Comments on: Sesame Soba vs. Vietnamese Spring Rolls, or: the good and the not-so-good

By: Chau

Chau — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 12:58:11 +0000

Oy, I'm posting really late on this, but I'm new to your blog. I love it, all of it. However, that goi cuon breaks my heart. I wish I could make some with you that would make you happier.
You're the pro here, but I think if you tried this, things might pan out better:
1. Don't even soak the paper 10 seconds, dip it in hot water, rotate so it all gets wet, then set it down. By the time you have your filling on it, it will be soft enough to roll. Make sure you're working with properly sized ones, too.
2. Separate the ingredients. With some Vietnamese food, it's about the flavors interacting in your mouth, not marinating beforehand.
3. Keep it simple. Base of bun, slice of lean pork, three sweet shrimp lined up, slice of cuke, sprinkle of cold lettuce mixed with fresh, rough chopped mint. (For the vegetarian, slice of fried tofu in lemongrass and some bean sprouts)
4. Roll it TIGHT. It should bite very easily, as if it were all one solid mass.
Sorry to be so wordy and didactic, goi cuon can make you so happy, I hope you try again! Again, your blog is lovely.

By: Lushlife

Lushlife — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 08:05:27 +0000

At last I have found you again, I came across this recipe late last week and have been trawling around the internet since then to find it again. The thought of using your recipe for soba noodles has been driving me insane so I am glad I found you again. I will definately book mark you this time. I love your food photography.

By: Chocopie

Chocopie — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 15:40:07 +0000

I like also Soba, and I have various recepies about it. Normally, we take very often noodles and soba in hot summer to get out of heat. Hot weather ruins easily our appetite. But cold noodle with different fresh vegetables stimulates it.

By: Reid

Reid — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 11:32:24 +0000

Hi Oliver & Nicky,

The goi cuon (Vietnamese summer rolls) look good, but it's a shame that they weren't. Most of the time, I've found that these are normally stuffed with shredded pork, mint, bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles among other things. These summer rolls are normally served with nuoc leo (peanut sauce) rather than nuoc mam (fish sauce).

The cold soba with sesame looks/sounds delicious. I must try this sometime!

By: Oliver

Oliver — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:28:27 +0000

Hi clare eats, Chubby Cat,
Thank you for your great tips and recommendations! Despite my verdict on the outcome, I should have still included the recipe, since I actually applied almost all your hints. For the rolls & on the herbs front, I used finely minced coriander and mint and also “abused” some of the plum & hoisin sauce to give the noodles a slight flavor (the sauces were originally intended for the duck). For the dipping sauce, I took hot chili sauce, a bit of honey, sesame oil, ginger and rice vinegar. Perhaps with the fish sauce it could've given it a different twist...Next time, if N. let's me ;) , I'll try the prawns and will experiment with different flavors...

Hi Ana, becky, Jenny,
Thank you for stopping by - your feedback is always highly valued! And be assured, we've had some culinary failures in the past that did look worse...In a funny way those rolls were even meaner, good-looking, but not so good tasting ;)

Hey Melissa,
Not to spoil N's 5-favorite-(cook)book-meme-in-the-making, the most recent acquisition is called "Noodles" by Beverly Le Blanc (it’s written in German, I didn't find an English equivalent on amazon...) - but that was already a week ago... ;))

By: Chubby Cat

Chubby Cat — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 08:37:16 +0000

hi there!! stumbled across your site via the "cook next door" meme and must compliment you on a very nicely designed site. clean and elegant. sorry to hear that the fresh spring rolls didn't turn out as expected. clare made an excellent point about using strong herbs like mint and coriander to lift the flavours. in addition, "tainting" the noodles with a zingy sauce can also help. (sweet chilli, fish sauce & lemon juice was what i used)