Golden Nem Ran with Pork and Crab Filling
Impossibly crispy fried spring rolls with a shattering golden shell that gives way to a savory, juicy filling of seasoned pork, sweet crab meat, glass noodles, and wood ear mushrooms. Wrapped in lettuce and herbs and dunked in nuoc cham, these northern Vietnamese beauties are worth every drop of frying oil.
Ingredients
- 1 package small rice paper wrappers (for frying) or wheat spring roll wrappers
- 12 oz ground pork
- 4 oz crab meat (fresh, canned, or imitation)
- 1 oz dried glass noodles (mung bean vermicelli), soaked and chopped
+ 12 more ingredients
Instructions
Soak the glass noodles in warm water for 10 minutes until softened. Drain, squeeze out excess water, and chop into short pieces.
Soak the wood ear mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes until softened. Drain, squeeze dry, and mince finely.
In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, crab meat, chopped glass noodles, mushrooms, grated carrot, diced onion, garlic, egg, fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands until the filling is uniform and slightly sticky.
If using rice paper, briefly dip each wrapper in warm water to soften, then cut in half. If using wheat wrappers, separate them and keep covered with a damp towel.
Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling along the bottom edge of each wrapper. Fold the bottom up, tuck in the sides, and roll tightly into a compact cylinder. Seal the edge with a dab of water.
Heat vegetable oil to 325F in a deep pot or wok. The lower temperature is key for the first fry.
Fry the spring rolls in batches for 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally, until light golden. Remove and drain on a wire rack. Do not crowd the oil.
Increase the oil temperature to 375F. Fry the rolls a second time for 2-3 minutes until deeply golden and shatteringly crispy.
Serve the hot spring rolls with lettuce leaves, fresh herbs, cucumber, and nuoc cham. To eat, wrap a roll in lettuce with herbs and dip.
Nutrition Estimate
Per serving • Estimated by Blinner AI