The Ultimate Guide to Spring Rolls

Everything you ever wanted to know about authentic, super healthy, and easy to make fresh Vietnamese spring rolls.

Everything you ever wanted to know about authentic, super healthy, and easy to make fresh Vietnamese spring rolls.

Spring rolls have got to be one of my favorite things to make and eat.

But just a quick second: are you looking for crispy crunchy deep-fried rolls? If so, please check out this post! If you’re looking for fresh Vietnamese spring rolls, also known as summer rolls, salad rolls, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, rice paper rolls, cold rolls, or gỏi cuốn, please read on!

I have so many fond memories of sitting at the kitchen table, rolling and eating spring rolls – we call them salad rolls at home – with Mike. They’re one of the meals that we bond over because there’s nothing like eating and rolling and dipping and chatting at the table. I have a thing for DIY at-the-table foods like Korean BBQ, Chinese hot pot, and Japanese Oden. There’s just something so cozy about a slow meal where the food is both the highlight and the backdrop to who you’re with.

Spring rolls are one of those dishes I can eat again and again and again. They’re light yet filling and there are so many variations. In the mood for something super savory and spicy? Roll up some spicy beef. Or if you’re looking for something fresh and fruity? Veggie rolls with mangos will solve that craving. I have even put crispy tonkatsu inside. Heck, we love spring rolls so much that we made them while camping. Our love for rolls runs deep.

What are spring rolls?

Super healthy and easy to make Vietnamese spring rolls, or gỏi cuốn, are a traditional dish that usually contains pork, prawns, vegetables, and vermicelli wrapped up into a roll made with rice paper. There are literally thousands of variations and they’re completely adaptable and customizable. They’re served fresh with a sauce for dipping, either a mixed fish sauce or a peanut sauce.

You can have them for lunch, dinner, snacks, or appetizers. Spring rolls go by many names: gỏi cuốn (which means salad rolls) and nem cuốn (which means meat rolls), rice paper rolls, summer rolls, Vietnamese rolls, crystal rolls, soft rolls, cold rolls, and fresh rolls.

What is rice paper?

The best way to prepare rice paper is to have a large shallow bowl of hot tap water. Take a sheet of rice paper and dip it in the water so it’s completely submerged and remove it immediately. Lay it to a plate or cutting board and let it sit for 5-10 seconds where it will rehydrate and become pliable and soft.