Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Get ready for the ultimate crowd-pleaser! These Vietnamese spring rolls are a fresh, fun, and oh-so-easy classic. Whether you’re serving them as a snack, appetizer, or making it a DIY meal with friends or family, they’re sure to be a hit. The best part? Everyone gets to build their own rolls, adding a little bit of everything they love. It's all about rolling, dipping, and eating to your heart’s content. And don’t forget the sauces — peanut sauce or nuoc cham (fish sauce) are a total must.
ingredients
Rice paper
Red leaf lettuce
Carrots, sliced
Cucumber, sliced
Protein of your choice — thinly sliced round-top beef, peeled and deveined shrimp, firm tofu, or even oyster mushroom
Rice vermicelli noodles
Herbs - basil, mint, cilantro
Bean sprouts
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
Garlic, minced
Shallots, minced
2 tsp sesame oil
instructions
Clean and prep vegetables of your choice — red leaf lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, herbs, bean sprouts.
Prep your protein(s) of choice.
In a small pot, add olive oil with minced garlic and shallots. Set over medium-high heat. Cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil and whisk until combined. Add water as needed to thin out to your preference.
Cook your rice vermicelli noodles per the package instructions.
Cook your protein tableside with friends and family via an electric griddle OR separately on a large pan.
To assemble, quickly wet your rice paper in a large bowl of water (too long and your rice paper will be too soggy to work with) and lay it on a flat surface such as a large plate. Layer your lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts, noodles, herbs, and protein towards the bottom of your rice paper. Roll the bottom of your rice paper, tuck the left and right sides over, and then roll tightly from the bottom to the top.
Generously dip in peanut sauce and enjoy!
Notes:
If you’re hosting a party, recommend snagging a fancy rice paper water bowl contraption like this.
When cooking your protein, recommend using salted butter over oil for flavor. Season protein with salt as needed.
If you have leftover spring rolls, wrap them individually in plastic wrap so the rice paper doesn’t dry out.
This is such a fun interactive meal — this is often something I do with my friends who don’t normally eat a lot of Vietnamese food or with family when we have the time to just sit back and enjoy! Always a hit and fairly simple to put together. The goal is to share responsibilities (i.e. someone in charge of cooking the meat, someone in charge of doing the rice paper, someone in charge of refilling veggies/herbs as needed, someone in charge of drinks, etc) and eat as many spring rolls as you can! Warning: it can get crazy if you don’t know how to eat fast (lol).
You can always opt out of the rice noodles and fill your rolls with more protein and veggies!