Goi Ca is special Vietnamese dish of rice paper rolls containing marinated fish and fresh herbs. It is a delicious starter which makes full use of rice paper wrappers. It is the classic method for eating Goi Ca. You need though extremely fresh fish for this dish where it is part cooked and marinated in a vinegar along with onion, pungent herb , peanuts and some fried shallots.
Dried rice paper wrappers are prepared from a pancake-like batter of rice flour, water and a pinch of salt. These are rolled into extremely thin sheets and then steamed like a handkerchief. Given the Vietnamese enjoy plenty of sun, these are solar dried on bamboo racks. Look for the cross hatch pattern on these wrappers because you will then known these have been dried somewhere baking hot in the traditional way.
The other feature of these wrappers is that people in Asia love to wrap their food in either lettuce leaves, cabbage leaves and of course rice paper. Do not be surprised then if you find this filling in a leafy green vegetable.
Ingredients:
- 10 rice paper wrappers (8in/20cm diameter)
- sunflower oil for deep-frying
- a fish sauce for dipping such as Nuoc Cham which is the Vietnamese sauce for all these occasions.
- 60g/2oz dried glass noodles
Preparation:
To prepare the rice paper wrappers, just briefly dip them in a bowl of water so they soften a little. Take these wrappers out of the water and place on a dry surface such as a marble table. Smooth with the fingers but try to avoid tearing.
Take the fish and herb mixture and put two heaped tablespoons of mixture as filling on one side of the wrapper and then roll along to the other side. Just fold in the sides.
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