Vietnamese Salad Rolls (Gỏi Cuốn)

I laid out the ingredients for these for a group of dietitians recently and they're a hit! The toppings that I use veer from tradition a little bit, making it a fun, interactive meal idea that can be easily customized for various dietary needs and preferences.

Author: Vincci Tsui, RD

Recipe type: Appetizers, Snacks

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Ingredients

Pork Mixture

• 1 lb (454 g) lean ground pork

• ¼ cup (60 mL) finely chopped fresh Thai basil, or regular basil

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 3 green onions, finely chopped

• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) fish sauce

• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) hot chili sauce

• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) sugar

• 2 tsp (10 mL) cornstarch

• 1 tsp (5 mL) black pepper

• 1 tsp (5 mL) coarse kosher salt

• Canola oil

Quick-Pickled Carrots

• 2-4 carrots, peeled and julienned, about 2 cups

• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) sugar

• ½ Tbsp (7 mL) kosher salt

• ½ cup (125 mL) water

• ¼ cup (60 mL) rice wine vinegar

Dipping Sauce

• ¼ cup (60 mL) hoisin sauce

• 1 tsp (5 mL) fish sauce

• 1 tsp (5 mL) Sriracha or other hot sauce, or more to taste

• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) crushed peanuts

Salad Rolls

• 1 package rice paper wraps, expect 4-6 per person for a meal

• 1 package rice vermicelli, cooked according to directions, drained and cooled

• ½ bunch cilantro, trimmed

• Thai basil or regular basil, trimmed

Optional Toppings

• 1 English cucumber, julienned

• 1 mango, peeled and julienned (optional)

• 1 package smoked tofu, cut into thin strips

• Leaf lettuce, separated into individual leaves

• Cooked shrimp, peeled and halved

• Assorted sprouts (i.e. alfalfa, radish, broccoli, mung bean)

Instructions

Pork Mixture

1. In a large bowl, gently mix together all ingredients except canola oil. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1-2 tsp (5-10 mL) canola oil over medium-high heat. Pan-fry pork in batches until well-done. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

Quick-Pickled Carrots

1. Combine carrots, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Using fingertips, massage salt and sugar into carrots until dissolved. Add water and rice vinegar. Pack vegetables into a half-quart mason jar. Pickles can be used immediately, or for best results, seal jar and refrigerate at least overnight and up to 1 week.

Dipping Sauce

1. In a small bowl, mix together hoisin sauce, fish sauce and Sriracha. Top with crushed peanuts. Set aside.

Salad Rolls

1. Prepare a wide, shallow bowl of water. Dip a rice paper wrap into the water until moistened (the wrap will continue to soften and become a little sticky once it's out of the water, so don't leave it in for too long!)

2. Add in desired toppings just below the centre of the wrap - it's important not to be greedy! Also, what you put down first is what will show up on the outside of the roll.

3. Lift the bottom of the wrap over the ingredients, then fold the sides over the ingredients. Wrap the roll tightly. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve with dipping sauce.