Everything About " GỎI CUỐN "
While pho might be the first dish that many people think of when they think about Vietnamese cuisine, for myself, it was and always has been goi cuon, the fresh, non-deep-fried summer rolls (though I often call them fresh spring rolls) that are ubiquitous is Vietnam.
Goi cuon are made with rice paper, known as banh trang, that’s slightly moistened, then filled with, typically a mixture of rice vermicelli noodles, pieces of pork, shrimp, and then stuffed with leaves and herbs like basil and lettuce before being wrapped.
Finally, Vietnamese summer rolls are often served with a nutty hoisin dipping sauce and accompanied by freshly ground chili
I could probably eat goi cuon all day long and with every meal, so I was pretty happy to see them available nearly everywhere I looked in Saigon From street food stalls to fancy restaurants, you’ll never be far from goi cuon
Cha gio, are completely different taste-wise than their goi cuon counterparts, and they share few characteristics other than their egg roll shape and the fact that they’re often sold side by side at many restaurants and street food stalls
Cha gio are Vietnamese deep fried spring rolls, and though I’ve tried spring rolls (or egg rolls) in many places around the world, Vietnam makes some of the best I’ve ever had
The egg rolls are often a combination of mung bean noodles, minced pork, and sometimes crab if you can find them, mixed with a subtle blend of salty spices, wrapped in rice paper, and then deep fried to a crisp
What I love most about cha gio is the wrapper, which is typically prepared with rice paper, that when deep fried, almost has the crunch and thinness of baklava
