Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls)

5 from 6 votes

Gỏi Cuốn comes loaded with fresh herbs and ingredients. Learn how to wrap PERFECT Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls using our step-by-step instructions!

Prep Time1

Cook Time1

Rolling Time30

Total Time2 30

Course: Appetizer, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Vietnamese

Servings:

Calories: 1308kcal

Remove the leaves from the herb and salad stems, then put them in a colander.
Fill a sink or large bowl with cold water and add 3 tbsp salt. Add the greens in to wash, then soak for 3 minutes. Rinse clean and repeat the salted soaking another 2 times to remove the impurities.
When finished, dry them in the colander until they're ready to use.

Roll the pork belly along the length.
Wrap twine or string around the belly to secure its shape, then tie a few knots to prevent it from coming undone as it cooks.
Boil the meat in water for 1 hour or until soft, then take it out.
Remove the string and slice into thin pieces.

Boil a pot of water and cook the rice noodles for 10 minutes or until al dente. Make sure to stir every 3 minutes to prevent anything from sticking.
When cooked, drain the water and run the noodles under cold water until cool. Let it drip dry in a colander.

Organise your ingredients close to you before you even start rolling your Gỏi Cuốn. Keep the proteins and water closest to you, then noodles and herbs just behind them.
Set up 2 plates side by side.
Dip the rice paper into the water until the entire surface is just wet. Make sure there is always another one wet and resting on the second plate.
Lay the lettuce on the part of rice paper closest to you. Place the other herbs on top.
Grab some noodles and place it over the herbs. The weight will help hold the greens down.
Slide a few pieces of pork above the greens. Make sure to leave no gaps because they will show in the final roll.
Place 2-3 prawns above the pork.
Fold the left and right side of the rice paper toward the middle.
Bring the bottom of the rice paper to the middle and begin rolling tightly, pressing down firmly with each roll.
You can wedge a sprig of garlic chive along the length of the meat so that a part of it sticks out as a garnish.
Serve the Gỏi Cuốn fresh as is with Peanut Hoisin Sauce or Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nước Mắm)!

Have all the ingredients laid out around you. I like my sliced pork, peeled prawns and cooked noodles closest to me. My washed and dried leafy greens stay in colanders behind the meat so I don’t have to reach OVER them. Bean sprouts stay in cold water to stop the browning process but keep a handful in a small colander to drip dry as you roll.
Use fresh ingredients. We like to buy our herbs on the day of making Gỏi Cuốn because they can start to discolor and wither past the day 1.
Use not one, but two plates slightly larger than the rice paper’s size. The plates act as a resting ground for the bánh tráng. Having two plates gives it enough time to soften while you roll the other one.
Always have one bánh tráng resting. As soon as I finish rolling a roll, I dip a new bánh tráng into the water until it’s wet all over and place it on an empty plate.
You can choose from your favorite greens, but we often use a mixture of bean sprouts, lettuce, Thai basil, perilla, mint, Vietnamese coriander and garlic chives.