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Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls)
Soft rice-paper rolls packed with poached pork, halved shrimp, rice vermicelli, lettuce and fresh herbs, dipped in a warm hoisin and peanut sauce.
Vietnamese (Southern) · medium · serves 4
prep 40 min · cook 35 min
~615 cal · 49g protein · 58g carbs · 21g fat · 4g fiber · 4g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Gỏi cuốn, salad rolls, are the southern Vietnamese way of wrapping a meal in rice paper. Nothing inside is fried: thin slices of poached pork belly and pink halved shrimp are rolled with rice , soft lettuce, mint, perilla or Thai basil and a stalk of garlic chive into bánh tráng, sheets of rice paper softened for a few seconds in water, so the shrimp show through the translucent wrapper.
In the south they are called gỏi cuốn and dipped in a thick sauce of hoisin and peanut, sweet and savoury, with a little chili; in the north the same idea goes by nem cuốn. Around Saigon they are sold by street vendors and eaten as a starter or a light snack, and at home they are often made at the table, with everyone rolling their own from platters of meat, shrimp, noodles and herbs.
They are best eaten within an hour or so of rolling, while the rice paper is soft and the herbs are fresh.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy- and egg-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 300 g pork belly or pork shoulder, in one piece
- 1 onion, halved (for poaching the pork)
- 1 tsp salt
- 12 (about 300 g) large shrimp, shell on
- 150 g dried rice (bún)
- 12 (about 100 g) rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng), 22 cm
- 1 head soft lettuce leaves
- 1 bunch fresh mint leaves
- 1 small bunch Thai basil or perilla leaves, optional
- 12 stems Chinese chives (hẹ)
- 1 tbsp (for the sauce)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (for the sauce)
- 6 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1/2 cup water (for the sauce)
- to taste chili paste
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
Instructions
- 1Put the pork, onion and salt in a small pan with water to cover by 2 cm, bring to a boil, skim, then simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until cooked through. Cool it covered, then slice as thinly as you can.
- 2Poach the shrimp in boiling water for about 2 minutes, until just pink, and cool them in iced water. Peel, devein and halve each one lengthwise.
- 3Cook the vermicelli according to the packet, rinse under cold water and drain well. Wash and dry the lettuce and herbs.
- 4Make the sauce: fry the garlic in the oil until fragrant, stir in the hoisin, peanut butter and water and bring just to a boil. Take off the heat, add chili paste to taste and let it cool a little. Top with the crushed peanuts.
- 5Dip a sheet of rice paper in warm water for 3 to 5 seconds and lay it flat. On the lower third place lettuce, a small bundle of noodles and herbs, then fold in the sides.✎ Chef’s noteTake the paper out while it is still slightly stiff; it keeps softening on the board. Over-soaked paper tears.
- 6Lay 2 or 3 slices of pork and 2 shrimp halves, cut side up, above the filling, add a garlic chive so one end sticks out, and roll up tightly away from you. Serve at once with the sauce.
Southern Vietnamese (Saigon) street and home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnamese baguette is not the French one. It is shorter and much lighter, usually with rice flour worked into the dough for lift and a thin shattering crust, and butter was swapped for mayonnaise because of the heat. A few drops of Maggi seasoning are standard rather than optional.
🗺️
Vietnam. Vietnam cooks differently along its length. The north is the most restrained, using less sugar and less chilli; the centre around Hue is the spiciest and the fondest of many small dishes at once; and the south is sweeter and richer, with more coconut and more fruit. Bun bo Hue announces the centre with fermented shrimp paste as much as with lemongrass.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Vietnam
Phở Gà (Hanoi Chicken Pho)A clear, star-anise-scented chicken broth over rice noodles, finished with herbs and lime at the table.
Bánh XèoSizzling turmeric-rice crepes stuffed with shrimp, pork, and sprouts, wrapped in lettuce and dunked in nuoc cham.
Bún Bò HuếThe imperial city’s fierce beef-and-lemongrass noodle soup, spiked with chili oil and shrimp paste, bolder than pho.
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Good to know
Storing it: Best fresh. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated; loosen with a splash of water or oil as you reheat so they do not clump.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls)?
Soft rice-paper rolls packed with poached pork, halved shrimp, rice vermicelli, lettuce and fresh herbs, dipped in a warm hoisin and peanut sauce.
Where does Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls) come from?
Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls) is a Vietnamese (Southern) dish from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Can Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls) take to make?
About 75 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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