot or wok, fill the oil up to just enough where the rolls won't touch the bottom. Fry the rolls for about 6-7 minutes each, or until slightly golden. Do not overcrowd the rolls…it should not touch each other or else it will stick together!
  • Once ready, set the rolls on a rack to drain
  • If you'd like for the skin to be more crispy, you can double fry it for 2 minutes at 350°F. Serve right away.
  • To warm up for later, you can put it in the over at 400°F for about 12 minutes or you can re-fry it.
Keyword cha gio, comfort food, vietnamese food