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Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls (with video)

Feb 24, 2020 7 Comments

Recipe

These fresh and healthy Vietnamese spring rolls are made with shrimp, vegetables, herbs, and rice noodles wrapped in rice paper. Serve the spring rolls with peanut sauce, nước chấm, or hoisin sauce. 

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Shrimp, vegetables and peanut sauce

In Vietnamese, fresh spring rolls made with rice paper are called gỏi cuốn, translating to “salad rolls” (gỏi is means “salad” and cuốn means “to coil” or “to roll”). If you are interested in learning how to pronounce gỏi cuốn, watch this video! 

Typically, you’ll find Vietnamese spring rolls filled with shrimp, vegetables, herbs and rice vermicelli. Sometimes, you’ll find cooked pork in them as well. In this spring roll recipe, I tried to keep the ingredients to items that you can easily find. Feel free to add or replace ingredients based on what’s available to you!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

Rice Paper Banh Trang

RICE PAPER (Bánh Tráng)

I like using larger circular rice papers (22cm, about 8.5 inches) because they hold more filling. As an aside, most rice paper sheets are produced in Asia, so you’ll likely see them labeled with metric measurements. Smaller rice paper sheets also work for this recipe, but your spring rolls will be much smaller.

My favorite brand of rice paper is the Three Ladies Brand because they tend to stretch better and are less likely to tear. On their packaging, you’ll see a drawing of three ladies, and you can find them at Asian supermarkets or on Amazon. If I don’t have time to go to an Asian supermarket, I will buy the brand photographed above from Raley’s or a similar grocer. For more information about various rice paper brands, check out this comprehensive guide from Andrea Nguyen.

Rice Vermicelli Maifun

RICE VERMICELLI

Typically, Vietnamese spring rolls are made with rice vermicelli, which are very thin rice noodles. Various manufacturers will call them thin rice noodles, rice sticks, or maifun. One important thing to note is that the cooking time of the noodles varies across brands. Use my recipe below as a guide, but double check the manufacturer’s suggested cooking time.

SHRIMP

Medium-sized shrimp (about 21 to 25 count) work best for spring rolls. I like cooking the shrimp with the shells on because I think the color of the shrimp is more vibrant once cooked. The easiest way to cook the shrimp is to boil them for two minutes. Then, remove the shrimp from the boiling water and let them cool for at least 5 minutes before peeling off the shells.

LETTUCE LEAVES

Many Vietnamese spring roll recipes use lettuce leaves because they help make the rolling process much easier. When you nestle the noodles, vegetables, and herbs inside the lettuce leaf, the filling won’t spread out everywhere as you roll up the spring roll. Plus, the lettuce offers a nice color contrast to the shrimp. 

I prefer to use butter lettuce because the circular leaves are perfectly shaped for spring rolls. If butter lettuce is not easy to find, feel free to use red leaf or green leaf lettuce. Remember to snap off the bottoms of the leaves to get rid of the tougher stem. The stems can easily poke through the rice paper once the spring rolls are rolled up. 

VEGETABLES AND HERBS

Although I like the combination of carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, and mint, use whatever you prefer. Sometimes, I’ll throw in red cabbage, sliced avocado, or basil. The sky is the limit in terms of the ingredients you can use for spring rolls! Make sure to slice the vegetables thinly so that they are easier to chew.

HOW TO MAKE VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

SET UP THE WORK SURFACE

I usually roll spring rolls on top of a chopping board. To prevent the rice paper from adhering to the board, I quickly wet the board by brushing water over it with my hand. After every two spring rolls or so, I will wet the board again. 

Alternatively, you can lay a damp towel over your work surface and roll the spring rolls directly on the towel. Mama Lin prefers this method because you don’t have to constantly brush water over the board.

Spring Roll Making

DIP THE RICE PAPER IN LUKEWARM WATER

To soften dry rice paper, quickly dip the rice paper in a bowl of lukewarm water, no longer than a few seconds. Don’t worry if the paper feels stiff when you take it out of the water. The rice paper will continue to soften on the chopping board. If you find that the rice paper is wrinkling and softening too quickly, the water may be too hot. Add some cold water to the bowl. 

ADD THE FILLING

Lay a piece of butter lettuce over the lower edge of the rice paper. Then, top the lettuce with noodles, vegetables, and mint. Next, line the shrimp about 1 1/2 inches below the top edge of the rice paper. By leaving a gap between the shrimp and vegetables, the shrimp will look more vibrant in the final roll because they will be covered by only one layer of rice paper.

How to Roll Spring Rolls

ROLL THE SPRING ROLL

When you are ready to roll the spring roll, grab the lower edge of the rice paper with your thumbs and pointer fingers, lift, and roll up the spring roll. Use your other fingers to hold the filling together. Continue rolling the spring roll until you reach the shrimp. 

Rolling Shrimp Spring Rolls

Then, fold the left and right sides of the spring roll toward the center (see photographs above). Finally, roll the spring roll all the way to the end.

CAN YOU MAKE FRESH SPRING ROLLS AHEAD?

Although you can prepare the filling and sauces up to 2 days ahead, I highly recommend that you consume these shrimp spring rolls within several hours of making them. If you refrigerate spring rolls overnight, the rice paper hardens, making them difficult to chew. You can microwave spring rolls on high for 30 seconds, but the texture won’t be the same as freshly made rolls. Another issue is that the rice paper tears over time over time, especially around the shrimp. For optimal texture and appearance, eat the spring rolls the same day you make them.

How to Make Vietnamese Spring Rolls

SPRING ROLL DIPPING SAUCE

Traditionally, spring rolls are served with nước chấm, a Vietnamese dipping sauce made of fish sauce, chilli, sugar, and lime juice. I have a recipe below for the nước chấm. I slightly prefer using a peanut sauce for this recipe because I love the richness of the peanut sauce contrasting with the texture of the fresh spring roll. One final alternative is hoisin dipping sauce, which is simply hoisin sauce mixed with water.

VIDEO: ROLLING TECHNIQUE FOR VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

 

 

Continue to Content
Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Yield: 12 spring rolls
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

These fresh and healthy Vietnamese spring rolls are made with shrimp, vegetables, herbs, and rice noodles wrapped in rice paper. They are best consumed the day they are made. 

Ingredients

Spring Rolls

  • 18 medium shell-on shrimp (21/25 count, about 3/4 pounds, defrosted if frozen)
  • 3 ounces thin rice vermicelli (maifun)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
  • 1 to 1 1/2 Persian cucumber, cut into matchsticks (see note 1)
  • a large red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
  • 1/2 cup loosely packed mint leaves
  • 12 pieces of butter lettuce, bottom tough stems removed (see note 2)
  • 12 large (22cm) circular rice paper sheets
  • warm water (for rolling spring rolls)

Peanut Sauce (see note 3)

  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup filtered water
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup (can sub with brown sugar, see note 4)
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Nước Chấm

  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 Thai chilli, sliced
  • a clove of garlic, minced

Hoisin Dipping Sauce

  • 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 3 tablespoons filtered water

Instructions

Prepare the Dipping Sauce (see note 5)

  1. Pick your dipping sauce of choice above and mix all the sauce ingredients together. Make sure to use warm water for the nuoc cham so that the sugar dissolves more easily.
  2. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings as necessary.
  3. I like to prepare the sauce before making the spring rolls so that the flavors have a longer time to develop. 

Prepare the Shrimp

  1. Fill a medium saucepan or small pot with water and bring it to boil on high heat (see note 6). 
  2. Once the water boils, add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the water and let them cool for 5 minutes. Peel the shells from the shrimp.
  3. Lay a shrimp on its side on a chopping board. Gently press the shrimp down with one hand and use the other to slice the shrimp in half, horizontally (knife parallel to the chopping board). Repeat with the remaining shrimp. 

Prepare the Noodles

  1. Fill a large saucepan or small pot with water and bring it to boil on high heat. 
  2. Turn off the heat. Let the noodles sit in the hot water for about 5 to 8 minutes. Double check the package directions to see how long they should sit in hot water as the cooking time varies across different brands. 
  3. Once the noodles have softened, drain and rinse the noodles under cold water. I like cutting the noodles with kitchen scissors several times so they are shorter and easier to grab.

Set Up Spring Roll Station

  1. Fill a large bowl with lukewarm water to wet the rice paper sheets.
  2. Transfer all the vegetables, shrimp, herbs, and noodles into bowls and arrange them on your work top. 
  3. Get a chopping board ready. Dip your hand in the water and brush water over the surface of the chopping board so that it is damp. I usually wet the surface again after every 2 spring rolls. Alternatively, lay a damp paper towel over your work surface.

Roll the Spring Rolls (refer to the photo or video in the post for reference)

  1. Quickly dip a sheet of rice paper in the lukewarm water to moisten the entire surface. This should take no longer than a few seconds.
  2. Lay the wet rice paper on your work surface. Place a piece of butter lettuce close to the bottom edge of the rice paper. Arrange a small pinch each of rice noodles, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, and mint leaves over the center of the lettuce leaf (see note 7). 
  3. Arrange 3 pieces of shrimp about 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the top edge of the rice paper. Make sure that the orange/pink side is facing down. 
  4. Grab the lower edge of the rice paper and lettuce and start rolling up the spring roll. Once you have reached the shrimp, fold in the left and right sides. Finish rolling up the spring roll all the way to the end. 
  5. Repeat the rolling process with the rest of the ingredients. If the chopping board is looking dry, brush some water over the board.
  6. Serve the spring rolls with the dipping sauce.

Notes

  1. I know this is an awkward number for Persian cucumbers. However, they can be fairly small sometimes, so one will not be enough. Alternatively, you can use half of an English cucumber. Use the extra half cucumber for a salad or snack!
  2. Remove the stiff stems of the butter lettuce so that the stem doesn’t pierce through the rice paper once the spring rolls are rolled up. You can also use green leaf lettuce as a substitute. I would only use the tops of the lettuce and cut off the stiff stem.
  3. You can prepare the peanut sauce up to two days before, but the peanut sauce will become very thick in the refrigerator overnight. You can thin out the sauce with a little more water or heat it in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.
  4. If you are using brown sugar, dilute the sugar in warm water so that it dissolves completely. 
  5. I like to prepare the sauce before making the spring rolls so that the flavors have a longer time to develop.
  6. I usually cook the shrimp and noodles simultaneously, so I have 2 saucepans ready with boiling water.
  7. If you are looking for more flavor inside the spring rolls, you can add a little hoisin or peanut sauce over the noodles and vegetables before you roll everything up.

Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 spring roll (without sauce)
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 90Total Fat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 45.6mgSodium: 129.3mgCarbohydrates: 8.6gFiber: 1.2gSugar: 1.5gProtein: 6.7g

Did you make this recipe?

Please tag @hellolisalin on Instagram or leave a rating and comment on the blog!

© Lisa Lin

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls

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Appetizers, Asian Food, Dairy Free shrimp, spring rolls

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Selena M says

    February 24, 2020 at 10:22 pm

    Is there a way to make these in advance? They seem to dry quickly if you don’t eat them ASAP, right?

    Reply
    • Lisa Lin says

      February 26, 2020 at 8:54 am

      Hi, Selena! You can make them a few hours ahead. Place them on plates (NOT paper plates because they will stick) Cover it with a lightly damp towel and leave it out at room temperature, and they should stay soft. Make sure the towel isn’t extremely wet. Plastic wrap should work too.

      Reply
  2. Stine says

    April 14, 2020 at 10:49 am

    Fabulous! I’m so happy I came across this page as I would have never thought I’m capable of making such a dish myself – turns out, I am 😊
    Wrapping the rolls is fairly easy but took me a bit of time when starting with the first ones. Only thing I still want to improve is the peanut sauce as mine didn’t come out so creamy. Probably because I only had chunky peanut butter so it didn’t mix as well with the liquids.

    Reply
    • Lisa Lin says

      May 4, 2020 at 2:38 pm

      Hi, Stine! Thank you so much for making this! If you ever notice your peanut sauce being thick again, mix in a little more liquid (any of the seasonings or even a few teaspoons of water).

      Reply
  3. Kathleen Dickson says

    May 20, 2020 at 6:33 pm

    I made them! Used Shirataki angel hair, instead of rice noodles (which was very successful), omitted the red bell pepper and the mint (hate mint and did not think Inwoukd lije tge red bell pepper in these). I made the peanut sauce and Nuróc Châm, along with my own sauce made with plain yogurt and Sriracha sauce. I liked the Nuróc Châm the best with these. Tgese were very easy, except my rolling skills need improvement. I do not see a place to post a photo, but posted on my fb page https://www.facebook.com/kathleen.eagles.39 .

    Reply
  4. Cynthia Fenner says

    September 9, 2020 at 12:59 pm

    Every where I have travelled these are called summer rolls. Spring rolls are fried.

    Reply
  5. Rissa says

    January 1, 2021 at 12:07 am

    Hi!

    I know this is a silly question but I’m just curious. I thought that ones made with translucent rice paper were called “summer rolls” but most recipes I research with this type of context it does indeed say spring rolls.

    Not a big deal either way just curious! I plan to make these this weekend!!

    Reply

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