Vietnamese Crab Spring Rolls Recipes

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS RECIPE (GOI CUON)

Steps:

• Add pork, onion, salt and sugar to a small pot and add enough water to cover about 1 inch above the pork. Bring to a boil on high heat and then lower to medium and cook for about 25-30 minutes or until pork juices run clear when poked at the thickest part, or it registers 145 F with an instant read thermometer at the thickest part.
• Cover the pork in a bowl as it cools so it doesn't darken. Once cool, slice the pork as thinly as you can to make rolling easier later.
• Defrost shrimp in water bowl. Once defrosted, de-vein the shrimp. Hold a shrimp up to a light to locate the vein, pierce the whiter part (joint) of the shrimp just below the vein with a toothpick, and pull the toothpick upwards towards the shrimp back. Do this slowly to remove the vein. Piece again at another joint if the vein breaks to remove all traces of vein. Repeat with all your shrimp.
• Cook the shrimp: add shrimp, salt, and enough water in a small pot to barely cover your shrimp. Boil on medium-high heat for only about 1.5 to 2.5 minutes or until the shrimp is no longer translucent. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Remove the shells and tails from shrimp, and cut the shrimp in half along the body.
• Cook either your rice noodles according to the package instructions. Timing can vary wildly depending on noodle thickness and brand. This can be anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes. Drain and cool the noodles under cold, running water to stop it from cooking further.
• Prepare your vegetables by rinsing and drying them.
• Add warm water to a plate and soak the rice paper sheet for about 5-10 seconds. Soak the rice paper just enough so that it is pliable and easy to handle, but remove the sheet before it gets too soft and sticky. Lay rice paper on a plate and begin to assemble your roll.
• Add lettuce towards the bottom of the rice paper. Leave 1 to 1½ inches of space on either side of the rice paper. Layer with mint and chives. Try to not add too many items because it will be harder to roll and might tear your rice paper.
• Add shrimp in the middle of the rice paper with the orange skin facing down.
• Layer the sliced pork on top of the shrimp.
• Add the noodles across the vegetables, spread evenly across.
• Fold the left and right sides towards the middle so that it's snug. Lay some chives lengthwise with one end poking out. Then fold the bottom up to cover the noodles. You want to keep the roll tight, so lightly squeeze it together as you roll. Continue to roll upwards to complete the spring roll.
• In a pan over medium heat, saute garlic in oil until fragrant.
• Add in hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and water and mix thoroughly.
• Bring to boil, and then immediately turn off the heat and pour into a heat safe dipping bowl. The sauce will slightly thicken as it cools.
• Sprinkle ground peanuts on each sauce dipping bowl, and leave the chile paste on the side so others can add to their own dipping bowl as desired.

VIETNAMESE FRESH SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
• Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
• In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
• Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

CHA GIO (VIETNAMESE FRIED SPRING ROLLS)

Steps:

• Soak the dried mung bean noodles in warm water (submerge them completely) for 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly, and cut into ¼ inch pieces.
• In a large bowl, combine the noodles, ground pork, grated carrot, chopped wood ear mushrooms, shallots, garlic, ginger egg white, fish sauce, vegetable oil, salt, white pepper, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix until everything is uniformly combined.
• In a large, shallow bowl or deep plate, dissolve the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar in 1 cup warm water. Sugar is optional but does help the spring rolls to brown when frying.
• To wrap each roll, place a rice paper wrapper into the sugar water for about 5-10 seconds, making sure it is completely submerged. Remove it from the water. It will still be quite firm, but it will soften quickly!
• Place about 40g of filling in a log shape on one side of the wrapper. Begin tightly folding the wrapper over the filling (no air bubbles!), and roll the spring roll forward 1 complete revolution. Lightly press down on each end of the filling to flatten the rice paper and push the filling together to eliminate any air bubbles.
• Fold one side of the wrapper towards the middle of the spring roll. Repeat with the other side. Roll the spring roll forward while tucking in the front to prevent air pockets. The rice paper wrapper will stick to itself. It doesn't require anything additional to seal. Place the rolls on a plate or sheet pan lined with a clean, dry kitchen towel or parchment paper.
• Once wrapped, transfer the spring rolls to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour, so they can dry out and firm up. This step helps minimize the wrapper bubbling when frying (though bubbling is normal). Take them out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before frying.
• Heat about 3 cups of canola or vegetable oil in a medium pot to 335°F/170°C (the oil level should be a little over halfway up the sides). Fry the spring rolls in small batches-about three at a time. Make sure they do not touch just after they are placed in the oil as the skins will be sticky until a crust forms. Cook each batch for 5 to 6 minutes, or until light golden brown. (Frying them in small batches prevents them from sticking to each other.)
• Use a metal slotted spoon to pull them out of the oil. Drain on a rack, and continue frying. Maintain the correct oil temperature by periodically adjusting your heat.
• When ready to serve, refry the spring rolls (yes, they need to be fried twice) at 350°F/175°C for 1 ½ to 2 minutes to make them nice and crispy. Double-frying is important! Serve with fresh lettuce, cilantro, Thai basil, mint and nuoc cham for dipping.

SPICY CRAB SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Shred crabmeat using 2 forks or in a food processor.
• Mix crabmeat, mayonnaise, and sriracha sauce together in a small bowl.
• Fill a shallow bowl with hot water to a depth of 2 inches. Dip 1 rice paper wrapper in the water for a few seconds to soften; set on a wooden cutting board or a clean, moist dish towel. Layer 1/4 of the cucumber, carrot, avocado, crabmeat mixture, and green onion in the bottom third of the rice paper.
• Pull bottom of the rice paper over the filling, using your fingers to prevent it from spilling out the sides. Fold opposing edges of the rice paper to overlap the filling; roll up tightly towards the top. Place roll seam-side down on a plate. Repeat with remaining rice papers and cucumber, carrot, avocado, crabmeat mixture, and green onion.

CRAB SUMMER ROLLS

Steps:

• For the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, tamari, chili paste, ginger and 1 tablespoon water. Set aside to let the flavors marry for about 10 minutes.
• For the rolls: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss the rice noodles with the sesame oil.
• Fill a pie pan with warm tap water. Working with one wrapper at a time, soak the rice paper in the warm water for about 30 seconds or until pliable. Lay a few pieces of cilantro and basil across the center of the wrapper. Top the herbs with some crab, followed by some of the red pepper and cucumber. Top with approximately 1/3 cup of the dressed rice noodles. Roll the edge closest to you over the filling, pulling tightly. Fold in the ends and continue to roll to seal. Store on a tray with a damp paper towel. Continue with the remaining wrappers and filling. Serve with the dipping sauce.

FRESH CRAB SPRINGROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat the fryer to 360 degrees F.
• In a small mixing bowl, add the noodles. Season the noodles with sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, green onions and black pepper. Mix thoroughly. Bring water to a boil in a 10-inch saute pan and remove from the heat. Submerge each spring roll wrapper, 1 at a time, in the hot water, moving it around in the water until soft and pliable, 10 to 15 seconds. Remove and lay on the parchment paper.
• In another small mixing bowl, combine the crabmeat, mayonnaise, and chili paste. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon of the crab mixture over the wrapper and top with 1 tablespoon of the noodle mixture. On top of the noodles, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the sprouts. Top the sprouts with the 1 tablespoon of the papaya, 1 tablespoon of the carrots, 1 tablespoon of the cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of the mint. Fold 2 sides of the wrapper toward the center about 1/4-inch, then roll like a jelly roll, pressing the edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Fry half of the spring rolls until golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. Season with salt. Slice each roll in half diagonally. Serve the rolls on a large platter with the Spicy Peanut Sauce. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
• In a food processor, combine all ingredients together. Process until smooth, then transfer to small bowls for dipping.

VIETNAMESE SHRIMP AND CRAB CRISPY SPRING ROLLS (CHA GIO)

Steps:

• Blanch cabbage and place into ice bath. Drain and squeeze out excess water. In a large bowl, mix together garlic, carrots, green onions and cabbage.
• Chop shrimp into small pieces. To the large bowl, add shrimp, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and black pepper and mix. Add crab meat and egg white to mixture and combine evenly.
• Brush egg yolk on three corners of wrapper. Add 2 tablespoons of filling in center of wrapper, diagonally. Fold the two sides on the diagonal over the filling. Fold the non-egg yolk corner over and tuck snugly under filling and roll up.
• Deep fry the spring rolls in peanut oil at 350°F for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Work in batches. Flip half way through. Remove and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Eat with nuoc cham.