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The best Vietnamese spring rolls (Cha Gio) recipe. These crispy fried Vietnamese rolls are crispy with ground pork filling and served with a dipping sauce.
Vietnamese Spring Rolls Recipe
There are so many variations of spring rolls in Asia: Filipino lumpia, the Americanized version of egg rolls, Malaysian fried spring rolls, Vietnamese Goi Cuon. I love Vietnamese spring rolls or cha gio in Vietnamese, which roughly means “minced pork rolls.”
The filling is made of ground pork, shrimp, crab meat, shredded carrots and mung bean noodles (cellophane noodles or glass noodles).
These deep fried and crispy rolls are usually served with Vietnamese spring roll sauce called nuoc cham made with fish sauce.
You can also wrap the cha gio with fresh lettuce leaves and herbs such as mint leaves and cilantro.
Ingredients
- Mung bean noodles
- Ground pork
- Shrimp
- Crab meat
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Egg
- Carrot
- Vietnamese rice paper
- Ground black pepper
- Salt
- Fish sauce
- Oil
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Step 1: Chop the soaked mung bean noodles into shorter threads. In a bowl, mix the ingredients together (except Vietnamese rice paper) to form a sticky filling.
Step 2: To roll the Vietnamese spring rolls (cha gio), place a piece of the rice paper on a clean, wet kitchen towel. Dip your fingers in a bowl of warm water and run them all over the entire rice paper to soften it. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling on the moist rice paper, fold the rice paper over the filling, tuck in the sides, then roll to form a cylinder about 3 inches (7cm) long.
Step 3: Heat oil over medium heat in a wok or a large frying pan. When the oil is heated, gently put in a few rolls in the oil. Fry them slowly until they turn light brown. Dish out and drain the excess oil by lining them over some paper towels.
Step 4: Serve immediately with nuoc cham or roll it up with a fresh lettuce leaf and some aromatic herbs and then dip into the nuoc cham.
Frequently Asked Questions
The rice paper and the mung bean noodles are both gluten free so this recipe is gluten free.
They are mung bean noodles, cellophane noodles or glass noodles.
They are a type of transparent noodles made from mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch or tapioca starch and water.
These fried rolls are commonly served with nuoc cham or Vietnamese fish sauce dipping sauce.
Peanut sauce is not common, however you can refer to my recipe here.
Vietnamese spring roll is only 59 calories per roll.
What To Serve With This Recipe
This dish is best served as an appetizer. For a wholesome Vietnamese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 oz (30g) mung bean noodles or cellophane noodles or glass noodles, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes or until soft
- 6 oz (175g ground pork
- 2 oz. (60g) shrimp, minced
- 1 oz (30g) crab meat, coarsely chopped, optional
- some shredded carrots
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 dashes ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- salt to taste
- 1 small egg, lightly beaten (use only half)
- Vietnamese rice paper
- oil, for deep frying
Instructions
- Chop the soaked mung bean noodles into shorter threads. In a bowl, mix the ingredients together (excluding the Vietnamese rice paper) to create a sticky filling.
- To roll the Vietnamese spring rolls (cha gio), place a piece of rice paper on a clean, damp kitchen towel. Dip your fingers in a bowl of warm water and run them over the entire rice paper to soften it. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling onto the moist rice paper, fold the rice paper over the filling, tuck in the sides, and then roll to form a cylinder about 3 inches (7 cm) long.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a wok or large frying pan. Once the oil is hot, gently add a few rolls to the oil. Fry them slowly until they turn light brown. Remove from the oil and drain the excess by placing them on paper towels.
- Serve immediately with nuoc cham, or wrap the spring rolls in a fresh lettuce leaf with some aromatic herbs and dip them into the nuoc cham.
Video
Notes
- Use the 8 1/2-inch round rice paper.
- Do not deep fry the cha gio on high heat because they splatter and most importantly, high heat causes the skin to bubble, break and burn.
- So patience is key, use medium to low heat during frying process.
- You can get the nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) recipe here.
- Cha Gio is also called Imperial Rolls in the United States, not to be confused with Summer Rolls.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times and they’re always a hit.
I wanted to know if I can toss them in an air fryer instead of deep frying them? I’ve only seen recipes using the wonton style egg wrappers for egg rolls in the air fryer but I prefer these rice paper cha gio.
You can try. I don’t recommend.
Hi, do I need to make sure the rice paper is dry before frying?
Yes, they should be dry.
Thank you for all your lovely recipes.
But I tried to look for some
Of your Vietnamese recipes in your
Site but they come out blank . Wondering why ?
It’s not blank: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipes/vietnamese-recipes/
Thank you for all your lovely recipes.
But I tried to look for some
Of your Vietnamese recipes in your
Site but they come out blank . Wondering why ?
I made these and they are so good! Thank you for posting. I will try your other recipes.
Awesome.
I made these and they are so good! Thank you for posting. I will try your other recipes.
I’ve made so many of your incredible recipes. Every one has turned out fantastic! Your easy to follow instructions are perfect. I love all the information you tell us about the dish. Best Asian food website ever!! Thank you
What brand of wrapper did you use? Can you please send a picture of the wrapper you used for this please?
Thank you,
Lei
Banh Trang Rice Paper.
Hi Rasa,
Not sure what I’m doing wrong but my fried rolls are not coming out crispy, rather it’s chewy. I’ve tried both the 3 ladies and bamboo logo rice paper and the even after frying for about 10 minutes the rolls don’t turn brown.. they remain white. Please help.
I am so sorry to hear that. Certain brands need extremely high heat to become crispy. Also, they won’t become brown like regular spring rolls wrapper.
A tip I learned if its not turning brown, the warm water you use to dip the rice paper in, add sugar and stir until dissolves. This will allow it to caramelize and get the color you want.
Hi Kat that’s an amazing tip! I really appreciate it. I will try out the next time! :)
Try adding a few tsp of sugar to your warm water before sipping the rice paper ….. caramelizes the sugar and browns them up nice
Thanks for trying, Sharon.
Hi Rasa
Can you take picture of the rice paper you used? I encounter the same result, it’s white, soft n not cooked,
Check the video.
Can u freeze these egg rolls rolled rice paper?
Not a good idea to freeze these Vietnamese egg rolls.
Freeze the Vietnamee spring rolls alo thetime make upfour pounds ofpork wt a timeand roll and freeze oncookie sheet thenputintoplastic bags or cookie tins to keeep well. They are every bit as good as when you orignally made them…
I’ve made so many of your incredible recipes. Every one has turned out fantastic! Your easy to follow instructions are perfect. I love all the information you tell us about the dish. Best Asian food website ever!! Thank you
Hi Jen, thanks for your sweet comment. Please try more recipes on my site, all my recipes are good: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Do I precook the pork and shrimp?
No, you don’t.
Delicious! Could I store the rolls to fry later when my guests arrive. If yes what way is the best?
Yes, you can. Just cover them up and deep-fry before they arrive! :)
will they not stick together if stored for a couple of hours before frying?
They shouldn’t in dry countries like USA but if you are in humid countries make sure you leave a gap between them.