 | |
| Alternative names | Nem rán, imperial roll, Vietnamese fried egg roll |
|---|---|
| Course | Hors d'oeuvre |
| Place of origin | Vietnam |
| Region or state | Regions ofVietnam |
| Main ingredients | Ground pork,mushrooms,cellophane noodles, various juliennedvegetables (carrots,kohlrabi,jicama),Bánh tráng |
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Chả giò (Vietnamese:[ca᷉ːjɔ̂]), ornem rán, also known as fried egg roll, is a popular dish inVietnamese cuisine and usually served as anappetizer in Europe, North America and Australia, where there are large communities of theVietnamese diaspora. It is ground meat, usually pork, wrapped in rice paper and deep-fried.[1][2]
The main structure of a roll ofchả giò is commonly seasonedground meat,mushrooms,vermicelli, and diced vegetables such ascarrots,kohlrabi andjicama, rolled up in a sheet of moistrice paper.[3] The roll is then deep-fried until the rice paper coat turns crispy and golden brown.[4]
The ingredients are not fixed. The most commonly used meat ispork, but one can also use crab, shrimp, chicken, and sometimessnails (in northern Vietnam), and tofu (forvegetarianchả giò, also known aschả giò chay).[5] If diced carrots and jicama are used, the stuffing is slightly crunchy, matching the crispy fried rice paper, but the juice from these vegetables can cause the rolls to soften after a short time. If the rolls are to be stored for a long time, mashedsweet potato ormung beans may be used instead to keep the rolls crispy. One may also includebean sprouts andrice vermicelli. Eggs and various spices can be added to one's preference. Sometimes, the ingredients can includejuliennedtaro root andcarrots if jicama cannot be found. Taro roots give it a fatty and crunchy taste.
Chả giò rế is an uncommon kind ofchả giò that usesbánh hỏi (thin rice vermicelli woven into a sheet) instead of rice paper. The stuffing inside the roll is the same as normalchả giò, and the roll is also deep-fried. As the sheets ofbánh hỏi are narrow, and the rice vermicelli strands are brittle,chả giò rế rolls are often small and difficult to make. They are only seen at large parties and restaurants.
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Chả giò can be eaten by itself, dipped intonước chấm ornước mắm pha (fish sauce mixed with lime juice or vinegar, water, sugar, garlic and chili pepper), or served with rice vermicelli (inbún chả giò).Usually it is served with a dish ofrau sống (raw vegetable) containing several kinds of vegetable such as lettuce, coriander, etc. It is very common to wrap thechả giò in lettuce before eating it.
There can often be confusion as to what exactly is meant bynem depending on the circumstances. In Vietnam, there can be confusion between northerners and southerners because northerners tend to use the termnem to refer to a variety of different rice paper rolls containing meat, includinggỏi cuốn, which northerners callnem cuốn (often referred to in Western restaurants as "salad rolls"). The southerners, however, tend to adopt a more narrow definition ofnem, using the wordnem to only refer to ground meat food items likenem nướng (literally "grilled sausage", a minced pork sausage mixed infused with crushed garlic andfish sauce and then grilled).
Further confusion can occur outside of Vietnam because the English translation ofchả giò varies according to restaurants' menus,chả giò is often confused with other dishes, such asegg rolls orsalad rolls. Aschả giò made withbánh tráng can easily be shattered when fried, and also stay crispy for only a few hours, restaurants outside of Vietnam have adopted wheat flour sheet to makechả giò, in place of rice paper, thus blurring the difference betweenchả giò and the Chinese egg roll. Besides that, there is also a kind of roll callednem cua bể (crab spring roll). Crab spring roll is considered the two most representative dishes for the culinary processing style of Hai Phong people and has main ingredients made from crab meat, mushroom, carrots and some other vegetables then fried and served with vermicelli, vegetables.
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