How to Cook Goi Cuon with Hoisin-Peanut Sauce
Makes: 24 rolls
Ingredients needed to make goi cuon with hoisin peanut sauce:
For the rolls:
- 1 package edible rice paper sheet
- ½ lb small shrimps, peeled, veins removed, cut into halves and then cooked
- ½ lb chicken, cooked and sliced into long strips
- 1 package vermicelli rice noodles
- 1 head lettuce, rinsed, drained and leaves pulled apart
- A bunch of fresh mint leaves
- A bunch of fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into fine strips
For the hoisin-peanut sauce:
- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp nuoc nam or the Vietnamese fish sauce with a hint of spiciness
- Handful of peanuts, coarse chopped
Cooking instructions for goi cuon with hoisin-peanut sauce :
- Cook the vermicelli rice noodles in salted water according to the instructions provided in its package; transfer it to a colander to drain and pour cold water on it before draining it again.
- Rinse all the veggies and pat dry before setting them aside.
- Immerse the rice paper wrapper into a bowl of water and keep it there for a couple of seconds. Don’t keep it longer in the water or it will end up too soggy for use.
- Spread them flat on your kitchen’s working counter.
- Place several strands of the vermicelli noodle longitudinally along one edge of each wrapper.
- Top it up with few chicken strips, followed by some shrimp and cucumber strips.
- Place a lettuce leaf over them and sprinkle the chopped mint as well as parsley on top of it.
- Finish it off with few bean sprouts; make a point to avoid over-stuffing or the roll will burst.
- Hold the filling tightly with your fingers to tuck them inside while rolling the wrapper to form a spring-roll like structure.
- Make rest of the rolls in a similar fashion and arrange them on a serving plate.
- To make the hoisin sauce, pour few tbsp of hoisin sauce in a small bowl and whisk the spicy fish sauce in it.
- Stir in the chopped peanuts and place the bowl of the dipping sauce beside the goi cuon or Vietnamese spring rolls.
- Serve, dip and enjoy!
- They taste best when savored afresh and harden when stored in refrigerator, so avoid the latter completely to enjoy authentic flavors.
- All the Asian ingredients are easily available in Asian supermarkets and in case you can’t get hold of rice paper wrappers, use wanton wrappers, though the result is not as good as the traditional one.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
