We haven’t yet presented a dish from the fascinating cuisine of Vietnam, but that’s about to change. Chả Giò Tôm Thịt Heo is the name of these spring rolls with pork and prawns. Unlike in Chinese cuisine, however, they are prepared with rice paper.
First, thin rice noodles (vermicelli) and dried wood ear mushrooms are covered with boiled water and left to soak for 20 – 30 minutes, during which time the noodles soften and the mushrooms rehydrate.

The filling consists of minced pork, which should contain plenty of fat, peeled raw prawns and plenty of vegetables: carrots are peeled and coarsely grated. White cabbage or Chinese cabbage (and / or leeks) are finely chopped, as are plenty of spring onions.
They are seasoned with a mixture of sesame oil and fish sauce, salt, pepper and sugar. We like to use both black and white pepper, but this is a matter of taste.

Drain the pasta and mushrooms and place them on a cloth to dry out a little. Then cut the noodles into pieces about 4 cm long and the mushrooms according to personal taste. If the wood ear mushrooms still have very firm parts, which may be the case with individual specimens, remove these.
Chop the prawns and mix all these elements together with the seasoning in a large bowl, which is best done with your hands.

Once everything is well mixed, add some egg whites and keep the separated egg yolks for later.

A dipping sauce (Nước Mắm Chấm) is now prepared quickly. Water, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar are heated on a medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Stirring helps a lot. Then leave this broth to cool. When it is only lukewarm, add chopped garlic and bird’s eye chili (without seeds!).

The rice paper has a smooth and a rough side – the smooth side belongs on the bottom and forms the outside of the spring rolls.

Working with rice paper is not easy. But if you follow these few rules, you’ll get it right first time:
- If possible, work on a wooden work surface. It absorbs some moisture and the rice paper can be easily removed from it
- Prepare a bowl of water that is wide enough for the rice paper to fit into
- Take one rice paper at a time and dip it vertically into the water up to the middle with two hands, then turn it once in a circle so that it is wet all over
- Place the rice paper on your work surface and set a timer to 60 seconds

Place about two tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of the rice paper. Then – and at the latest when the timer runs out – the rice paper is placed over the filling from below. The roll should not be pressed together with force, but should be tight and contain as little air as possible. Then the sides are folded in and everything is rolled up almost to the end of the wrapper. We have explained this here before with other dough, but the technique is ultimately the same. The only difference is that the rice paper sticks much faster, so you have to work quickly.

Brush the end of the rice paper with a little egg yolk, which is best done with a finger.

Then close the roll completely and place it on a baking tray or other smooth surface. The prepared rolls must not touch each other, otherwise they would stick together!
When everything is prepared, heat neutral, high heating vegetable oil in a wok. Cooking chopsticks or kitchen tongs are now essential tools.

You can fry the rolls in one go – but they are better when fried in two rounds.
The oil is heated on a medium-high heat until it does not smoke, but a dipped wooden stick immediately forms bubbles (approx. 160° C). Fry the rolls at this temperature for 4 minutes, turning them once.
However, you must again make sure that they do not touch each other. So you carefully place a roll in the wok and hold it with a tool to one side. Then carefully place the next roll in and give it a short time before repeating the process. Never put too many rolls in your wok or pot, three is the maximum.
If bubbles form in the rice paper, simply prick them with a chopstick or knife.

The rolls are placed on kitchen paper, preferably on a grid, so that excess oil can drip off and the underside does not become soggy.
Once all the rolls have been processed, the oil is heated a little higher (180° C) and the rolls are deep-fried for another minute. Frying them twice makes them even crispier and also ensures that less fat adheres. This time you no longer have to worry about the rolls sticking together.

Serve with the dipping sauce. Either dip pieces of the spring roll in it or simply drizzle the sauce over them by the spoonful.

Enjoy.
And may the taste be with you.
Ingredients (for 4 people or 16 or more rolls):
For the rolls:
1 pack of round rice paper, 22 cm diameter, contains approx. 22 – 25 sheets (300 – 400 g)
4 eggs, egg yolks and egg whites separated
½ liter of high-heat vegetable oil (or palm / coconut oil) for frying
For the filling:
120 g dry thin rice noodles (vermicelli)
35 g dried wood ear mushrooms
250 g minced pork, fatty
250 g peeled raw prawns
200 g grated carrots
100 g white cabbage or Chinese cabbage (alternatively: leek)
5 – 6 spring onions
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
For the sauce (Nước Mắm Chấm):
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp fish sauce
½ lime juice
2 tbsp palm sugar
1 clove of garlic 1 chili (bird’s eye)