Crispy Net Spring Rolls

This recipe for Crispy Net Spring Rolls features a mixture of ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, taro, and mung bean vermicelli wrapped in lacy, delicate rice flour wrapper, resulting in a shatteringly crunchy bite.

What is chả giò?

Chả giò refers to Vietnamese-style spring rolls that are deep fried, usually encased in rice paper and stuffed with a mixture of ground pork and vegetables or seafood.

Vietnamese spring rolls can be also made with wheat flour wrappers.

What is chả giò rế?

Chả giò rế is a variation of fried Vietnamese spring rolls.

The difference between cha gio re and cha gio is that cha gio re uses banh trang re rice wrappers.

What is bánh tráng?

Banh trang refers to rice wrappers, used in fresh summer/salad rolls (goi cuon) or fried spring rolls (cha gio).

The wrappers are typically made from a mixture of of rice flour, tapioca starch, water and salt. 

Rice paper wrappers are usually sold packaged in dried form.

What is bánh tráng rế?

Banh trang re is woven rice paper (also known as net spring roll wrapper), similar to regular rice paper (banh trang), except that it is delicate and lacy [somewhat similar to banh hoi, which are woven rice bundles].

It is made from rice flour, water and salt.

The woven rice paper is very thin, and used to wrap cha gio, which is then deep-fried to achieve a shatteringly crisp, lacy texture.

You can find net spring roll wrappers packaged in the frozen section in Asian supermarkets. Note: it can be difficult to find this unique product even in Asian grocery stores. 

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe for Crispy Netted Spring Rolls is:

Gluten-free: compared to cha gio made with wheat flour or egg roll wrappers, using the woven rice flour wrappers makes the dish completely free from gluten.

Super crisp: the delicate lacy woven texture from the banh trang re rice wrappers fries up beautifully and adds a delicious crunchiness to the spring rolls.

Versatile: you can change up the filling and add seafood, or other additions to your taste.

Crowd-pleaser: it's a great appetizer or party food to make for celebrations, holidays, or gatherings.

Special equipment you'll need

• clean water spray bottle: for misting the wrappers with clean water

Ingredients you'll need

Filling:

• ground pork: I like using an 80/20 mixture, but you can use whatever you like
• wood ear mushrooms: soaked and finely sliced
• mung bean vermicelli noodles: soaked, and cut into smaller pieces with scissors
• taro: peeled and shredded
• carrot: julienned, optional
• soy sauce: regular soy sauce
• fish sauce: use a high quality fish sauce for the best flavor
• fine sea salt
• white pepper: or black pepper
• granulated sugar: balances out the flavor
• cornstarch: or potato starch

Wrappers:

• net spring roll wrappers*

Frying:

• peanut oil: or high smoke-point oil

You can find these ingredients at your local Asian supermarkets or Vietnamese grocery stores. 

*You can find Net spring roll wrappers packaged in the frozen section. They can be difficult to find. If you cannot find the woven wrappers, you can use wheat flour wrappers or rice paper wrappers instead.

How to make crispy netted spring rolls

Make the filling:

In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, add in the ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, vermicelli noodles, taro, carrot, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, and cornstarch.

Mix on low speed for 8-10 minutes, until long strands appear and the meat mixture is thoroughly combined.

Assemble:

Lightly mist (spray once) a net spring roll wrapper, and place onto a plate.

Add about 2 teaspoon of filling on the bottom 3rd of the wrapper.

Working from the bottom, fold up the wrapper to cover the filling.

Tuck in both sides, and finish rolling, placing it seam-side down on a plate or baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Repeat with the remainder.

Fry:

Heat up a pot of oil over medium-high heat.

Once the temperature reaches 350F, while working in batches, fry a few spring rolls at a time, about 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain spring rolls on paper towel.

Repeat with the remainder. 

How to serve

Like regular cha gio, serve freshly fried spring rolls with nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce), fresh veggies such as green leaf lettuce, cucumber, and herbs.

Pair it along with Vietnamese pork roll (cha lua) and pickled do chua in a banh hoi platter, wrap the spring rolls up in goi cuon (for double spring roll), or add it to a rice vermicelli bowl.

Or simply enjoy on its own as a snack or appetizer.

For drinks and dessert, pair the spring rolls with pandan coconut milk tea, che chuoi (banana tapioca dessert), or cool off with Vietnamese coffee popsicles.

Expert tips & notes

Remove the banh trang re wrappers from the freezer about 1 hour prior to rolling so they are more pliable. 

The wrappers are usually separated with a layer of parchment paper.

If the wrappers are brittle and dry, lightly mist with water. A spray bottle filled with clean water will do the trick.

Caution: over-misting the wrappers can cause the wrappers to be too soggy. I found that spraying once, holding the wrapper about 1' away from the mister worked well. 

No need for any egg white to seal the wrappers. The moisture from the ground pork filling will help the wrappers seal itself.

Note: These spring rolls will not fry to a golden brown, unlike spring rolls using wheat flour wrappers. They will take on a slightly yellow hue, but not brown.

The spring rolls will puff up significantly when fried. 

Substitutions

For the filling, you can add seafood such as prawns, shrimp or crab meat.

If you cannot find woven rice wrappers, you can use wheat flour wrappers, egg roll wrappers, or rice paper wrappers (banh trang).

Note: for rice paper wrappers, you'll need to rehydrate the rice paper first before using them to roll. Tip: if you want a golden brown exterior after frying, add a bit of sugar to the soaking water first.

Other recipes you may like

Be sure to check out these recipes:

Cha Gio (Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls with Taro)

Banh Xeo (Crispy Vietnamese Crepes)

Vietnamese Rice Vermicelli Noodles with Spring Rolls (Bun Cha Gio)

Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!