Vietnamese Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls (Gỏi Cuốn)

Shrimp and pork spring rolls (gỏi cuốn) on a round wooden board with a blue bowl filled with peanut sauce

Vietnamese Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls (Gỏi Cuốn)

This traditional Vietnamese spring roll (gỏi cuốn) recipe is fresh, healthy and full of herbs and veggies. They're irresistible paired with the creamy peanut sauce!

Course Appetizer, lunch, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Asian, Vietnamese

Keyword Pork, Seafood, Shrimp, Spring Rolls

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings spring rolls

Calories 188kcal

Ingredients

For the gỏi cuốn

1 pack rice vermicelli
1 lb pork belly (453g)
1 small shallot (about 15g, but it doesn't need to be exact)
1 lb shrimp (I recommend easy peel, pre-deveined shrimp)
1 head green/red leaf or romaine lettuce
an assortment of your favorite herbs and veggies (I recommend using Thai basil and mint. You could also add bean sprouts, chives and carrots.)

For the peanut sauce

1 tablespoon neutral oil (I used canola)
½ tablespoon minced garlic
½ tablespoon minced shallot
½ cup smooth peanut butter (about 120g)
½ cup hoisin sauce (about 128g)
1 cup reserved pork belly cooking liquid (about 236 ml)
sambal oelek chili sauce (optional)

Instructions

Preparing the fillings

Cook the vermicelli according to the package's instructions. Drain and rinse the noodles and set aside to cool.
Wash and dry all of the herbs and vegetables you plan on using.
Ddd the pork belly and a peeled shallot to a pot of boiling water and cook for about 20 minutes, or until a fork/chopstick easily pierces the meat and the liquid coming out of it runs clear.
Remove the pork belly to cool but keep the cooking liquid. Slice the pork belly thinly.
Add 1 tablespoon water to a small saucepan or pan and cook the shrimp on medium high heat until the shrimp are pink and no longer translucent. Let them cool before peeling them and slicing them in half.

Making the peanut dipping sauce

In a small saucepan, sauté the minced garlic and shallot in a tablespoon of oil on medium heat.
Add the peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and reserved pork cooking liquid and stir until smooth.
If you want a spicy peanut sauce, add a tablespoon or two of sambal oelek to taste.

Assembling the spring rolls

Start by dipping a sheet of rice paper into a bowl of warm water QUICKLY. It's likely the rice paper will still feel stiff in your hands. It will continue to soften as you assemble the fillings. Do NOT submerge the rice paper in water until it is soft, as it will fall apart by the time you are ready to roll.
Layer the shrimp cut side up on one end of the rice paper, followed by the pork belly, then herbs, then noodles, followed lastly by the lettuce.
Roll the filling snugly once, then fold the sides of the rice paper towards the middle. Roll the rest of the fillings all the way to the other end of the rice paper.
Serve the spring rolls with the peanut dipping sauce. You can add some crushed peanuts to the sauce for extra crunch.

Notes

Calories are calculated to include all of the peanut sauce evenly distributed between 18 spring rolls. Without the peanut sauce, each spring roll is about 166 calories.

Nutrition