Goi cuon (salad rolls) is one of the 12 Vietnamese dishes in the food
record category recognised by the Asian Record Association.
Goi cuon is a tasty, nutritious and eye-catching dish which is very
popular in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces.
The
main ingredients for making this dish consist of pork, shrimp, salad,
basil, rice vermicelli and rice paper – one of the most important and
indispensable ingredients that decides the quality of the dish .
To
make rice paper, it is necessary to clean and soak rice in water for
some hours before grinding it into batter. To make thin rice paper, a
thin layer of batter is poured on a cloth that is tautly stretched and
placed on top of the pot which can quickly cook the rice batter, keeping
it moist and pliable. A flat and flexible bamboo stick is used to lift
off the delicate rice crepes that are put into flats for drying. Dried
rice crepes are then preserved carefully for use over a long period of
time.
To prepare for the stuffing for the rolls, pork is boiled
and sliced while the shrimp is cleaned and boiled before peeling and
splitting into two pieces.
The sauce for Goi cuon is made
from a variety of ingredients, such as a dash of soybean sauce, coconut
milk, a squeeze of tamarind, chopped garlic, hot pepper, onions, ground
peanuts, fried sesame seeds and cooking oil.
To enjoy this dish,
spread each rice paper that is made wet by water on a plate and then
put a piece of shrimp, pork, salad, basil, a chopstick portion of rice
vermicelli and a stem of shallot and roll it tightly. Serve with the
sauce.
Trying one, surely you want more.-VNA