Vietnamese Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon)

Gỏi Cuốn, directly translated to English as Salad Roll, is one of the freshest, simple, delicious, and popular appetizers ordered at Vietnamese restaurants.  However, at my house, Gỏi Cuốn is commonly served as a full meal, family-style. All the fresh ingredients are prepared in advance and placed on the dinner table. When it’s time to eat, everyone sits around the table, dips the rice paper in a bowl of hot water, and assembles his/her own Gỏi Cuốn while enjoying time with family.

At my house, we also dip our Gỏi Cuốn in Tương Cự Đà sauce, which is more on the salty and sour side than the sweet hoisin peanut sauce served at the restaurants or fast food places. Tương Cự Đà is a wholegrain soy sauce which is made with fermented Soy Bean.  I add sugar and chili garlic sauce to it to create a wonderfully balanced, pungent, spicy, and flavorful dipping sauce. Tương Cự Đà  brings back nostalgic memories of my childhood and I am happy to share the recipe.  I also included ingredients for hoisin peanut sauce which is also super delicious!

On a final note, I like to use pork leg with a little skin on it, so I can have a little bit of skin and meat on it.  However, if you want a leaner cut of meat, use tenderloin or loin meat.

Gỏi Cuốn Ingredients:
1 pound Pork (Butt/Shoulder, Belly, Leg), sliced thin
1 pound shrimp (31-35 count), peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon salt
5 ounces thin vermicelli noodles
10-15 rice paper
1 bunch red leaf lettuce
1 bunch mint
1 bunch perilla leaves
1 cucumber, seeded and sliced
15 chives

Hoisin Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (preferably Skippy)
1/2 cup water, more to smooth out sauce
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (optional)
1-2 teaspoons crushed peanuts (optional)
dash of salt

Tương Cự Đà (Fermented Soy Bean) Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 cup Tương Cự Đà
1 lime, juiced
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (more if desired)
dash of salt

Steps:

1. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt and pork and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until cooked to desired tenderness. Remove pork. Add shrimp (with shell) to boiling water for about 5 minutes or until pink. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon.
2. When cooled and rested, slice pork into thin slices against the grain and peel shrimp and set aside.
3. Cook vermicelli noodles according to package instructions.
4. Wash and prepare all the vegetables.
5. Fill a bowl with hot water. Dip rice paper into hot water until wet. Lay on a flat surface to begin assembling the Gỏi Cuốn.
6. Add some lettuce, mint, perilla leaves, cucumber and vermicelli noodles at the lower end or bottom of the rice paper. Add pork slices on top of vermicelli noodles and vegetables. Add a few pieces of shrimp in the middle of the rice paper.
7. Fold the sides of the rice paper inwards and add a chive between filling and shrimp. Tightly roll the rice paper over the filling and tuck it underneath.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all the ingredients are used.
9. To make Hoisin Peanut Sauce, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and whisk until ingredients blended and mixed.
10. To make Tương Cự Đà, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk or stir until ingredients blended and mixed.
11. Serve and enjoy with favorite dipping sauce.