Vietnamese Summer Rolls and Shary Tran Interview– Vietnamese summer rolls are also known as gỏi cuốn. They are a delightful and healthy appetizer or light meal. These rolls use rice paper wrappers. They are filled with a mix of fresh herbs and crisp vegetables. The filling includes protein, for example shrimp or pork, along with rice noodles.
Our guest for “Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders” is Shary Tran. Shary is the Director of Diversity & Inclusion for Generac Power Systems. And is on the list of 40 Most Influential Asian Americans in Wisconsin.
She is also a founding member of Elevasian, which started in 2015. Its purpose is “Elevating Asian Heritage & Making MKE a place where AAPIs can thrive by being unapologetically Asian”.
Shary shows us how she makes Vietnamese Summer Rolls.
You can also listen to the podcast version of this interview and cooking episode –
Here’s a quick overview of what typically goes into making Vietnamese summer rolls:
Ingredients:
- Rice paper wrappers: Thin, translucent sheets made from rice flour and water.
- Rice noodles: Chewy and neutral in flavor, providing a base for the filling.
- Fresh herbs: Commonly mint, cilantro, and Thai basil.
- Vegetables: We are using lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, and chives.
- Protein: Shrimp and boiled pork belly.
- Dipping sauce: Usually a hoisin sauce or a nuoc cham (fish sauce-based) dipping sauce.
Preparation:
- Prepare the fillings: Cook the vermicelli noodles, julienne the vegetables, and slice the protein.
- Soften the rice paper: Briefly soak the rice paper wrapper in warm water until pliable.
- Assemble the rolls: Layer the fillings on the softened rice paper and roll them up like a burrito.
- Serve with dipping sauce: The rolls are typically served with a flavorful dipping sauce, enhancing the fresh flavors.
These rolls are not only delicious but also visually appealing and versatile.
Then we add the rice noodles to the Vietnamese Summer Rolls
And then roll into a perfect Vietnamese Summer Roll
Here’s a comparison between spring rolls and summer rolls:
Spring Rolls
- Origin: China.
- Wrapper: Made from flour and water, resulting in a thin, crispy texture when you fry them.
- Filling: Usually includes pork, shrimp, bean sprouts, and cabbage
- Preparation: Fried, giving them a crunchy coating.
- Serving: Served hot with dipping sauces like vinegar, sweet and sour, or Worcestershire-based sauce.
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
- Origin: Vietnam.
- Wrapper: Made from rice paper, which is translucent and chewy.
- Filling: Often includes fresh ingredients like rice noodles, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, herbs, and proteins like shrimp or pork.
- Preparation: Served cold, with the rice paper soaked in warm water to make it pliable.
- Serving: Typically served with peanut or hoisin dipping sauce.
Key Differences
- Texture: Spring rolls are crispy and fried, while Vietnamese summer rolls are fresh and chewy.
- Ingredients: Spring rolls often contain cooked ingredients, while summer rolls are filled with fresh, raw vegetables.
- Both are delicious in their ways and can be enjoyed as appetizers or snacks.
Summer Rolls Dipping Sauce
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
Materials
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
- 7 – 14 sheets 8.5″ round rice paper
- Room temperature water in a large bowl
- 11 small cooked shrimp sliced in half (no tails)
- 1 lb pork belly cut into 1” pieces and boiled
- 1.5 oz dried rice noodles
- 7 lettuce leaves such as Oak or Butter Lettuce
- 1 cucumber peeled and cut inti matchstick size
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 14 mint leaves
- 7 chives each about 3” long
Dipping Sauce
- 2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp of water
- 1/2 tsp crushed chili or other chili paste, adjust to taste (optional)
- Mix ingredients using water to thin to a nice consistency.
Instructions
- Instructions
- Place rice noodles in a bowl and cover with warm water for 2 minutes, then drain
- Peel the shrimp, slice in half lengthwise and devein
- Fill a large bowl with warm water.
- Submerge the rice paper into the water for 2 seconds, rotating the rice paper until it is damp all over.
- Place the rice paper on a board or the counter with the smooth side down.
- On the top part of the rice paper, place the lettuce leaf
- On the lettuce, add some shredded carrots on a couple of cucumber matchsticks
- Place the mint on the carrots & cucumbers
- Rice noodles go on top of the veggies (don’t over fill with noodles)
- place 3 shrimp and some pork belly on the rice noodles
- Fold the left and right edges of the rice paper in, then starting from the bottom, roll up to cover the lettuce & veggies
- Then keep rolling firmly. The rice paper is sticky, and it will seal itself.
- Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.
Video
Nutrition
Cooking Secrets for Men
Cooking Secrets for Men in the News
Cooking Secrets for Men has been added to the list of the list of Milwaukee’s Top 50 Foodie Influencers on Instagram.
E-Cookbooks for free Download
Discover more from Cooking Secrets for Men
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I do like a good summer roll, fresh and tasty
They’re beautiful!