Vietnamese Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls (Chả Giò Chay)
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.
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
Serving: 1spring roll | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 439mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
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