Goi Cuon Recipes

GOI CUON (VIETNAMESE COLD SPRING ROLLS)

Steps:

• Have all meats precooked and cold and the rice noodles prepared already (the noodles should be white, long and at room temp).
• Make sure all veggies and herbs are cleaned, dried, and set out before you start.
• Dip a sheet of rice paper wrapper into water very quickly, no longer than a second or two (or they will get too soggy) and lay flat on a work surface.
• On one edge, lay a small handful of noodles, a few strips of meat, some shrimp, some cilantro and mint leaves, a lettuce leaf, some cucumber strips and bean sprouts, all to taste but don't overstuff.
• Carefully start to roll up eggroll style, tucking in the sides, then continue to roll up-but not too tightly or the spring roll will split.
• These rolls will be thicker than the typical Chinese-style fried eggrolls.
• Combine a few spoonfulls of hoisin sauce with some chopped peanuts to use as a dipping sauce (or serve with prepared spicy fish sauce dip called Nuoc Mam, available at Asian markets).
• Serve immediately- these do not keep and will harden up in the fridge, so it is best to make just as many as you plan to serve (store any extra unassembled fillings in fridge and roll later).
• Note: Please be sure to get the correct spring roll rice papers- these are not the same as wonton/eggroll wrappers, which must be cooked.
• Look for edible rice paper wrappers, rice noodle vermicelli, and hoisin sauce in Asian markets.

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS RECIPE (GOI CUON)

Steps:

• Add pork, onion, salt and sugar to a small pot and add enough water to cover about 1 inch above the pork. Bring to a boil on high heat and then lower to medium and cook for about 25-30 minutes or until pork juices run clear when poked at the thickest part, or it registers 145 F with an instant read thermometer at the thickest part.
• Cover the pork in a bowl as it cools so it doesn't darken. Once cool, slice the pork as thinly as you can to make rolling easier later.
• Defrost shrimp in water bowl. Once defrosted, de-vein the shrimp. Hold a shrimp up to a light to locate the vein, pierce the whiter part (joint) of the shrimp just below the vein with a toothpick, and pull the toothpick upwards towards the shrimp back. Do this slowly to remove the vein. Piece again at another joint if the vein breaks to remove all traces of vein. Repeat with all your shrimp.
• Cook the shrimp: add shrimp, salt, and enough water in a small pot to barely cover your shrimp. Boil on medium-high heat for only about 1.5 to 2.5 minutes or until the shrimp is no longer translucent. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Remove the shells and tails from shrimp, and cut the shrimp in half along the body.
• Cook either your rice noodles according to the package instructions. Timing can vary wildly depending on noodle thickness and brand. This can be anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes. Drain and cool the noodles under cold, running water to stop it from cooking further.
• Prepare your vegetables by rinsing and drying them.
• Add warm water to a plate and soak the rice paper sheet for about 5-10 seconds. Soak the rice paper just enough so that it is pliable and easy to handle, but remove the sheet before it gets too soft and sticky. Lay rice paper on a plate and begin to assemble your roll.
• Add lettuce towards the bottom of the rice paper. Leave 1 to 1½ inches of space on either side of the rice paper. Layer with mint and chives. Try to not add too many items because it will be harder to roll and might tear your rice paper.
• Add shrimp in the middle of the rice paper with the orange skin facing down.
• Layer the sliced pork on top of the shrimp.
• Add the noodles across the vegetables, spread evenly across.
• Fold the left and right sides towards the middle so that it's snug. Lay some chives lengthwise with one end poking out. Then fold the bottom up to cover the noodles. You want to keep the roll tight, so lightly squeeze it together as you roll. Continue to roll upwards to complete the spring roll.
• In a pan over medium heat, saute garlic in oil until fragrant.
• Add in hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and water and mix thoroughly.
• Bring to boil, and then immediately turn off the heat and pour into a heat safe dipping bowl. The sauce will slightly thicken as it cools.
• Sprinkle ground peanuts on each sauce dipping bowl, and leave the chile paste on the side so others can add to their own dipping bowl as desired.

FRESH SPRING ROLLS- GOI CUON

Steps:

• Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.
• Remove the boiling water from the heat, add the rice noodles, and let stand, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Drain and transfer noodles to a medium bowl.
• Whisk the lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar together in small bowl until the sugar dissolves.
• Toss 2 tablespoons of the lime juice mixture with the noodles.
• In a medium bowl, toss 1 more tablespoon of the lime juice mixture with the carrot, peanuts, and chiles.
• In small bowl, toss the remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice mixture with the cucumber.
• Spread a clean, damp kitchen towel on a work surface.
• Fill a 9-inch pie plate with 1 inch of room temperature water.
• Working with one rice paper wrapper at a time, immerse each wrapper in water until just pliable, about 2 minutes, then lay the softened wrapper on the towel.
• Scatter about 6 mint leaves and 6 cilantro leaves over the wrapper.
• Arrange 5 cucumber sticks horizontally on wrapper and top with 1 tablespoon of the carrot mixture, 2 tablespoons of the lettuce, 2 1/2 tablespoons of the noodles, and 2 shrimp halves.
• To wrap the spring rolls, fold up bottom 2-inch border of wrapper over filling.
• Fold left, then right edge of wrapper over filling. Roll filling to top edge of wrapper to form tight cylinder.
• Then transfer to a serving platter and cover with a second damp kitchen towel.
• Repeat with the remaining rice paper wrappers and filling ingredients. (The covered spring rolls can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours.).
• Serve with the peanut dipping sauce.

VIETNAMESE FRESH SPRING ROLLS ( GOI CUON )

Steps:

• Cook the prawns, for 3 minutes until cooked, remove and peel, cut them lengthwise.
• Cook the pork, let it cool down and cut into thin slices.
• Spread one sheet of paper rice on a flat surface, use your fingers to wet it with water to make pliable, place another half in the middle to avoid cracking.
• Spread evenly a clump of noodles, 3 to 4 mint leaves, a pinch of bean sprouts at the bottom third of the rice paper.
• Fold the bottom portion over the filling, fold the left and right sides, roll one more time so it is 2/3 rolled.
• Place 2 or 3 halves of the prawns, face out so it looks nice when finished, next to them a leaf of chive half in and half out.
• Roll the paper tightly until the edges stick together.
• Place the rolls under a damp towel until serving time to keep them moist.
• Dipping sauce.
• Put 3 to 4 tbs of hoisin sauce with 1 tbs of cooking oil, warm it up and taste with sugar, avoid boiling.
• Chopped finely a pinch of roasted peanuts and spread on top when serving.