Vietnamese Style Fresh Rolls are one of my favorite summer foods. Paper-thin wrappers hold tidy bundles of fresh vegetables, herbs, rice noodles, tofu, and shrimp. Add a little nuoc cham and peanut sauce, and Vietnamese Style Fresh Rolls are the perfect combination of fresh, salty, sour, and sweet.
Fresh rolls are one of those foods (like pizza, gyros, tandoori chicken, and pad thai) that we often assume we can’t make correctly at home. But it’s not true! With a few simple ingredients and the right technique, you can make your own delicious Vietnamese Style Fresh Rolls.
Vietnamese Fresh Rolls
Ingredients
- 8 Vietnamese spring roll wrappers
- 8 pieces green leaf lettuce, washed and torn into smaller pieces
- 1 small carrot, peeled and shredded
- 1/2 small English cucumber, peeled and sliced into 2" thin pieces
- 3 green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
- 24 medium shrimp, cooked, tails removed
- 24 or more mint leaves
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, stems removed
- 2 cups cooked thin rice noodles
- 4 oz. baked or fried tofu, cut into 2" thin pieces
Instructions
- Pour a few cups of very hot tap water into a large shallow pan or bowl. (Depending on the size of the wrappers you have purchased, a 9″ cake pan works very well).
- Place a fresh roll wrapper into the pan and completely submerge it in the water. When the wrapper is soft and transparent, remove it from the water and lay it out on a clean surface.
- Sprinkle several cilantro leaves down the center of the wrapper, followed by three shrimp, some shredded carrot, cucumber, tofu, green onion, rice noodles, mint and lettuce.
- Don’t over-fill the wrapper or it will be difficult to roll.
- Using both hands, carefully bring the sides of the wrapper in. Hold the sides with your fingers and use your thumbs to pull the top end of the wrapper up and over the sides. Gently pull back to tighten up the roll, then continue rolling it up. (Watch our video to see how we do it!)
- Cover the completed rolls with damp paper towels to keep them from drying out.
- Repeat the steps with the remaining wrappers.
- NOTE: If the water cools down too much, replace it with hot water to make soaking the wrappers easier.
- Cut each roll in half and serve with dipping sauce. Store the wraps for up to six hours in the refrigerator, covered with damp paper towels and plastic wrap.
