Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls)

Instructions

1. Put the pork in a pot, cover with water, add the salt and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until a skewer slides in easily and the juices run clear. Lift it out, let it cool, then slice thinly against the grain.
2. Poach the shrimp in the same simmering water for 2 minutes, until pink and curled. Drain, cool and halve each one lengthwise.
3. Soak the vermicelli in boiling water for 5 minutes, or as the package directs. Rinse under cold water, drain well and pat dry. Wash and dry the lettuce and herbs.
4. For the sauce, simmer the hoisin, peanut butter, water, vinegar, garlic and chili sauce for 2 minutes, stirring. Cool, then top with the crushed peanuts.
5. Fill a wide plate with warm water. Dip a wrapper for 3 to 5 seconds, until it just starts to soften, and lay it on a clean damp board. It keeps softening as you fill it.
6. Lay 2 shrimp halves, cut side up, in a row on the upper third. On the lower third, pile a lettuce leaf, a little vermicelli, 2 slices of pork and some herbs, with a chive stem sticking out of one end.
7. Fold the lower edge over the filling, tuck in both sides and roll up tightly, so the shrimp end up on the outside. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.
8. Serve right away, or cover with a damp cloth for up to 4 hours. Serve with the peanut sauce.

Tips

• No pork? Use poached chicken breast or fried tofu strips, or double the shrimp. Keep each wrapper in the water only briefly, because rice paper turns gummy and tears if it soaks too long.
• Roll compactly but do not overstuff. Set finished rolls on a plate with a little space between them, or a lettuce leaf in between, so they do not stick together.