Vietnamese Shrimp and Crab Crispy Spring Rolls Recipe

Bob and Jenny Cockill from Perth, Australia trying their hand at spring rolls. Photo by Sue Frause.

Pork and shrimp cha gio can be made by using 1 pound ground pork and 1/2 pound shrimp. 1 – 1.5 ounces of thin cellophane noodles, chopped into 1/2″ pieces and soaked in water until soft, is a common ingredient and can also be added to the mixture.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, small dice
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 head small cabbage, thinly sliced
4-5 Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, diced
1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 pound crab meat
1 egg, white and yolk separated
1 package large (8 inch) spring roll wrappers

Directions

1) Blanch cabbage and place into ice bath. Drain and squeeze out excess water. In a large bowl, mix together garlic, carrots, green onions and cabbage.

2) Chop shrimp into small pieces. To the large bowl, add shrimp, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and black pepper and mix. Add crab meat and egg white to mixture and combine evenly.

3) Brush egg yolk on three corners of wrapper. Add 2 tablespoons of filling in center of wrapper, diagonally. Fold the two sides on the diagonal over the filling. Fold the non-egg yolk corner over and tuck snugly under filling and roll up. See the slideshow for pictures of the rolling process.

4) Deep fry the spring rolls in peanut oil at 350°F for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Work in batches. Flip half way through. Remove and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Eat wrapped in lettuce with nuoc cham (dipping sauce).

Tasty finished spring rolls. Photo by Sue Frause.

Makes 25-30 rolls, which serves 4-6.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham) Recipe

This recipe is how my family likes our nuoc cham. Adjust the ingredients to your tastes, particularly the lime since the juice varies with each fruit. To make a ginger dipping sauce (nuoc cham gung), add 1 tablespoon of minced ginger.

To whet your appetite with dipping sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 of a lime, juiced
3-4 cloves of garlic , minced
2-3 Thai chili pepper, minced

Directions:
1) In a small sealable jar, combine water and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add fish sauce, vinegar and lime juice and mix. Adjust flavors to taste.

2) Add garlic and chili pepper. The sauce can be stored at room temperature, if served the same day. Otherwise, store it in the refrigerator.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Source: Sunday Nite Dinner Blog

***

If you'd like to learn to make Spring Rolls (Cha Gio or Nem) for dinner aboard Huong Hai Junks, please make request when booking your trip so that we could do careful preparation. That would be great to taste your 'fruits'. When you come back your hometown, you can easily find the ingredients in Vietnamese or Asian shops or markets to make them for your beloved at home. In case you find it hard to make dipping sauce or want to save time, you can also buy a bottle of already mixed fish sauce branded Chinsu or Namngu in Vietnam. Enjoy your life!