Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Gỏi Cuốn • Rice Paper • Peanut Sauce — Vietnam

Translucent rice-paper rolls packed with herbs, vermicelli and crisp vegetables — fresh, never fried. The roll is all technique: a 3-second dip, a damp board, and rolling tight like a burrito.

Ingredients

• 12 pc — Rice paper rounds, 8½-inch
• 150 g — Rice vermicelli, cooked (2 cups)
• 200 g — Firm tofu, pan-fried in strips
• 100 g — Carrot, julienned (1 cup)
• 100 g — Cucumber, seeded & julienned (1 cup)
• 12 pc — Butter lettuce leaves
• 25 g — Fresh mint + cilantro leaves (1 cup)
• 85 g — Peanut butter (⅓ cup)
• 30 g — Hoisin sauce (2 Tbsp)
• 15 ml — Lime juice (1 Tbsp)
• 60 ml — Warm water, for the dip (¼ cup)

Step-by-Step Method

1. Whisk the peanut sauce first. Peanut butter, hoisin, lime and warm water whisked to a pourable sauce with a pinch of sugar and chili. It thickens as it sits — loosen with water at serving.
2. Set up the rolling station. Everything cut and within reach, a clean damp towel or board, and a wide shallow dish of warm water. Spring rolls are assembly, not cooking — mise en place is the recipe.
3. Dip 3 seconds, no more. One rice paper, dipped just until it starts to soften — it keeps softening on the board. Over-soaked paper tears; under-soaked paper cracks. Three seconds is the sweet spot.
4. Fill & roll tight. Lettuce, vermicelli, tofu, vegetables and herbs in the lower third. Fold the sides in, then roll up firmly like a burrito. Rest seam-side down; the paper seals itself. Serve within the hour with the peanut sauce.

More Recipes You'll Love

Want the full cookbook collection? Visit the CHEF AK Gumroad store — The Biryani Masterclass, The Masala Bible, The Sauce Lab and the Complete Cooking Masterclass.