Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls Recipe • Curious Cuisiniere (2024)

Full of fresh ingredients, Vietnamese fresh spring rolls make for the perfect healthy, grab-and-go recipe for lunch, an appetizer, or a summer snack. We’ll teach you how to wrap and roll spring rolls. It’s easy!

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Vietnamese fresh spring rolls (goi cuon in Vietnamese) are an incredibly easy, fresh version of the classic fried spring roll. These rolls (also called summer rolls or salad rolls) are light and healthy, full of fresh herbs and crisp ingredients.

Working With Rice Paper

Unlike egg rolls, which use wonton wrappers as a base, the base for these fresh spring rolls is rice paper wrappers.

Rice paper wrappers can be tricky to work with, particularly if they are not prepared correctly. But, with a few tips, you’ll be wrapping and rolling in no time.

If you have had trouble working with rice paper in the past, take courage with these tips and try again!

The key to working with rice paper wrappers is to dip themin warm water just long enough to moisten them. (No more than 3-5 seconds.) The paper should actually still be slightly firm when you remove it from the water. The paper will continue to absorb moisture as it sets, making it perfectly pliable for rolling.

So dip it just long enough to make sure all parts of both sides hit the water.

If you find that your wrappers are too soft when it comes time to wrap your roll, you probably dipped it for too long. If you find that the wrappers aren’t pliable and able to stick to themselves when you wrap your roll, you probably did not dip them for long enough.

Don’t worry if it takes a few tries to get a feel for how moist the wrappers need to be.

Every brand of wrappers will be slightly different in thickness and the amount of water they need, so a little trial and error is almost always necessary.

If after a couple of tries you are still having trouble with your wrappers tearing, you may just have very thin wrappers. Try doubling up on the wrappers and using two for each roll (Just make sure they are both moistened on both sides before layering them together!) The extra reinforcement should solve the tearing problem.

Making The Best Fresh Spring Rolls

Using fresh ingredients is a must in spring rolls.

That’s not to say that you can’t get creative and use leftover meats and such to fill your spring rolls. But, you do want to make sure you include at least a few elements with a crunch, like carrot or cucumber matchsticks, bean sprouts, or lettuce.

Fresh herbs are also a must for capturing the Vietnamese fresh spring roll flavor. You’ll be amazed what a few leaves of basil, mint, or cilantro can do to brighten the flavor of the rolls.

The recipe we’re sharing with you today is for traditional Vietnamese pork and shrimp spring rolls.

These rolls typically include rice noodles.

The noodles act as a nice, light filler to the rolls, and make these rolls much more filling than you would expect from such a fresh and light dish.

How To Roll A Spring Roll

There are a few tips to rolling the perfect spring roll.

First, you want to layer your ingredients on the 1/3 of the rice paper closest to you. After layering your ingredients, you will begin to roll by picking up the edge closest to you and pulling it gently over the filling.

Use your fingers to tuck the ingredients under the rice paper, pulling them gently towards you as you bring the paper over.

Once you wrap the roll one halfrotation, you will notice that the rice paper begins to stick to itself, sealing the ingredients inside and making it very easy to roll.

For the shrimp and pork rolls, we like to add the shrimp over top of the lettuce side after wrapping the roll one half rotation. This gives the shrimp slices that nice and vibrant, pop-out-at-you, effect.

Continue wrapping the roll until your lettuce/shrimp side is face down. (You should be about 2/3 of the way through your rice paper.) Then fold the two sides in so that they stick the bottom of the roll.

Once the sides are folded in, continue rolling away from you to seal in the sides and finish off your rice paper.

Making Vietnamese Spring Rolls Ahead

Some people will argue that spring rolls are best served immediately, and while they are WONDERFUL eaten right away, we find that they also make a nice, easy, and quick pack-and-go lunch.

To make your spring rolls ahead of time, wrap each roll, individually, in a lightly dampened paper towel and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to eat them, unwrapthe rolls from the paper towels and let them set, exposed to the air, for a minute or two before eating. (Letting them set will give the wrappers a moment to dry out and become less tacky to the touch.)

We don’t recommend storing the spring rolls side by side (not wrapped in a paper towel) because the rolls will stick to each other.

If not wrapped in paper towels, the rolls are best if eaten in 24 hours. Wrapping them in damp paper towels will extend their life for 2-3 days.

Feel free to get creative with your roll fillings. These are the perfect way to turn some leftover meat and fresh vegetables into a tasty and healthy, portable lunch!

Here is some more tasty spring role inspiration:

• Vegetable Spring Rolls from Boulder Locavore
• Spring Rolls with Lemongrass Beef from The Little Kitchen
• Spring Roll Salad by From A Chef’s Kitchen

We’ve updated our pictures since we first shared this recipe on Curious Cuisiniere, but we’ve left some originals here, in case you’ve found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.