Recipe: Gỏi Cuốn (Summer Rolls)

I always like food that doesn't require much cooking because truthfully, I don't like cleaning pots and pans. I've been exposed to a lot of Vietnamese dishes since I was a little girl. One of the great light and fresh dish would be Gỏi Cuốn, a summer-y roll that can be eaten at any time. It can also be considered on the healthy side since there's a lot of veggies and nothing is fried or drenched in oil.

Ingredients:
- a pack of Rice Paper
- shredded lettice
- boil or pan-fried shrimp (sliced in half)
- cooked vermicelli
- any mints or herbs you like

The mints and herbs are optional since a lot of people have different opinions on them but they do give the roll a nice touch to it. The rice papers need to be dunk into lukewarm water so it can be soften and easy to wrap. If you notice in the following step-by-step photos that there is an extra small triangle rice paper in the middle, don't fret. It actually helps give the roll a bit more support since sometimes one piece of rice paper might rip and 2 whole piece will make the roll too chewy.

Starting with the rice paper, after you dipped it in water, lay it flat down. Put lettuce just a tad bit under the center of the circle.

Next add some vermicelli. You want to be generous with the amounts of each item you put in because you also have to keep in mind, the more you put the bigger the possibility of it exploding.

Adding in my mints, Thai basil, and other Asian herbs.

Three shrimps right above that layer of greenness, you can do 4 if you like.

The wrapping action speaks for itself.
Fold the left and right side towards the center and then from the bottom up, start rolling and wrapping.

The finished product. It's not the best looking Gỏi Cuốn in the world but it taste no different than the ones you order in restaurants and it's so easy to make. Gỏi Cuốn tends to taste bland since there isn't much flavor in them, the main star would be the dipping sauce. You can either choose the peanut sauce or the traditional nước mắm aka fish sauce.

Would you give this a shot?