{"id":148108,"title":"Authentic Ch\u1ea3 L\u1ee5i – Vietnamese Charcoal-Grilled Rice Paper Rolls","modified":"2026-07-14T15:46:59+02:00","plain":"A rice paper roll filled with shrimp and pork, grilled over charcoal and served with a thick peanut-tamarind sauce.\n\n\n\nSmoke curls up from a brazier on the street corner, and the smell of grilled rice paper stops you in your tracks. A piping-hot roll is lifted from the skewer, wrapped in a lettuce leaf with Thai basil and cucumber, then dipped into a thick peanut-tamarind sauce. The shell crackles between your teeth, while the shrimp-and-pork filling stays tender inside.\n\n\n\nThat’s ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5i from Lagi, the kind of snack you eat standing up, with your fingers, and start recommending after the very first bite.\n\n\n\nAnother crisp classic made for dipping: the b\u00e1nh x\u00e8o crispy pancake\n\n\n\nWhat is ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5i?\n\n\n\nCh\u1ea3 l\u1ee5i is a rice paper roll stuffed with pounded small freshwater shrimp and well-marbled pork, colored with annatto oil and grilled over charcoal until the wrapper blisters and turns crisp and brittle.\n\n\n\nIt is neither a Vietnamese fried spring roll nor a sausage. It is often confused with ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5a, the steamed pork sausage, or with Hu\u1ebf’s nem l\u1ee5i, molded around lemongrass stalks, but Lagi ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5i is a dish in its own right, charcoal-grilled and inseparable from its platter of herbs and sticky sauce.\n\n\n\nIn the coastal speech of Vietnam’s south-central region, the word l\u1ee5i means “to skewer” or “to pierce,” and the name describes the gesture.\n\n\n\nVendors thread several tightly packed little rice paper bundles onto a bamboo or iron skewer, then turn them together above the coals. This shared axis keeps the rolls aligned, seals the seams, and makes it possible to flip a whole row in one motion.\n\n\n\nCraving grilled pork and fresh herbs? Check out Hanoi’s b\u00fan ch\u1ea3\n\n\n\nBorn in Lagi, on the coast of B\u00ecnh Thu\u1eadn\n\n\n\nCh\u1ea3 l\u1ee5i is a fairly recent addition to Vietnamese cuisine. According to local accounts, it was born in Lagi, a coastal town in B\u00ecnh Thu\u1eadn province, in the late 1990s or early 2000s. It is credited to a street vendor named Mrs. C\u0103n, often called B\u00e0 Canh, who worked in the Ph\u01b0\u1edbc L\u1ed9c neighborhood.\n\n\n\nThe idea answered the demands of street food: something affordable, easy to take away, filling, and fragrant enough to stop passersby in front of a charcoal brazier.\n\n\n\nB\u00ecnh Thu\u1eadn is a land of dried fish and fish sauce, and that local character shapes the dish’s seasoning from start to finish. The filling draws its savoriness from local fish sauce rather than salt, while annatto oil gives the rolls their golden-red sheen.\n\n\n\nAnother classic street roll is b\u00f2 b\u00eda\n\n\n\nFrom Lagi, the snack spread to Bi\u00ean H\u00f2a, V\u0169ng T\u00e0u, Hu\u1ebf, and Ho Chi Minh City. In the city, the rolls are often larger or served alongside other grilled specialties, but Qu\u00e1n B\u00e0 Canh remains a touchstone for the old style: small, tightly wrapped rolls with a thin crust and the unmistakable scent of the embers.\n\n\n\nKey ingredients in ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5i\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe filling is built around two proteins and a wrapper. Once pounded, the small freshwater shrimp, t\u00f4m \u0111\u1ea5t or t\u00f4m ch\u1ec9, release sticky proteins that bind the mixture and give it elasticity, with a gentle flavor that lacks the pronounced brininess of sea shrimp.\n\n\n\nWell-marbled pork belly or shoulder provides the fat that melts during cooking, keeps the center juicy, and helps the rice paper crisp up. The wrapper itself must stand up to light moistening, tight folding, and intense heat: when handled properly, it blisters and becomes almost glassy.\n\n\n\nMost of the seasoning comes from fish sauce, which brings both saltiness and umami in place of salt. Annatto oil, d\u1ea7u \u0111i\u1ec1u, colors both the filling and the wrapper a deep golden red and helps the rice paper withstand the heat of the coals. Minced shallot and garlic form the aromatic base, fresh chili and pepper are used with restraint, and a little sugar rounds out the fish sauce. A pinch of MSG is optional.\n\n\n\nThe sauce is what sets it apart from other Vietnamese rolls. It is cooked rather than mixed raw: fish sauce and sugar are reduced to a syrup, peeled tomato adds body, tamarind brings a rounded tang, and saut\u00e9ed shallot and garlic add fragrance.\n\n\n\nCrushed roasted peanuts are added at the end so they keep their crunch. At the table, lettuce acts as a wrapper, herbs bring freshness, and green mango or starfruit cuts through the richness with bright acidity.\n\n\n\nSigns of authenticity and pitfalls to avoid\n\n\n\nTrue Lagi-style ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5i is defined by its charcoal-grilled rice paper shell, not a fried one, and by its thick, cooked sauce of tomato, tamarind, and peanuts, not a bowl of thin, raw dipping sauce.\n\n\n\nFor a fresh, ungrilled version, try fresh spring rolls\n\n\n\nBeware of confusion: a finely emulsified paste mixed with ice water and then steamed in banana leaves is ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5a; meat molded around lemongrass stalks is Hu\u1ebf’s nem l\u1ee5i.\n\n\n\nThe air fryer or the oven can stand in, but neither blisters the rice paper quite as well or creates the same smoky aroma as pork fat dripping onto hot coals. The gold standard is still Lagi, at places like Qu\u00e1n B\u00e0 Canh, where the rolls remain small, tightly wrapped, and perfumed by the embers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tAuthentic Ch\u1ea3 L\u1ee5i - Vietnamese Grilled Rolls\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tFor the filling200 g shrimp400 g pork (ground)100 g mung beans (hulled)1 shallot (chopped)1.5 cloves garlic (chopped)0.5 tablespoon sugar0.5 teaspoon pepper (ground)0.5 teaspoon MSG1 tablespoon annatto oil0.5 tablespoon fish sauceFor the sauce30 g tamarind100 ml water20 ml water (if needed)1 shallot (chopped)1.5 cloves garlic (chopped)2 chilies (chopped)30 g peanuts (roasted)1.5 tablespoons annatto oil3 tablespoons sugar3 tablespoons fish sauce3 tablespoons ketchup1 tablespoon chili sauceFor assembly and serving200 g rice paper wrapperslettucecucumberThai basilVietnamese balmgreen mango (tangy)water (for moistening the rice paper wrappers)0.33 teaspoon salt (for cooking the mung beans)\t\n\t\n\t\tPrepare the ingredientsSoak the mung beans overnight, then cook them with the salt until the water has evaporated. Remove from the heat as soon as they are tender.Rinse, peel, and devein the shrimp, removing the heads and back vein, then blend finely.Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic, keeping the portions for the filling and sauce separate.Finely crush the roasted peanuts.Rinse and drain the herbs and vegetables.Make the fillingCombine the blended shrimp, ground pork, shallot, garlic, and all the filling seasonings in a large bowl, then mix thoroughly.Let the filling marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.Make the sauceHeat a pan over medium heat, add the annatto oil, then saut\u00e9 the shallot and garlic for the sauce until fragrant.Add the water and tamarind, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the tamarind softens.Add the sugar, fish sauce, ketchup, and chili sauce. Stir well, then remove from the heat and discard the tamarind seeds.Transfer the cooked mung beans and sauce to a blender and blend until smooth, adding a little water if the sauce is too thick.Return the sauce to the heat and bring it to a boil. Add the crushed peanuts and stir until well combined.Roll and bakeLay out a rice paper wrapper and lightly moisten it. Place a portion of filling in the center, fold in the ends, then roll into a slightly flattened roll. Repeat until all the filling is used.Preheat the oven to 180 \u00b0C for 15 minutes. Arrange the rolls on a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Turn them over and bake for 7 more minutes, until golden and crisp.ServeServe the ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5i with the herbs and vegetables, with the tamarind sauce on the side for dipping.\t\n\t\n\t\t\nTo save time, soak the mung beans the day before and prepare the sauce while the filling is marinating.\nAdd up to 20 ml water as needed to achieve a thick, spoon-coating consistency; the sauce will thicken as it cools.\nBaking time may vary depending on thickness: watch the color and add 2 more minutes at a time if needed.\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\tPlat principalVietnamienne","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}