Southern cha gio stands on its filling: tom dat, crab meat and ground pork collar mixed with taro, jicama and glass noodles, sweet and nutty at once. The wrappers fry to a deep gold and crackle at the first bite. The hardest part is rolling them tight without tearing the rice paper, because a loose roll bursts in the oil.
About 10g of filling per roll and two sheets of rice paper laid slightly offset keep the rolls from splitting in the pan. A wet filling softens the wrapper, so the jicama and taro have to be squeezed very dry before mixing.
This batch weighs about 998g, at roughly 81 calories per 100g.
Method
Cut the taro, wood ear mushroom, 25g carrot and Thai basil into fine shreds. Soak the glass noodles until soft and cut them short. Chop the spring onion, mince the shallot, chop the jicama small and mince the shrimp.
Bring 500ml water to a boil with 20g ginger and 50ml cooking wine, add 50g crab meat, and as soon as the water returns to a boil turn off the heat and lift the crab out.
Put the taro, wood ear mushroom, carrot, Thai basil, glass noodles, spring onion, shallot, jicama, shrimp, 100g ground pork collar and the crab into a large bowl. Season with 5g seasoning powder, 3g MSG, 3ml fish sauce, 2.7g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 3g black pepper, then mix well.
Make the dipping sauce: put 200ml water, 30ml fish sauce, 150g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 5g MSG in a pot, stir to dissolve, bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.
Once the sauce has cooled, stir in 30ml lime juice, 20g minced garlic, 30g minced chili and 30g shredded carrot.
Roll the spring rolls: lay 2 sheets of rice paper slightly offset, add about 10g filling, roll it up and dab a little water to seal the edge. Repeat until the filling is used up.
Pour in enough oil to cover the rolls. When it is very hot, fry over medium heat, turning them, until the wrappers are deep gold and crisp.
Lift them onto paper towels and serve with fresh herbs and a bowl of sweet and sour fish sauce.
Tips
About 10g of filling per roll, wrapped in two offset sheets of rice paper, keeps the rolls from bursting in the oil.
For rolls that stay crisp, fry them twice: first over low heat to cook the filling, then again over high heat just before serving.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so the bowl of fish sauce needs another stir after 5 minutes for an even flavor.
Jicama and taro squeezed very dry keep the wrappers from going soft the moment the rolls come out of the oil.
The oil has to cover the rolls, since with too little the side touching the pan burns while the top is still pale.
Drained rolls go on a rack in a single layer, as a hot pile steams itself and loses its crunch.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.