Fried crispy seasoned pork bites also known as bánh tráng chiên giò sống—another dish inspired from my mom’s kitchen. I don't remember when my mom started making these, I just know that I loved standing there and eating them fresh, hot, and extra crispy, as she was frying them. Obviously I ruined my appetite with these little ăn nhậu ( to snack/drink) bites, but it was always worth it. I had never had this anywhere else but at home, so I wasn’t sure if it was an actual dish, but I looked it up recently, and it’s a real thing (at least different variations of it)! The best part about it is that it is insanely easy to make. It’s a great appetizer to have at parties, the kids love it, and it also pairs perfectly with a cold beer. Recipe below!

FRIED CRISPY SEASONED PORK BITES / BÁNH TRÁNG CHIÊN GIÒ SỐNG

Degree of difficulty: 1 (on a scale of 1-5)

Preparation time 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10-12 minutes

YOU’LL NEED

•  A medium to large food processor

•  A medium frying pan

• A medium mixing bowl

 INGREDIENTS (makes roughly 36 bite sized pieces)

• ½ pound of organic ground pork (you can sub with ground beef or ground chicken if you don’t eat pork)

• ¼ TSP sea salt

• ½ TSP freshly ground pepper

• ½ TSP sugar

• 1 TSP fish sauce

• 2 TSP minced garlic

• ¼ TSP baking powder (I used Alsa brand baking powder)

• ½ TSP water

• 4-6 sheets of round rice paper

DIRECTIONS 

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together your ground pork, salt, pepper, sugar, garlic, and fish sauce. Mix well.

2. In a small bowl, combine the water and the baking powder, and immediately mix well with a small spoon until it begins to foam, then add it to the ground pork mix, and once again, mix well (I like to mix with my hands).

3. Placed the meat mix in a medium sized food processor, and process the meat until a fine paste is formed (about 2-3 min).

4. Place a piece of dry rice paper on a flat work surface. Using a large spoon or small spatula, spread the paste evenly on the rice paper, getting as close to the edges as you can. The thickness of the paste should be about 1/8”, and no thicker than ¼” (see photo above). 

5. Place another sheet of dry rice paper directly on top, lining up the edges. Smooth it out using your hands, and lightly push the meat mixture so that it is even and spread towards the edges.

6. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut roughly 2” strips, and then cut the strips into bite sized pieces. If the rice paper curls up, don’t worry about it. It’s not meant to be perfect! Place the bite sized pieces on a large plate, separating the pieces so that they don’t touch (the rice paper will get moist and cause the pieces to stick together).

7. Heat a frying pan on medium high, and coat the bottom of the pan with a neutral high-heat oil (safflower, canola, or grapeseed oil). Give it a few minutes to heat up properly, and then gently add in your bite sized pieces. Pan fry the pieces until they are a light golden brown, turning/flipping them when necessary. You may need to turn your heat down to medium so that they don’t burn. Each side should take 2-3 minutes each, but make sure you keep an eye on it while it is cooking. 

8. Transfer to a bed of napkins, and then to a serving platter.