Hanoi
Guided tour · 3h 30m
Hanoi: Guided Food Tour with Train Street Visit
Taste some of the favorite daily food of the locals on a Hanoi walking tour. Grab a coffee along a railway track as you watch a train pass by, stroll...
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History
Goi cuon are the fresh, unfried cousin of the crisp cha gio, and a Southern Vietnamese specialty. Cool and herbaceous, they suit Saigon's climate, and they are as much an assembly as a recipe: softened rice paper, a leaf of lettuce, vermicelli, herbs, a slice of poached pork and a split prawn laid so its pink shows through the wrapper. The peanut-hoisin dip is the Southern signature. They appear on nearly every Vietnamese menu in the city, from home-cooking rooms to the rooftop kitchen at Secret Garden.
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Ho Chi Minh City
2 hours
Egg Coffee & Course on 4 Famous Traditional Vietnam Coffee
Learn to brew 4 different types of Vietnamese coffee. Discover the history and cultural significance of coffee in Vietnam and enjoy the subtle...
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Common allergens: Shellfish, Peanuts, Soy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 8 round rice-paper wrappers
- 200g pork belly, poached and thinly sliced
- 8 prawns, poached and halved lengthwise
- 100g rice vermicelli, cooked
- 8 lettuce leaves
- Mint, coriander and Thai basil
- For the dip: 3 tbsp hoisin, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp water, chopped roasted peanuts
Method
- Warm the peanut-hoisin dip ingredients in a small pan until smooth, then scatter with peanuts.
- Dip a rice-paper wrapper in warm water for a few seconds until just pliable and lay it flat.
- Near the bottom, layer lettuce, vermicelli, herbs and a slice of pork.
- Fold up the bottom, fold in the sides, and roll halfway; lay two prawn halves cut-side down, then finish rolling so they show through.
- Serve immediately with the peanut-hoisin dip.
Tip from the editors. Do not oversoak the wrappers; they keep softening as you roll and turn gummy if they start too wet.
Where to eat goi cuon
Goi cuon in Ho Chi Minh City
Secret Garden ★ 4.2
Secret Garden hides on the rooftop of an old apartment block off Pasteur, serving home-style Southern Vietnamese cooking on a breezy open-air terrace.
OrderBanh xeo and the fresh spring rolls with boiled pork.
TipIt is up several flights inside an old building; look for the small sign and keep climbing.
Quan Ngon 138 ★ 4.0
Quan Ngon 138 gathers dozens of regional Vietnamese street dishes near the Independence Palace, cooked at open stalls inside a colonial-era house.
OrderWork through several small dishes; the banh xeo and grilled meats are reliable.
TipIt is busy and touristy but a painless way to sample many regional dishes in one sitting.
More cities are in research. Want goi cuon covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.