The traditional recipe includes blanched shrimps and pork or Goi Cuon Tom Thit. But many Asian and fusion restaurants offer on their menu many types of fresh rolls with fancy stuffings, such as avocado, mango, roast duck, deep fried soft shell crabs, baked salmon, the list is endless.
Fresh rolls are the perfect appetizers as they are enjoyed at room temperature and very little cooking is required.
Here are some stuffing suggestions. You just need to pick 1 or 2 ingredients from each group and roll away.
Group 1: Fresh herbs (basil, coriander, mint, shiso)
Group 2: Lettuce (any type of lettuce or mixed salad)
Group 3: Crunchy element (sticks of fresh cucumbers, carrots, mango, avocado and/or bean sprouts)
Group 4: Protein – For vegetarian version, use firm tofu ( It can be plain firm tofu or soy seasoned tofu or fried tofu) or sautéed shiitake mushrooms.
For non-vegetarian, the list is endless: Stir fried beef or pork (for example Goi Cuon Thit Nuong is made with sliced beef or pork stir fired with sliced shallots and lemongrass and seasoned with fish sauce), Chinese sausage, Roast Duck, Roasted or seared/baked salmon etc.
Group 5: Cooked rice vermicelli or bun tuoi.
Most restaurants add a generous portion of rice vermicelli as filler. I only add around 2 teaspoon of rice vermicelli in each roll so the other ingredients can shine.
Once you get the hang out of rolling your own fresh rolls, you’ll find that the most delicious fresh rolls are the home-made kind, and you can mix and match the ingredients to suit your tastes.
Hop to my recipes for Fresh Duck Rolls. Chinese Sausage and Jicama rolls and Vegetarian rolls.
The fresh rolls are dipped into a sauce. Typically it’s a thick and creamy peanut flavored sauce or a prepared fish sauce.
Tip: Pick a rice paper that contains tapioca starch as it would be softer and slightly elastic, so easier to roll. Make sure to dip very quickly in water so they won’t become all soggy and messy. After dipping, the rice paper will initially appear to be still stiff, but will soon turn soft and pliable. It may help to use a clean kitchen towel on the work surface to absorb any excess liquid and place the dipped rice paper on top before rolling.
Another tip: The fresh rolls can be made in advance but must be consumed on the same day. The rice paper can dry up quickly. So after I make the fresh rolls, I cover them with a damp kitchen tower, and wrap the whole thing with plastic wrap so they stay fresh and soft.
Fresh Rolls – Goi Cuon
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb pork shoulder with a little fat or pork belly if you like more fatty
- 1 lb shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp salt, divided
- 1/2 bag dry rice vermicelli
- 2 cups assorted fresh herbs such as mint, basil, coriander, shiso/perilla, chives
- 2 cups assorted lettuce (or mixed salad), bean sprouts and Persian cucumbers cut into sticks
- 1 package dry rice paper – There are many brands of rice paper. Make sure to pick a rice paper that contains tapioca starch.
Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce (to make 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
- 1/2 cup Sweet Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup water or chicken / pork stock or vegetable stock for vegetarian version.
- 1/4 cup crushed toasted peanuts
- 1 tspn Sambal or Sriracha chili sauce
Instructions
- Blanch the pork twice: put the pork in a pot of water with 1/2 tbsp of salt, bring to boil and discard the water and impurities. Rinse the pork. Put the pork in the pot, add water to barely cover the meat and the sliced shallots. Bring to boil, reduce heat,let simmer for 45 minutes. To check if it's cooked, insert a chopstick in the meat, it should go in easily and with clear juice running. Remove the pork and pat dry. Reserve 1 cup of the stock to prepare the dipping sauce. When cool, put it in the refrigerator for around half an hour for easier slicing. Slice into thin slices.
- In the same pot, bring the water back to boiling (add water if necessary), add the shrimps, reduce the heat to medium high. Cook the shrimps until they turn opaque and orangey/pinkish. Remove and drain. Slice the shrimps in half lengthwise.
- Cook the rice vermicelli according to the package instructions and drain. (A tip: early in the day, you can soak the rice vermicelli in a large bowl of water (say for around 3-4 hours). When ready to cook, boil a big pot of water, add a pinch of salt, add the soaked rice vermicelli, and it would take around 2 minutes to cook). Drain the rice vermicelli, rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.
- To assemble the rolls: Have all the ingredients ready, a large bowl of lukewarm water and a large plate or cutting board. Quickly dip the rice paper sheet in lukewarm water and put on a plate or cutting board. If you wish, cover the plate or cutting board with a clean kitchen towel to absorb any excess water or make sure to shake off any excess water if you have dipped for too long. At first the rice paper seems still a bit stiff but it will quickly soften. On one end (about 1/3 of the circle) layer the lettuce, fresh herbs, pork and vermicelli, align the shrimps next to the layered ingredients. Start rolling from the end while tightly tucking in the layered ingredients as you roll, then fold in the 2 sides to fully enclose the stuffing, then keep rolling over the shrimps till the other end. Tip: To save time, you can use 2 large plates or 2 cutting boards to alternate the waiting for the wet rice water to soften while wrapping another roll.
- When the shrimps are placed (the outer side of the shrimps are facing down against the rice paper), after rolling they would appear through the rice paper, which makes the fresh rolls more appetizing.
- Repeat the same process for each roll.
- To prepare the Vietnamese dipping sauce: In a small saucepan, heat the oil on medium high. Add the minced garlic and stir fry till golden (it would take less than a minute). Add the liquid (water or stock), hoisin sauce, peanut butter. Stir well and heat for around 4-5 minutes. Scoop into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts and chili sauce on top.
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