Cha Gio Chay (Vegetarian Spring Rolls)

4.88 from 8 votes

These homemade Cha Gio Chay are wrapped using ingredients like taro and cabbage for a nutty and sweet filling that you won't find in stores!

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Wrapping Time1

Total Time2 30

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Vegetarian, Vietnamese

Servings:

Calories: 658kcal

Julienne the carrots, taro, cabbage and jicama, then put into a large mixing bowl.
Squeeze the water out of the green bean threads, woodear mushrooms and sliced shiitake mushrooms before adding it into the bowl along with the pepper, salt, sugar and vegetable stock powder.
Mix all the ingredients together before adding 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp potato starch and stirring it in.

On a plate, lay the spring roll wrapper in a diamond shape and place roughly 1 tbsp filling in the middle, closer to the bottom.
Note: If you're using larger wraps, add more filling to preference.
Bring the bottom corner up and wrap it tightly over the filling. To tighten it even more, pull the wrapped filling toward you.
Fold both the left and right sides in until it reaches the filling on either side.
Tightly roll upward.
Mix the potato starch and water for the starch slurry until well combined and wet your finger with it, then wet the top wrapper corner with some.
Roll the Cha Gio Chay all the way until completely sealed.

Bring a wok or pan of oil to a medium heat (just enough for wooden chopsticks to start bubbling when placed in the oil) and gently lower each spring roll in, cooking a few at a time.
Let them cook for roughly 3-4 minutes each or until golden all around, placing each cooked one on a plate lined with paper towels or in a metal colander.
Serve fresh as is!

Use ingredients with less moisture. This will prevent the Cha Gio Chay wrapper from getting soggy and breaking when frying.
Freeze them before frying. Even just 15 minutes in the freezer will help them keep their shape, which means they won't burst open as you fry.
Double fry. Frying it a second time will ensure extra crisp.
All the ingredients can be substituted for your favorites, so long as they're all cut into thin strips. Other options include steamed mung beans, onions, tofu, corn and spring rolls.
The wrappers can be found in smaller squares or larger ones, so it will depend on the size that you're after.
Our family has kept the seasoning simple and minimal, but some vegetarian spring roll recipes also use vegetarian fish sauce for that extra flavor. If you'd like to use that, you can find them in Asian supermarkets or specialty Asian vegetarian shops.