Goi Cuon (Vietnamese Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls)

What better way to celebrate Spring than to make spring rolls?!

Traditionally, there are tons of fresh herbs in a roll, but it may be overwhelming for those who are new to Vietnamese cuisine. Start off with some Thai basil (not to be confused with American sweet basil) and mint leaves. Other popular herbs include Vietnamese coriander and Vietnamese perilla. Unfortunately, these herbs are hard to come by in Westchester County, so I make do with what I can get. I ended up only using mint leaves. You can probably find some of the herbs in small Asian specialty stores or maybe even H Mart, but I did not feel like going out of my way to buy something that I will barely use. In California, it is much more abundant and cheap! In any case, have everything prepped before rolling to make it easier on yourself.

I enjoy goi cuon not just for its taste but also because you can make these a couple of days in advance and serve it whenever! Just make sure to wrap each roll in a little bit of plastic wrap so that the individual portions will not stick to one another! Smart, right?

I boiled both the pork and shrimp together to save on dishes! Some people prefer the method of cooking shrimp in a skillet, but I was taught to just boil it! Do whatever floats your boat!

Make sure the water you are using is warm and not boiling hot. Boiling hot water will disintegrate the poor rice paper wrappers! Below is how I approach wrapping my rolls! The written directions also reflect this, but you can choose to tackle this how ever you want to! Some people just put everything together before rolling, but for presentation purposes, I chose to put the shrimp in later on in the rolling process. Happy rolling!

Step by step instructions on how to approach rolling a goi cuon (hope this helps):

Be generous with your greens! I just did not have enough to be as generous as I would like. What a shame.

Add about a small handful of cooked vermicelli noodles.

Add a few slices of meat!

Pull the rice paper end closest to you over the ingredients!

Roll the wrapper away from you once and then fold in the sides.

Roll once more or until there is about 1/3 of the rice paper left.

Place 2-3 slices of shrimp cut side up in a row and finish rolling the goi cuon! Tada! Simple right?

Enjoy this with the peanut hoisin dipping sauce! There are so many recipes for it out there. If you really want to keep it simple, just put equal parts hoisin sauce and creamy or crunchy peanut butter into a heat-proof bowl and microwave it to soften the peanut butter. Stir and add water until the consistency you desire is reached. Play around with ingredients. If you want it sweeter, add a bit of sugar. If you want a bit of kick to it, add chili garlic sauce! There is no real measurement for a lot of the best recipes out there. You just have to adjust it to suit your taste! If you feel like trying a bit of a fancier sauce, try the recipe I found below. Again, you will probably have to play around with the ingredients!

Yields: ~10 - 12 spring rolls

Ingredients:
Spring rolls
1/2 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 lb. boneless pork loin or shoulder
1 (8 - 10 oz.) package of dried vermicelli noodles
1 small head of lettuce
1 medium cucumber, cut into thin strips
Fresh herbs such as mint, Thai basil, Vietnamese coriander, and/or Vietnamese perilla
12 (8 - inch) rice paper wrappers

Dipping Sauce
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup water
3 tbsp. hoisin sauce
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
4 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. granulated sugar (unless peanut butter you are using is already sweet)
2 1/4 tsp. chili garlic sauce (I use the Huy Fong brand)
1 medium garlic clove, mashed to a paste or use a zester
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Directions:
1. For the dipping sauce: Combine all the ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Adjust to your taste.

2. Fill a medium/large saucepan half full with water. Add about 1 tsp. salt and allow it to come to a boil on medium-hight heat over the stove. Once boiling, add the pork and shrimp. The shrimp will take only a minute to cook, so watch it carefully and remove it once it is cooked through to cool. Allow the pork to cook for 25 - 30 minutes, until it is no longer pink. Take off the heat, strain all the water, and allow the pork to cool.

3. Cook the dried vermicelli noodles according to the package and fully strain all the water from it.

4. Once cooled, slice the shrimp in half, lengthwise. Slice the pork in half, lengthwise, then into thin strips, widthwise.

5. Add warm water to a large bowl and dip the rice paper, rotating it to cover all the rice paper. Lay it on a large plate. It will eventually soften.

6. Place a thin slice of lettuce on the rice paper towards the end nearest you. Add some herbs, cucumbers, noodles, and pork. Be generous with your ingredients, but be careful not to overstuff the rolls!

7. Roll the spring rolls according to your preference until you have about 1/3 of rice paper left. Some people like to present it with one end open, while the more traditional route would be to fold in both ends. Place 2-3 shrimp cut side up in a row and finish rolling.

8. Serve with the peanut hoisin dipping sauce.