Gỏi Cuốn (Summer Rolls)

Name: Gỏi Cuốn (Summer Rolls)
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails on; 8 oz (225 g) pork belly or shoulder in one piece; 4 oz (115 g) dried rice vermicelli; 12 (8-inch) round rice paper wrappers; 1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated; 1 bunch fresh mint; 1 bunch cilantro; 1 bunch Thai basil; 1 bunch garlic chives, cut in 4-inch batons; 6 tbsp hoisin sauce (sauce); 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter (sauce); 2 tbsp coconut milk (sauce); 1 tbsp rice vinegar (sauce); 1 garlic clove, minced (sauce); 1 tsp sriracha (sauce); 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed (garnish)

Vietnamese · Easy · Makes 12 rolls

Gỏi cuốn — fresh spring rolls, translucent rice paper around shrimp, pork, herbs, and vermicelli — is the cool cousin of the fried roll: no fryer, just a skillet of warm water and an assembly line. The entire technique is the rice paper's ten-second dip and the rolling. The sauce is half the dish — the peanut-hoisin nuoc cham below is the classic.

Quantities live in the recipe card.

The filling

The wrappers

The peanut sauce (tương đậu phộng)

- **Everything ready before the first paper is wet.** Rice paper works on a countdown once dipped — an assembly line (wrapper, water, fillings in reach, board to roll) is the technique. Poach and cool the shrimp and pork, soak and drain the noodles, wash and dry the herbs. - **The bridge:** rice papers keep for years on the shelf; any Asian grocery carries them. The 22 cm round is the standard — smaller papers limit the roll, larger ones go gummy before they soften. There is no substitute, and none is needed at this price.

Step 1. **Dip the paper — quickly.** Slide one rice paper into warm water (hand-hot, about 40 °C) for 5–8 seconds, just until it is pliable but still slightly firm — it finishes softening on the board as you fill it. Checkpoint — the paper should go from brittle to floppy but not to gel. Over-soaked papers tear and stick to themselves. If it still feels slightly stiff when it hits the board, that is correct — in 10 seconds it will be perfect and workable.

Step 2. **Fill the lower third.** Lay the soaked paper on the damp board. In the lower third, place 2–3 herb leaves face-down, 2 shrimp halves pink-side-down (they will show through the finished roll), a tuck of noodles, 2 slices pork, cucumber, and a chive extending sideways. Checkpoint — the filling should form a neat horizontal bundle about 10 cm wide and 2 cm thick — modest. Overfilled rolls burst, underfilled rolls are all wrapper. The shrimp's pink side faces down so it reads through the paper — presentation is part of the recipe.

Step 3. **Roll: fold, fold, roll tight.** Fold the bottom edge up over the filling, fold in the two sides, then roll upward to the far edge, pressing gently as you go — the paper self-seals at the seam. Set seam-down on a plate, not touching the other rolls (a damp paper towel over finished rolls keeps them from drying). Checkpoint — eating test: the roll should be taut — a slight give, no loose paper — and the cross-section should show a clean spiral with the shrimp visible through the wrapper. One roll is 2–3 bites with the peanut sauce; the herbs should hit before the sauce fades. Chef’s Note — the rice paper's behavior is the only learning curve: dip briefly, roll immediately, and trust the continuing softening. The most common failure — a long soak in the water — produces a paper that folds on itself and welds shut. Think of the dip as a wake-up, not a soak; the paper is ready before it looks ready.