Ingredients for Filling:

• 2 oz Cellophane noodles, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes, then drained and cut into 1-inch lengths

• 1 lb Ground pork

• 1 lg Onion, finely chopped

• 2 tb Tree ears, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, then drained and finely chopped

• Cloves garlic, finely -chopped

• 3 Shallots or white part of 3 scallions, finely chopped

• 1 can (7 ounces) crabmeat, cartilage removed and meat flaked with fingers

• 1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper.

Ingredients for Assembly:

• 20 Sheets dried rice papers -(banh trang)

• 4 Eggs, well beaten

• 2 c Peanut oil

Preparation:

Combine the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Cut a round rice paper sheet into quarters. Place the cut rice paper on a flat surface. With a pastry brush, paint the beaten egg over the entire surface of each of the pieces. Before filling, wait for the egg mixture to take effect, softening the wrappers; this takes about 2 minutes. When you become adept at this, you can work on several wrappers at a time.

When the wrapper looks soft and transparent, place about 1 teaspoon of filling near the curved side, in the shape of a rectangle. Fold the sides over to enclose the filling and continue to roll. After filling all the wrappers, pour the oil into a large frying pan, put the egg rolls into the cold oil, turn the heat to moderate, and fry for 20 to 30 minutes, until a lovely golden brown.

Wrap each egg roll in a lettuce leaf, and serve with nuoc cham for dipping.