Nem Cua Bể - Square Crab Spring Rolls

Square crab Spring Rolls

By Helen Le Published: January 19, 2021

    Square crab spring roll is a specialty of Hai Phong- a port city in Northern VN. The dish is now getting very popular in other parts of VN and even overseas. It is normally served alongside Bun Cha (Grilled pork with vermicelli).

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    Ingredients
    Instructions
    • You will need 200g shrimp, peeled, deveined and finely chopped. Combine with 200g minced pork in a large mixing bowl. Mix well and run your hand in a circular motion in the bowl like this so the meat and shrimp will become stickier and absorb the seasonings better.
    • To make it more fragant, chop some scallion and a few sprigs cilantro (15g. Believe it or not, Cilantro stems are more fragrant than the leaves. So use them all.
    • You want to add many colors and textures to the fillings. And so we’ll use glass noodle, woodear mushroom and a variety of veggies like carrot, bean sprouts etc. For the balance I use about 1 cup each of these
    • Soak 20g dried wood ear mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes. They grow a lot bigger. Then rinse a few times and remove the roots. Roll into a cigar and cut into strips. Then finely chopped
    • Soak 30g cellophane noodles in water for 5 minutes. Then drain and chopped. Shred abt 1 cup carrot, add to the bowl. Next, Chop some bean sprouts (50g). Soak 30g cellophane noodles in water for 5 minutes. Then drain and chopped. Shred abt 1 cup carrot, add to the bowl. Next, Chop some bean sprouts (50g)
    • Scrub and Rinse well to clean off all the mud. Then cook with a little bit of water in a pot for about 8-10 minutes until they turn completely orange. Remove and break it down to gather all the flesh. Add to the bowl and mix to combine with the rest of the ingredients.
    • So you need to have Banh da mem for this. As it is so thin, it will turn golden brown ways before your filling is cooked. So here is the trick: You only use 2 layers at first, place the filling in the middle, about 3 tbsp. Fold and shape nicely into a square parcel.
    • Heat enough vegetable oil in a saucepan or a wok to cover at least 3 inches. When small bubbles appear around a chopstick standing into it, keep the heat to low. Oil temp should be around 160C (320F). Gently drop in the wrap and fry for about 5-7 minutes to make sure the filling is cooked through.
    • Then remove. Let cool on paper towel and wrap with another 2-3 sheets of the wrapper and deep fry again.

    Square Crab Spring Rolls – Watch how to make it on Youtube