Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut Sauce
Fresh rice paper rolls with poached pork belly and a peanut sauce made from the reduced poaching broth.
Gỏi Cuốn (Rice Paper Rolls) with Pork Broth Peanut Sauce
Fresh Vietnamese rice paper rolls filled with poached pork belly, prawns, vermicelli and herbs, served with a peanut sauce built on reduced pork poaching broth. The broth-based sauce is what separates this from most versions.
Equipment
- 1 medium saucepan for pork belly
- 1 Small saucepan for prawns and peanut sauce (separately)
- 1 large saucepan for vermicelli noodles
- 1 large bowl for ice bath
- 1 wide shallow bowl or tray for soaking rice paper
- 1 large flat board or clean surface for rolling
Ingredients
Pork Belly
- 500 g pork belly
- 1.2 L water enough to cover
- 8 g fine salt
- 20 g ginger sliced
- 2 spring onions white parts
Poached Prawns
- 700 g raw green prawns peeled and deveined
- 1 L water enough to cover
- 10 g fine salt
Vermicelli
- 100 g dried rice vermicelli thin strands, about 1mm thick
- 1 L boiling water
Peanut Sauce
- 180 g crunchy peanut butter
- 90 g hoisin sauce
- 120 g reserved pork broth reduced and strained
- 10 g fish sauce
- 15 g neutral oil
- 15 g garlic finely chopped
- 30 g hot water
Assembly
- 30 rice paper sheets round 22cm size
- 1 large butter lettuce leaves washed, dried and torn into small pieces
- 2 Lebanese cucumbers cut into thin batons
- 1 bunch garlic chives trimmed to about 18cm lengths
- 1 bunch mint leaves picked and dried
- 1 bunch perilla leaves washed, dried and larger leaves halved
Instructions
Pork Belly
- Add the pork belly, water, salt, ginger and spring onion to a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
- Simmer gently for 40 minutes until the pork is just cooked through and still firm enough to slice neatly.
- Lift the pork out and cool in an ice bath for 15 minutes.
- Reserve 250g of the cooking broth for the peanut sauce.
- Slice the pork as thinly as you can.
Poached Prawns
- Bring the water and salt to a boil in a small saucepan.
- Add the prawns and cook for 1½ to 2 minutes until just cooked – prawns should be C-shaped, not curled into an O.
- Transfer immediately to an ice bath to stop the cooking, then drain.
- Pat very dry, then slice each prawn in half lengthways.
Vermicelli
- Place the vermicelli in a large saucepan and cover with boiling water.
- Cook on medium for 2 to 3 minutes until tender, then drain and rinse briefly under cold water.
- Drain very well before using.
Peanut Sauce
- Simmer the reserved pork broth over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until reduced to 120g, then strain and set aside.
- Heat the neutral oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Add the chopped garlic and cook for 30 to 45 seconds until fragrant but not coloured.
- Add the hoisin sauce and fish sauce and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth.
- Add the reduced pork broth and stir until smooth.
Assembly
- Set up all the fillings in front of you, keeping herbs dry, cucumber in thin batons, noodles in small loose handfuls, and pork and prawns ready to grab.
- Fill a wide bowl or tray with warm water (a mix of hot and cold) for soaking the rice paper.
- Dip 1 rice paper sheet in the water for 1 to 2 seconds only, then lay it on a board and let it soften for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Note: Do not soak until floppy – the paper should finish softening on the board, not in the water.
- On the lower third of the rice paper, place 1 large perilla leaf (purple side facing down). Add lettuce, mint, and small pinch of vermicelli on top, followed by 2 to 3 thin slices of pork belly, followed by 1 cucumber baton.
- Fold the bottom edge over the filling, fold in the sides, then start rolling tightly into a neat cylinder.
- After one half roll, lay 1 garlic chive lengthways across the roll after the first roll is complete, then continue rolling. When the roll is almost complete, add 2 half prawns (orange side down – for visibility when completed).
- Finish rolling the rice paper roll and repeat until all rolls and ingredients have been used.
- Serve fresh with the peanut sauce on the side.
Notes
Storage
Best eaten the day they are made, ideally within an hour or two of rolling. If storing short-term, cover with a damp cloth and keep at room temperature — refrigerating the rolls will make the rice paper tough and rubbery.Key pitfalls
- Soaking the rice paper too long makes it floppy and tears on rolling – 1 to 2 seconds in the water is enough, let the board do the rest
- Slicing the pork too thick will dominate the roll and throw off the balance of fillings
- Wet herbs, lettuce or prawns will make the wrapper slippery and cause blowouts during rolling – pat everything dry before assembly
- Too much vermicelli makes the roll heavy and bland – a small loose pinch per roll is enough
- Overusing perilla will take over the flavour of the whole roll – one small leaf per roll is plenty
- Reduce the broth to exactly 120g before building the sauce – too much liquid and the sauce won’t hold its body
