Gỏi Cuốn: Vietnamese Summer Rolls
Gỏi Cuốn or summer is one of the most popular Vietnamese dishes, aside from pho and banh mi. It's a very fresh dish that bursts with flavor from an assortment of julienned herbs and vegetables, vermicelli noodles, and shrimp wrapped in a rehydrated rice paper wrapper. This recipe makes a refreshingly delicious snack during sticky summer months.
Ingredients
- 12 rice papers
- 24 shrimp, medium
- 200 g chicken breast
- 50 g rice vermicelli
- 1 carrot, large
- 1 cucumber, large
- 1 red pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 4-6 leaves butterhead lettuce
- Mint, fresh sprigs
- Peanut sauce, for serving
Instructions
Cooking
- Peel and devein the shrimp. Add the shrimp to a pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Immediately remove the heat, let sit for 5 minutes, then slice the shrimp in half horizontally and set aside.
- Season and slice the chicken breast into cubes. Grill over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Bring water in saucepan to a boil and soak the rice vermicelli 5 mins, then drain well. Cut the vermicelli into random lengths.
Preparing and Cutting the Vegetables
- Peel, slice the carrot in julienne and salt.
- Slice the cucumber and red pepper in julienne, then salt them.
- Chop and tear the lettuce in small pieces.
- Chop the mint leaves.
Assembling and Rolling
- Assemble all the prepared filling ingredients.
- Dip one of the rice papers in a bowl of hot water, moving it around until the whole wrapper is soft – about 3-5 secs.
- Place a rice paper wrapper on a board and at the left edge of the wrapper, add a few mint leaves, then four shrimp halves.
- Place some lettuce on the right edge.
- Place on top of the lettuce, a few strips of carrot, cucumber, and pepper, followed by some vermicelli finally some chicken cubes (Be cautious to not overfill the wrapper or they will be hard to roll).
- Lift slightly the top and bottom edge of the rice paper wrapper on top of the filling. Lift the left edge over the filling and, holding the filling in position with your fingers, start rolling up tightly. When you’re about halfway, fold the right edge slightly and fold the roll over so that it is completely enclosed.
- Repeat with remaining rice-papers.