Chả Giò
Jump to Recipe
Everytime I see Chả Giò I am immediately reminded of every family gathering I’ve ever been to since I was a child. It is the quintessential Vietnamese party food. It is also a great dish to make ahead and freeze. It can be tedious to roll but I just sit down at the kitchen island with my egg roll set up and an Ipad and wrap and roll for hours while enjoying my favorite show.
Follow my simple tips to make a delicious, meaty, crispy, Chả Giò that will stay crispy for hours. Everyone will love you for it.
Ingredients for Vietnamese Egg Rolls
- Ground Meat: I used 1 lb pork for todays recipe. Feel free to substitute with ground turkey or ground chicken. Its also nice to do half minced shrimp and pork.
- Bean Thread Noodle: Made from mung beans, the noodles are transparent. Sometimes they are called Bean Vermicelli. Make sure you soak the noodles in warm water (not hot) so they do not get too soft. You want them to be a little stiff like strings of plastic. They will help to absorb the moisture from the filling. This brand is similar to the one I use.
- Wood Ear Mushroom: This mushroom does not have much flavor but provides a nice firm texture to the Eggrolls. You can find it at most asian stores and also online here.
- Chopped Onion
- Minced Garlic
- Fish Sauce
- Sugar
- Salt and pepper
- Mushroom Seasoning: I add mushroom seasoning as a replacement for MSG in all of my Vietnamese Dishes. MSG is a common flavor enhancer that is used in many asian cuisines. It has been know to cause allergic reactions when eaten but not proven. I choose not to use it in my dishes but you can certainly add it if you like.
- Eggroll wrapper: Sometimes called spring roll wrappers or lumpia wrappers. These are made from wheat flour and make the easiest eggrolls. I use the 8 x8 inch squares.
- Eggwash: 1 Egg mixed with 1 TB of room temp water. This will seal the edges of the eggroll.
- Oil: I use Peanut Oil but Vegetable Oil will work in a pinch.
Instructions for making Vietnamese Eggrolls
Make the filling
Soak Bean Thread noodles in warm water to rehydrate. Cut into short 1/4 inch strips. I use scissors to make it easier.
Take the soaked wood ear mushrooms, onion, and garlic and put in food processor. Process until finely minced.
In another bowl, add the ground meat, bean thread noodles, minced onions, garlic, mushrooms, fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper and mix well.
Once mixed, you can use the filling right away. I always make a little test meatball and cook it in the air fryer to make sure the seasoning is to my liking.
How to roll Chả Giò or Vietnamese Eggrolls
Freezing Chả Giò or Vietnamese Eggrolls
Once you are done wrapping all of your rolls, you can freeze them at this point. I line mine up in a single layer on a sheet tray and place them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, I take them out and put them in a freezer bag. When you are ready to cook, just fry them straight from the freezer. No need to defrost first.
Alternatively, you can “par fry” the eggrolls. To Par Fry the eggrolls, heat oil to 325 degree F and fry for 5 minutes. You want the eggrolls to be a light blonde color. They are cooked on the inside but not brown on the outside. At this stage, take them out, drain, and freeze the eggrolls. When you are ready to eat you can oil fry at 375 degrees F or air fry until they are golden brown. I like to “par fry” if I have time because you can use the air fryer to reheat them.
Set up your frying station
Set up a deep pan or wok and fill with at least 4 inches of oil. Make sure not to fill the oil more than 3/4 of the way up the pan because it could bubble over and cause a fire hazard. I use peanut oil but vegetable oil will work in a pinch.
Take a colander and place over a bowl or a metal cooling rack over a baking sheet. This is to drain the Eggrolls once they are done frying.
Heat the oil to 325 F degrees. ( See below for tips on oil temperature)
Place the Eggrolls gently in the oil in one single layer. Do not overcrowd the pan. If you are uncertain of how many to fry at a time then put less to be safe. I can fry about 10 in my 12 inch wok. Gently move around so they don’t stick at the bottom of the pan.
Tips on Oil Temperature
I highly recommend getting an oil thermometer as a new cook because its difficult to eyeball the temperature. They’re also very affordable and do not take up a lot of space. However, chances are you won’t have one but luckily their are other methods to test the oil temperature.
The chopstick method: The easiest method is to stick the end of a wooden spoon or chopstick into the oil. If there are a few slow bubbles around the wood and the bubbles start to float up, your oil is ready for frying. If it is bubbling hard and fast, the oil is too hot. If there are no bubbles then the oil is too cold and your food will be greasy.
The bread method: Drop a small cube of bread into your oil, and the amount of time it takes for the bread to brown, determines what temperature it is. So, if it browns in 30-35 seconds, it’s around 325°F, if it takes 15 seconds, it’s 350°F, and if the bread takes just 10 seconds to brown, your oil is 375°F.
Once the eggrolls are golden brown they are done cooking. This should take about 10-12 minutes. You want them to fry slowly so the moisture in the Eggroll skin evaporates and gets crispy and stay crispy. If the eggrolls start to brown too fast then turn down the heat.
Place the cooked eggrolls in a colander over a bowl or wire rack placed over a baking sheet to drain the oil. If you have neither, a plate lined with paper towels will work.
Its okay if some of the eggrolls have exploded, it will still taste great. Mine used to explode all the time and I learned that they do that when the wrapper is too tight. As the filling cooks, it expands, which causes the eggrolls to explode.
I like to eat mine with lettuce and mint burrito style with a side of Nước Chấm.
Vietnamese Meat Eggrolls or Chả Giò
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Meat Pork, Turkey, or Half Pork, Half Shrimp
- 1/2 Yellow Onion
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 1/2 cup Bean thread noodles soaked and cut into 1/4 inch strips
- 1/2 cup Black Fungus Mushroom soaked
- 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 tsp Mushroom Seasoning Optional
- 1/2 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1 package Eggroll, Spring roll, or Lumpia Wrappers
- 1 Eggwash ( 1 Egg mixed with 1 TB water)
- Frying Oil Peanut or Vegetable
Instructions
- Finely mince the soaked wood ear mushrooms, onion, and garlic. This can be done in the food processor.
- In a bowl, add the ground meat, bean thread noodles, mushroom, onion, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, mushroom seasoning, salt and pepper and mix well.
- Roll EggrollsMake eggwash, by mixing one egg with 1 TB of water. Place one wrapper on a cutting board or plate. One of the pointy corners should be facing towards you. If you're looking down, the wrapper should look like a diamond.Fold the bottom corner up towards the center of the wrapper about 1/3 of the way. Place a heaping TB of filling onto the section we just folded in so the filling is in the shape of a horizontal log. Take the two side corners and fold towards the middle of the wrapper to cover the meat filling. Now the wrapper should look like an envelope. Roll the eggrolls up towards the last corner. Brush the edges with a little of the eggwash and seal the eggroll. Place aside with a damp towel to cover. This will prevent the eggroll from drying and splitting. Now repeat until all the eggrolls are wrapped.
- In a deep pan or wok, add about 4 inches of oil. Make sure to not fill too close to the top of the pan or it could bubble over. Turn the temp up until the oil reaches 325 degrees F.
- Gently place the eggrolls in the oil in a single layer making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook slowly for about 10-12 minutes until the eggrolls are golden brown.
- Transfer cooked eggrolls to colander or metal wire rack to cool down.
