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Vietnam, Asia · Gỏi Cuốn (Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp and Pork)

Crispy Rice Paper Shrimp Dumplings

The viral rice paper dumpling with gỏi cuốn's shrimp and chive flavours: double-wrapped, pan-fried until blistered and crisp outside, chewy and juicy within.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time35 min
DifficultyMedium
About servingsMoisture in the rice paper can make the oil spit. Lower the dumplings into the pan gently, away from you.

Method

  1. Start with the nước chấm dip: dissolve the sugar completely in the warm water, stir in the fish sauce and lime juice, then float in the finely minced garlic and sliced chili. Taste: it should be a balance of sour, sweet and salty.

    Add in this stepSugar (for the dip) 1½ tbspWarm water 4 tbspFish sauce (for the dip) 1½ tbspLime ¾Garlic (for the dip) 1Bird's eye chili 1

  2. Roughly chop the shrimp with a knife so it keeps some bite, finely mince the shiitake and carrot, and cut the garlic chives into 1 cm lengths. Put the ground pork and all the filling ingredients in a bowl with the minced garlic, fish sauce, sugar, pepper and cornstarch, and stir in one direction for about 1 minute until sticky.

    Add in this stepPeeled, deveined shrimp 120 gFresh shiitake mushrooms 2Carrot 30 gGarlic chives 30 gGround pork 120 gGarlic cloves 1Fish sauce (for the filling) 2 tspSugar (for the filling) ½ tspGround black pepper ¼ tspCornstarch 2 tsp

  3. Dip two rice papers in water for 2 to 3 seconds each and lay one on top of the other (two layers keep them from bursting and make them crisp). Put a quarter of one serving of filling in the centre, flattened to about 5 cm, then fold in the bottom, top and sides to make a 6 cm square parcel. Set seam side down on an oiled plate, not touching each other.

    Add in this stepRice paper (22 cm round) 16

  4. Heat the oil in a 28 cm frying pan over medium heat, place the dumplings seam side down 2 cm apart and fry for . When the underside is golden, blistered and crisp, flip and fry for more. They are cooked when the filling feels firm and springy in the middle (at least 71°C inside). ×2 means fry in two batches, dividing the oil between them.

    Add in this stepOil (for frying) 2 tbsp

    medium heat

  5. Drain for 1 minute on a rack or paper towel and serve with the lettuce, herbs and nước chấm. Wrap a dumpling and some herbs in lettuce and dip it, for a fresh gỏi cuốn-style bite.

    Add in this stepLettuce leaves 4Mint or cilantro sprigs 6

Cook's tip

Rice paper glues itself together as it sits, so keep the parcels apart as soon as they are made. Oil can spit, so rest a lid at an angle over the pan while frying. They turn chewy as they cool, so they are crispest straight from the pan.

Cooking it at camp

Mix the filling at home and carry it in a sealed container in the cooler, then wrap at camp and fry in a wide pan on the burner. Wind cools the pan, so use a windscreen and allow 1 to 2 extra minutes.