Gỏi Cuốn (Rice Paper Rolls)

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Difficulty Level: Medium

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

• 1 packet rice paper (Bánh Tráng)

• 1 peeled onion

• ½ iceberg lettuce

• 1 cucumber

• Plain medium-firm tofu (half a block, approx. 150g)

• Beef round or sirloin (~300g)

• Vermicelli noodles (1 portion)

• Bean sprouts (handful)

• Asian basil

• Mint

• 1 TBSP sweet soy sauce

• 3 TBSP cooking oil

Instructions:

• Slice up lettuce

• Slice the cucumber lengthways

• Cut tofu into small rectangular pieces

• Finely slice up beef

• Add 1 TBSP of oil in a pan. Fry the tofu on one side until golden brown. This will take a while, so in the meantime, wash and prepare the lettuce, bean sprouts, and herbs. Fry the other side of the tofu until golden brown. Add 1 TBSP of sweet soy sauce. Rest aside.

• Add 1 portion of vermicelli noodles into boiling water for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain and rest aside.

• Add 1 TBSP of oil in a pan. Sauté the onions. Rest aside.

• Add 1 TBSP of oil in a pan. Stir fry the beef until cooked.

• To make a rice paper roll, fill a low bowl with warm water and dip the rice paper into the bowl turning it around twice to ensure that it wets the whole rice paper. Place it onto a plate. The rice paper will soften while you fill it up.  

• Fill the rice paper with your favorite pre-prepared ingredients.

• To wrap a rice paper roll, fold one side in towards the middle and then other side in towards the middle. Flip it up from the bottom and tuck it in tightly as you roll it up. You can fold in different ways, but whatever you do, make sure it all stays together and is easy to hold.

• Dip the rice paper roll into nước chấm (Vietnamese fish sauce) and enjoy. You can find my nước chấm recipe here.