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