My girl asked me if I wanted steamboat for my birthday but I was not all that keen as we have been having that all this while, whatever reason we had for it.
Initially, I suggested going out for dinner. I did not want to have it at home as that would mean that my missus would be busy all day (or for a few days in a row) in the kitchen and besides, at this point in time, we are not all that keen on going all over town in search of the ingredients for this dish or that.
However, as the day grew nearer, I had a change of heart and said I would want a simple dinner of Vietnamese rice paper rolls (gỏi cuốn) – we had the bánh tráng (commonly known as rice paper or cold roll) in the house. Everyone was keen on the idea so we went ahead with it.
I told them not to bother as it looked like a lot of work but they insisted on cooking this Vietnamese pho (beef noodles soup)…
…to go with the rolls. My missus managed to get hold of this very nice and very tender imported Australian beef from the nearby shop in the next lane for the very flavourful clear soup and we just used the dry made-in-Thailand kway teow. I’m sure it would be a whole lot nicer if we could get the very thin and smooth, translucent hor fun from the northern states in the peninsula but as they say, beggars can’t be choosers.
For the gỏi cuốn, I dipped the rice paper skin in water to soften and then I lined it with lettuce…
…followed by some bihun…
…and prawns and taugeh (bean sprouts)…
Instead of the prawns, we also had the other option of adding some of the char siew (barbecued pork) and siew yoke (roast pork)…
…that I went out to buy that morning. They were very nice, much nicer than the nice ones that I would usually go and buy at the nearby stall round the corner from my house. I certainly would not mind going that extra distance, not very far actually, to buy these instead, should we feel like eating these again.
One may opt to have both the prawns and the char siew and siew yoke – that is entirely up to the individual – and the ladies loved to add the Thai basil leaves, the mint leaves, the daun sup (Chinese celery), the sawtooth coriander and even the ulam raja from our garden, the complete works. I prefer mine simple so I went without those or just a bit of each, not too much, and wrapped it all up…
…dipped it in one of these…
…and ate. Clockwise, we had my missus’ chili and garlic dip, the traditional peanut hoisin sauce dip and a special cili padi with toasted sesame seeds and whatever else dip.
Of the three, I prefer the first one…
…and by the way, you may choose to wrap the dip(s) together with the ingredients in the roll and eat instead of dipping into them like this.
That certainly was a delightful dinner, something different for a change. We will have to think about what we are going to have for Christmas next which is right round the corner, how time flies!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
They all look so good. I would love to have mine with prawns and char siew and add a little bit of sup daun but not sawtooth corainder which has a very strong smell and not to my liking. Good for a change from the usual rice meal.
Surprise! Surprise! I thought Kuching people love it in their laksa and popiah and all the dishes. We have acquired the taste but I can’t say I am fond of it. My missus likes it more – she was the one who used to hate it the most, smell of bed bugs, she said. LOL!!!
When are you opening your restaurant? 😀
If only I were 50 years younger, I certainly would consider going into it. Now the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
They look scrumptious and I would love to dip them in chilli sauce too. 😀 Glad that you tried this instead of the usual dinner.
Always good to go for something different for a change. A much healthier option than eating out, I must say…
Nothing beats a good Vietnamese fare
I just saw on TV some guy making the rolls and he put the prawns first – that way, once wrapped, when he turned over the roll, the prawns would be clearly visible through the translucent skin…while mine was all green!!! Ah well!!! We learn new things every day, don’t we? LOL!!!
This is something special for your birthday. I would say a good choice than the usual restaurant food. I like the Vietnamese spring rolls and I will also want the chili garlic dip. Happy birthday and good health to you.
Thank you for your birthday and good wishes. At least it was something we never did before so it was a delightful change.
Homemade is the best!!! Nice meal. Made with love.
Sure a nice change sometime.
Yes, and it was something different for a change. No Vietnamese restaurant here before – there is one now, newly opened, but we have yet to go and check it out, very crowded, they say so we are not that keen on going just yet. #staysafe #staywell
Everything looks good! My kind of meal if you ask me. Let me wish you a belated Happy Birthday! I read your earlier post and I must say that I love your birthday cake 🙂
Thank you. The cake was really nice – will certainly want to order that again the next opportunity I get.
all those look delicious 🙂 special food for a special day made with love 🙂
Yes, it was good. Part of the fun was in the creating and the wrapping.
Happy Birthday – your meal looks delicious!
Thank you. Yes, it was good. I do enjoy Vietnamese cuisine.
I love Vietnamese too!
My second favourite after Thai.
I find sour and spicy food really appetising.
Same here! I do think Thai cuisine takes the cake, in my opinion, definitely the nicer of the two.
It made me giggle when I saw you described that one dip as “whatever else dip” – that’s totally something I would say!
LOL!!! That’s because I did not know what else my missus added – she likes adding a bit of this and that. I prefer things simple, the fewer the ingredients the better. I guess that is why my cooking is not so nice.