About this recipe
Soft, unfried rolls of rice paper around poached shrimp, simmered pork belly, rice vermicelli and herbs. They are assembled cold and eaten within the hour. Gỏi cuốn are frequently confused with chả giò, the deep-fried roll that appears later in this chapter; the two share almost nothing beyond a cylindrical shape.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 12 rolls, serving 4 as a starter
- Prep
- 45 minutes
- Cook
- 25 minutes
- Total
- 70 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Spice
- None in the roll; heat comes from the dip
Allergens Contains shellfish (shrimp), pork and fish (fish sauce). Peanut sauce contains peanuts. Gluten-free if sauces are gluten-free.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The fillings
- 8 oz (225 g) pork belly, in one piece, skin on
- 12 medium shrimp, about 8 oz (225 g), shell on
- 4 oz (115 g) dried rice vermicelli (bún)
- 12 round rice paper wrappers, 8 in (22 cm)
- 12 soft lettuce leaves, thick ribs trimmed
- 1 small handful mint leaves
- 1 small handful Vietnamese coriander (rau răm) leaves
- 12 garlic chives (hẹ), optional, trimmed to stick out of the roll
Peanut dipping sauce
- 2 tbsp (30 g) hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp (32 g) smooth peanut butter, or 3 tbsp ground roasted peanuts
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water, plus more to loosen
- 1 tsp (5 ml) rice vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tbsp (9 g) roasted peanuts, crushed, to finish
- Sliced red chilli, to taste
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Wide shallow bowl of warm water for the rice paper
- Clean damp kitchen towel
- Slotted spoon
Method
- Put the pork belly in a small saucepan, cover with water, bring to a simmer and cook gently until tender, about 20 minutes. Lift out, cool, and slice into thin strips about 1/4 in (5 mm) thick.
- Poach the shrimp in the same water for 2–3 minutes, until pink and just opaque. Cool, peel, devein, and slice each in half lengthways so you have two flat halves.
- Cook the rice vermicelli according to the package, usually 3–5 minutes in boiling water. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain very well.
- Make the sauce: whisk the hoisin, peanut butter, water, vinegar and garlic in a small pan over low heat until smooth and just warm. Loosen with more water to a spoonable consistency. Cool, then top with crushed peanuts and chilli.
- Fill a wide bowl with warm water. Dip one rice paper wrapper in for 2–3 seconds — it should still feel slightly firm when it comes out; it keeps softening on the board.
- Lay the wrapper on a damp towel. Place four shrimp halves, cut side up, in a line across the upper third — this is the side that will show through the finished roll.
- On the lower third, lay a lettuce leaf, then a small nest of vermicelli, then pork strips, mint and rau răm.
- Fold the bottom edge up over the filling, fold in both sides, then roll upward firmly, tucking a garlic chive in so it protrudes from one end as you make the final turn.
- Set the finished roll seam down on a plate, not touching its neighbours. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.
- Serve within the hour with the peanut sauce.
Uses from this chapter
- Nước Chấm (Dipping Sauce) (Recipe #26) — The lighter alternative to peanut sauce
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Gỏi Cuốn (Fresh Spring Rolls) sits in the Vietnam chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Vietnam chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.