How to Make Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Last Updated: November 27, 2022

The traditional Vietnamese Spring roll recipe called gỏi cuốn is a popular dish of rice paper rolls wrapped in rice noodles, fresh vegetables, herbs, pork, and shrimp with a side of flavorful peanut dipping sauce. Gỏi cuốn is the dish that brings everyone together! It’s a delicious communal meal where everyone has a role at the table. Gỏi cuốn is generally served as an appetizer because it’s a light, refreshing snack for any occasion. Moreover, there is no right or wrong way to make gỏi cuốn. It’s easily customizable depending on your preference. Plus, many of the ingredients may already be found in your pantry. Now let’s get cooking!

Steps

1
Head to your local Asian market and pick up the essentials. You’ll need the following ingredients:
- Circular rice paper wrappers
- Rice noodles
- Shrimp
- Pork belly
- Salt
- A mixture of your favorite greens such as carrots, lettuce, bean sprouts, Thai basil, perilla, mint, or Vietnamese coriander.
- Water
- Peanut butter
- Hoisin sauce
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Lemon or lime
- Oil
2
Remove the leaves from the stems and place them in a colander. Fill a large bowl with cold water and add 3 tablespoons of salt. Add the greens into the bowl and allow them to soak for roughly 3 minutes. Rinse clean and repeat another 2 times to remove all impurities. When finished, dry the greens in the colander.

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3
Roll the pork belly lengthwise and wrap it with string to secure its shape. Tie several knots as needed to prevent it from unrolling. Place the pork into a boiling pot of water for 1 hour until it’s soft. Take it out of the pot and place it on a cutting board. Remove the string and slice the pork into thin pieces.
4
Place the shrimp into a boiling pot of water for 4 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the water and let it cool. Peel the shell off the shrimp. Slice the shrimp in half for a smaller portion if needed.
5
Place the rice noodles into a boiling pot of water for 10 minutes until it softens. Stir the pot every 3 minutes to separate the noodle strands. Drain the water and briefly run the noodles under cold water. Let it dry in a colander.
6
Gather and organize all the ingredients onto a table to speed up the wrapping process. Grab a large, round bowl of warm water too. A wrapping station is helpful when working with a large group of people. That way, everyone can visually see where the ingredients are and be involved.
7
Soften the rice papers. The rice papers are thin yet hard. Be careful with them as they can also easily tear! In order to soften rice papers, submerge them one at a time into a warm bowl of water. Rotate the rice paper in a circular motion. Once it’s soft and sticky, place it flat onto a plate.
8
Lay a small portion of noodles on the center part of the rice paper that is closest to you. Next, lightly layer and evenly distribute the veggies and herbs. Then, place about 3-4 pieces of shrimp along with pork belly. Keep in mind to be gentle when applying each filling as rice papers are very fragile. The filling should only take up approximately 60% of the roll’s length so there is still enough room on each side for the rice paper to be wrapped.
9
Neatly lift the sides over the filling. Tightly fold the left and right side of the rice paper to prevent the roll from falling apart. Then, fold the bottom of the rice paper to the middle and roll with care. Remember, there should be three edges tucked. Roll until the rice paper is completely used and there is no rice paper left exposed to lift or become undone.
10
Prepare hoisin peanut sauce. Begin by heating up 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a pan on low-medium heat. Then, brown the 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic for a minute. Next, add 3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, 4 tablespoons of peanut butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar and mix.
11
Adjust the thickness of the sauce. Add 1/2 cup of water until it reaches a smooth and creamy consistency. After, add 1/4 of either a lemon or lime juice and stir until the ingredients are well combined. To finish the sauce, drizzle 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and mix.
12
Serve or store your dish! Spring rolls and peanut sauce can be refrigerated for about 2-3 days. Wrap each roll individually with plastic wrap in order to keep the rice paper soft and to prevent the roll from sticking to other rolls. Pour the sauce into a sealed container. However, it always taste the best the day they are made.

Ingredients

Circular rice paper wrappers
Rice noodles
Shrimp
Pork belly
Salt
A mixture of your favorite greens, for example, carrots, lettuce, bean sprouts, Thai basil, perilla, mint, or Vietnamese coriander.
Thin lengths of twine
Water
Peanut butter
Hoisin sauce
Sesame oil
Garlic
Lemon or lime
Oil