Spring Rolls (Gỏi Cuốn)

• servings: 3-4, makes 10 rolls
• active time: 1 hour
• total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

½ lb pork belly

1 medium onion, halved

½ lb shrimp (recipe shows how to cook from raw, but buying pre-cooked is also fine)

1 tsp sugar

1¼ tsp salt

1 head green leaf lettuce

3 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks

½ bunch mint

½ bunch chives

⅓ lb thin dried rice noodles (or dried bánh hỏi)

½ pack dried rice paper

Sauce

½ cup hoisin sauce

½ cup water

3 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp minced garlic

Sambal chili paste / Sriracha to taste

Crushed peanuts for garnish

Directions

Add the pork, onion, sugar, and 1 tsp of salt to a pot and add enough water to cover about 1 inch above the pork. Bring this to a boil, then lower to medium heat and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the thickest part reads 145° F. Strain from the water and cover as the pork cools, then slice it as thin as you can and set aside.

Add the shrimp, ¼ tsp of salt, and just enough water to barely cover them to a pot. Boil on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the shrimp are no longer translucent. Drain and run under cold water. Remove the shells and devein as needed. Slice the shrimp in half along the body, so you’re left with thinner pieces that are easier to roll. Set aside.

Cook your rice noodles according to the package instructions, then drain and run under cool water to stop the cooking process.

Before rolling, let’s make the sauce. Saute the garlic with 2 tbsp oil over medium heat until fragrant, then add in the hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and water, then mix thoroughly. Turn off the heat as soon as the mixture reaches a boil, then allow to cool before serving.

Prepare your vegetables of choice by washing and cutting them as needed.

Add warm water to a plate /wide bowl, wide enough to fit a sheet of the dried rice paper. We’ll use this to prepare the dried rice paper for wrapping. Gather all of your ingredients within an arm’s reach, and we’ll move on to wrapping.

You can find countless video tutorials online for wrapping spring rolls, so find the one that looks easiest to you and move forward with that, but the process is described here as well.

Soak a rice paper sheet for about 5-10 seconds. It will not feel very pliable now, but as you add your fillings it will have softened enough to roll, so don’t over-soak these. Lay the rice paper on a plate and begin to assemble the roll. Add lettuce in the middle towards the bottom of the rice paper, leaving ~1” of space on either side. Layer with carrots, mint, chives, and other herbs. Add the shrimp just above the lettuce and herbs, orange skin facing down. Add the sliced pork atop the shrimp, then add some rice noodles across the vegetables. Fold the left and right sides towards the middle so it’s snug, then fold the bottom up to cover the noodles. Lightly squeeze it as you roll to keep the roll relatively tight. Repeat this process for all of your ingredients. (You will overfill these spring rolls as you start out, so add less and less filling as you continue making them, and eventually you’ll get the hang for the amount of filling that’s right for you. Good practice initially to air on the side of underfilling)

Serve communal style, where everyone has their own bowl of dipping sauce, and can add chili paste or crushed peanuts as they wish.

Notes

With the Vietnamese term ‘Gỏi Cuốn’ translating to ‘salad rolls’, these rice paper wraps are light and satisfying to eat. There are many variations of the filling, but they are really just leafy green, vegetables, herbs, meat, and noodles wrapped in rice paper. The recipe shown here features some more traditional fillings, like pork and shrimp, but use whatever you think would taste good, like adding thinly sliced chili and/or onions. The key is to have the filling be long and thin, so it doesn’t tear during the rolling process. Dip the spring rolls in the provided hoisin and peanut sauce recipe. This sauce is more hoisin sauce forward, but there are countless variations you can find online.