Gỏi Cuốn

Vietnamese fresh rice-paper rolls filled with poached prawn, pork belly, Thai basil, rice vermicelli, and mint: served with hoisin-peanut dipping sauce

Origin: Mekong Delta, Cochinchina, Vietnam

From the journey of Basil.

Gỏi cuốn (fresh spring rolls, literally 'salad rolls') are among the most refined expressions of Vietnamese herb culture. Unlike the fried spring rolls (chả giò) familiar in the West, gỏi cuốn are assembled cold, wrapped in softened rice paper, and eaten immediately. The herbs are not garnish: they are structural components. Húng quế (Vietnamese Thai basil) provides the anise-sweet spine of the roll's flavour; tía tô (Vietnamese perilla) and mint add astringency and freshness. Together they create a harmony of fragrance that is distinctly Vietnamese (the same herbs also appear raw on the table alongside pho, bún bò Huế, and bánh mì, always uncooked, always intended to be eaten in great quantities rather than used sparingly. In southern Vietnam and the Mekong Delta, gỏi cuốn are eaten as a street snack, a first course, and a daily lunch; in the Hanoi north, the style is slightly different. The hoisin-peanut sauce) not fish sauce, not nuoc cham: is the southern signature.

Ingredients

Filling

  • 12 large raw tiger or king prawns, peeled and deveined
  • 200 g pork belly, skin-on piece
  • 100 g rice vermicelli (bún)
  • 1 cup loosely packed fresh Thai basil (húng quế) leaves
  • 0.5 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 8 butter lettuce or soft lettuce leaves, torn
  • 0.5 cucumber, julienned or cut into thin batons

Wrappers

  • 12 round rice-paper wrappers (bánh tráng), 22cm

Dipping Sauce

  • 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp warm water
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 bird's eye chilli, finely chopped (optional)
  • 2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts, to finish

Method

  1. Poach the pork belly: place in cold salted water, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 30 minutes until just cooked. Remove, cool completely, and slice very thinly against the grain.
  2. Poach the prawns: cook in boiling salted water for 2 minutes until pink. Drain, cool, and slice in half lengthways so the pink exterior faces up when placed in the roll.
  3. Cook rice vermicelli according to package directions. Drain, rinse in cold water, and cut into manageable lengths with scissors.
  4. Make the dipping sauce: whisk together hoisin, peanut butter, warm water, and lime juice until smooth. Adjust consistency with more water if needed: it should coat a spoon but pour easily. Stir in chilli and top with crushed peanuts.
  5. To assemble: fill a wide bowl or plate with warm water. Dip one rice-paper wrapper for 15–20 seconds until just softened but not floppy. Lay flat on a clean surface.
  6. In the lower third of the wrapper, place 2–3 prawn halves (pink side down, facing you), then a layer of pork belly, lettuce, cucumber, vermicelli, and a generous bundle of Thai basil and mint. Do not overfill. Fold the bottom edge over the filling, fold in the sides, and roll firmly but gently to the top. The prawns should be visible through the rice paper.
  7. Serve immediately, whole or sliced diagonally, with the hoisin-peanut sauce. Gỏi cuốn must be eaten within 15 minutes of rolling: the rice paper toughens as it dries.

Notes

The herbs are not optional in gỏi cuốn: they are the point. A roll without Thai basil is merely a rice-paper sandwich. In Vietnam, the herb plate served alongside contains many more herbs than are listed here: perilla, Vietnamese coriander, fish mint (diếp cá), and others. Add whatever Asian herbs you can find.

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