Cha Gio are the crunchy cousin of Vietnam's famous fresh rice paper rolls — pork, prawn and vegetables rolled tight and fried until deeply golden and crackly. They're a fixture at Vietnamese family gatherings and restaurant banh mi counters alike.
The filling is straightforward pantry work: mince, prawns, wood ear mushroom (or regular mushroom if that's what's on hand), carrot, and glass noodles for texture. Rolling them tightly is the only real technique to master, and it gets easier after the first few.
Serve them the traditional way — wrapped in a lettuce leaf with mint and perilla, dunked into a bowl of nuoc cham. They also freeze brilliantly uncooked, so it's worth doubling the batch.
