These Chả Giò Chay or Vietnamese Vegetarian Spring Rolls are cooked to a golden brown crisp and enjoyed with a vegan ‘fish’ sauce for dipping.
You can also enjoy these by wrapping them in large pieces of lettuce along with some rice noodles, fresh herbs, and pickled radish and carrots (Đồ Chua), which is how they’re commonly enjoyed.
WHAT ARE CHA GIO CHAY OR VIETNAMESE VEGETARIAN SPRING ROLLS?
Cha Gio Chay are Vietnamese Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls. ‘Chay’ in Vietnamese translates to Vegetarian. Though of course this version is vegan and the rolls are filled with a mix of wood ear and fresh mushrooms, vermicelli noodles, tofu, and carrots before being rolled in flour spring rolls wrappers.
This spring roll recipe is also of course vegan but chay directly translates to vegetarian in Vietnamese.
For this recipe, you can cook these vegetarian spring rolls in 2 ways:
- Deep fry the rolls in oil for the perfectly golden brown and crisp outside (my preferred way of cooking!)
- Bake the rolls in the oven for a lesser-oil alternative (still really crispy!)
THE INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
For the filling:
- Dried wood ear mushrooms
- Dried mung bean vermicelli noodles
- Extra firm tofu, mashed
- Shiitake or other fresh mushrooms of choice
- Oil, for cooking
- Onion, diced
- Carrot shredded
- Salt, or to taste
- Sugar
- Soy sauce
- Dark soy sauce, to colour (optional)
- White pepper
- Corn starch
THE FILLING
- Wood Ear Fungus
TO PREPARE THESE:
- Simply rehydrate these by soaking them in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes or until completely rehydrated and tripled in size. Once rehydrated, slice into thin strips.
VERMICELLI NOODLES
I used mung bean vermicelli noodles for this recipe. You can also use rice vermicelli if you’d like but I find that starch-based noodles are a lot chewier.
TO PREPARE THE NOODLES
Pour in boiling hot water in a bowl with the dry noodles and leave the noodles to sit for 10-15 minutes or until chewy and cooked to your liking.
Drain the noodles from the water and run through cold water to stop the cooking.
Once they’re chewy to your liking, chop them up. I used a pair of scissors to cut the noodles into 1″ long pieces.
COOKING THE FILLING
- Mash the tofu in a bowl then set aside. You can press the tofu beforehand but it’s not necessary since the water will evaporate during cooking. Set aside.
- For the fresh mushrooms, mince or slice them into very small pieces.
- Heat a large pan or wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add in the oil.
- Sauté the onion until translucent, around 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the carrot and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding in the crumbled tofu.
- Mash the tofu if there are some big chunks. Leave everything to cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. This will allow some water from the tofu to evaporate.
- Season the filling with salt, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce (if using) and pepper, to taste. Mix everything together.
- Add in the cornstarch to the mixture. Mix well until the filling starts to thicken. The corn starch will help bind everything together and it’ll thicken from the moisture of the tofu and carrot.
- Taste the filling and feel free to season more, if needed.
- Turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool before wrapping into rolls.
MAKING THE FILLING IN ADVANCE
- You can also opt to prepare the filling in advance and just store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. I made mine 2 days in advance.
WRAPPERS
For the spring roll wrappers, make sure they have been thawed and are at room temperature. This way it will be easier to separate them—they’ll be pliable and won’t break apart easily.
WRAPPING THESE VIETNAMESE VEGETARIAN SPRING ROLLS
- Before you start, prepare a bowl with water to use to seal the edges of the wrapper.
- Add around 2-3 tbsp of filling on a wrapper. This may depend on the side of your wrapper. Compress the filling and try to squeeze out any air pockets.
- You can watch the video below or see the photos above for a complete step-by-step on how to wrap the spring rolls.
Shape the filling and pack it as tight as you can to get rid of any air bubbles
Fold the left and right sides towards the centre.
Fold the roll towards the top edge.
Dab some water on the top edge to help seal the roll
And it’s done. There you have your vietnamese spring rolls or cha gio that’s ready to be fried.
Repeat these steps for the rest of the rolls!
COOKING THE SPRING ROLLS
You can either bake or fry these. Though I really recommend deep frying these for the crispiest rolls!
BAKING THE ROLLS
- To bake the spring rolls, preheat your oven or oven toaster to 380F/200C.
- Place the rolls on a lined baking tray. I used parchment paper on mine. Brush some oil on both sides of the rolls.
- Leave to bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown and crisp, flip halfway through cooking if needed. Note that these rolls won’t turn as evenly golden brown and crisp as those cooked in the oil but still crispy!
Important to note for frying:
- Make sure the oil is very hot before you add in the rolls.
- Do not turn off the heat until you have removed al the cooked rolls from the oil.
FRYING THE ROLLS
- Add enough oil to submerge at least half of a spring roll.
- Once the oil has small bubbles and is very hot, lower the heat to medium high. Carefully add in a few rolls (depending on the size of your pan). The spring rolls should immediately sizzle.
- Leave the rolls to cook for around 3 minutes or until golden brown before flipping over to brown the other side.
- Remove from the heat and place standing up on a strainer. Allow to cool and do not cover to prevent the rolls from getting soggy.
TO SERVE THE SPRING ROLLS OR CHA GIO CHAY
Aside from the vegan ‘fish’ sauce for dipping, the rest are optional. Though I personally love to have them this way!
Fresh Lettuce for wrapping
Rice Vermicelli
The uncooked vermicelli is slightly translucent
Cooking the rice vermicelli/noodles in a small pot of water.
These will turn into a solid white colour. Drain the noodles and run them through cold water to cool before serving with the spring rolls.
PREPARING THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS
Fresh herbs: mint and cilantro + some homemade vegan ‘fish’ sauce for dipping
Vietnamese Pickles or Đồ Chua–for that extra crunch and acidity!
Vietnamese Pickled Vegetables (Carrot + Daikon Radish) or Do Chua
To enjoy these Vietnamese Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls (Cha Gio Chay)
I personally love to wrap these rolls in lettuce with fresh herbs, pickled vegetables, and noodles before dipping them into the sauce.
Take a bite and enjoy the crunch, acidity, and freshness from the herbs and lettuce!
Find the full recipe for these below.
If you try out this recipe, I’d appreciate if you leave a rating or simply click on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on my recipe card!
You might enjoy these other recipes:
- Crispy Wontons
- Vegetable Dumplings
- Chinese Chive Pies
- Pan-Fried Cabbage and Noodle Buns
- Wontons in Chili Broth
- Scallion and Sesame Buns
Vietnamese Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls (Chả Giò Chay)
Ingredients
Wrappers
- 12 spring roll wrappers mine were 8.5” squares
Filling
- 2 tbsp dried wood ear mushrooms
- 50 g dried mung bean vermicelli noodles
- 1 lb extra firm tofu mashed
- 100 g shiitake mushrooms or other fresh mushrooms of choice
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 small carrot shredded
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce to colour (optional)
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 2 1/2 tbsp corn starch
To Wrap
- Water to seal rolls
To Cook
- Neutral oil for frying
For Serving
- Fresh lettuce leaves
- Rice vermicelli cooked
- Pickled Daikon Radish and Carrots (Đồ Chua), see homemade recipe here
- Fresh mint leaves
- Fresh cilantro
- Vegan fish sauce , see homemade recipe here
Instructions
Wrappers
- You can watch teh video below for a complete step-by-step on how to make these rolls.
- For the wrappers, make sure they have been thawed and are at room temperature. This way it will be easier to separate them—they’ll be pliable and won’t break apart easily.
Wood Ear Fungus, Tofu, and Noodles
- Meanwhile, soak the wood ear fungus in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes or until completely rehydrated and tripled in size. Once rehydrated, slice into thin strips.
Noodles
- In another heat proof bowl, add in the dry noodles. Pour in boiling hot water and leave the noodles to sit for 10-15 minutes or until chewy and cooked to your liking. Drain the noodles from the water and run through cold water to stop the cooking.
- Roughly chop up the noodles into small pieces, around 1” long if possible. Set aside.
Tofu and Mushrooms
- Mash the tofu in a bowl then set aside. You can press the tofu beforehand but it’s not necessary since the water will evaporate during cooking. Set aside.
- For the fresh mushrooms, mince or slice them into very small pieces.
Cooking the Filling
- Heat a large pan or wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add in the oil.
- Sauté the onion until translucent, around 1-2 minutes.
- Afterwards, add in the chopped wood ear mushroom and fresh mushroom. Cook down for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the carrot and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding in the crumbled tofu and the chewy noodles.
- Mash the tofu if there are some big chunks. Leave everything to cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. This will allow some water from the tofu to evaporate.
- Season the filling with salt, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce (if using) and pepper, to taste. Mix everything together.
- Add in the cornstarch to the mixture. Mix well until the filling starts to thicken. The corn starch will help bind everything together and it’ll thicken from the moisture of the tofu and carrot.
- Taste the filling and feel free to season more, if needed.
- Turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool before wrapping into rolls.
- You can also opt to prepare the filling in advance and just store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. I made mine 2 days in advance.
Wrapping the Spring Rolls
- Prepare a bowl with water to use to seal the edges of the wrapper.
- Add around 2-3 tbsp of filling on a wrapper. This may depend on the side of your wrapper. Compress the filling and try to squeeze out any air pockets.
- You can watch the video below or see the photos above for a complete step-by-step on how to wrap the spring rolls.
- For storage tips on the rolls, see the notes below.
To Cook The Spring Rolls
- See option to bake the rolls below.
- Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add enough oil to submerge at least half of a spring roll.
- Once the oil has small bubbles and is very hot, lower the heat to medium high. Carefully add in a few rolls (depending on the size of your pan). The spring rolls should immediately sizzle.
- Leave the rolls to cook for around 3 minutes or until golden brown before flipping over to brown the other side.
- Remove from the heat and place standing up on a strainer. Allow to cool and do not cover to prevent the rolls from getting soggy.
- Cook the rest of the rolls before turning off the heat.
Baking the Spring Rolls
- To bake the spring rolls, preheat your oven or oven toaster to 380F/200C.
- Place the rolls on a lined baking tray. I used parchment paper on mine. Brush some oil on both sides of the rolls.
- Leave to bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown and crisp, flip halfway through cooking if needed. Note that these rolls won't turn as evenly golden brown and crisp as those cooked in the oil but still crispy!
To Serve and Enjoy
- These are best enjoying while warm and crispy.
- You can wrap a spring rolls in a large piece of lettuce with some noodles, herbs, and pickled veggies before dipping in the sauce.
- You can also opt to slice the rolls into half or into bite-sized pieces. It’s totally up to you!
WATCH Video
Notes
HOW TO STORE SPRING ROLLS
If you’d like to store spring rolls, you can store these UNCOOKED by freezing. Place the rolls spaced apart on a tray and freeze for at least 6-8 hours until hardened. Once they’ve hardened, you can transfer the rolls in an air-tight back and freeze for 1-2 months (or longer). DO NOT thaw the rolls before cooking or they can soy and break apart from the moisture. It’d be best to fry these directly from frozen.NUTRITIONAL INFO
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This Post Has 12 Comments
Fabulous! My husband said, “It’s like a party in your mouth!” Messy, but worth it! But you forgot to say in the instructions when to put the mung bean noodles in the filling! Fortu ately, it was in the video. There were 25 egg roll wrappers, and the filling was the perfect amount for that many egg rolls.
Glad you guys enjoyed it! And thanks for letting me know, I’ll edit the recipe ◡̈
Thanks for the recipe. I haven’t yet cooked the rolls but did make and freeze them. Looking forward to trying them out. Do the baking instructions change if the rolls have been frozen?
Hi Catherine! You can bake them directly from frozen. No need to thaw. These will probably take longer to cook cause they’re frozen so you can keep an eye out and cook these for longer until crisp throughout. Hope this helps! ◡̈
I would like to add napa cabbage to this recipe. How would I prepare the cabbage first
Hi Darlene! You can thinly slice the napa cabbage too and just cook it down with the rest of the filling. Hope this helps! ◡̈
These were delicious. They took me longer as a first attempt. I would make again. I fried rather than baked. I would try baking next time as a little less messy to prepare.
Thanks Minnie! ◡̈
No mention of wetting the rice paper? The 8.5 square sheets I bought are dry. Is there a moist one I should have purchased?
Hi Carol, this recipe uses spring roll wrappers that are wheat-based. They’re the same wrappers used to make egg rolls. So unlike rice paper, they don’t need to be soaked in water. ◡̈
Wow – these are amazing! I have 0 cooking skills but attempted this for a surprise valentines meal for the mrs and turned out so good! I added a veg stock cube to add a bit more flavour to the mix. Made a vegan fish sauce to go with it. Oven baked – was so crispy; frying is unnecessary. Also btw – I made it again and used grated paneer instead of the mashed tofu and also worked really well.
Yay glad it turned out well! Thanks so much for giving it a try!! ◡̈