Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls are packed with bright, fresh flavours and served with an insanely addictive Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce that takes a minute to make. With a couple of cheeky tricks, step by step photos and an easy to follow video, you’ll be rolling perfect rice paper rolls like a pro in no time!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls – always a hit!!
If I took a platter of these to a gathering with my friends, I guarantee they’d be one of the first things to go. Everybody I know loves these. Even the hardest of hard-core carnivores munch these down as enthusiastically as they would a rack of ribs.
They truly are that good.
Vietnamese food is my idea of the ultimate “accidently healthy” food. Sure, there are a handful of deep fried recipes. But generally, most Vietnamese dishes are super fresh, full of bright flavours, loaded with herbs and salads, with just a bit of protein. Dressings and sauces are refreshingly light and devoid of oil, unlike basically every Western dressing!
I think that Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls are one of those things that people love but always assume are just too fiddly or too hard to make. To dispel of that myth, let me tell you – I am not into fiddly. That’s why you’ll never see fancy decorated cakes on my blog. I simply don’t have the patience or co-ordination for fiddly dishes – sweet or savoury.
I actually posted this recipe way back when I started my blog. A couple of years on, and my photos have somewhat improved but more importantly – VIDEO! I REALLY wanted to remake this with a video, it is so great to be able to demonstrate how to make these rolls.
Serving idea: DIY spread!
Lay out all the ingredients with a large bowl of water for dipping the rice paper in, then make everyone make their own. This DIY approach is a menu item on Vietnamese restaurants here in Sydney which is very popular, I always order it!
Tips to make Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls
In addition to the video, I have 2 little tips that can make your Vietnamese Rice Paper Roll Making Life so much easier:
Bundle up fly-away bits inside a piece of lettuce. I like making these with bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles (other filling suggestions in the recipe notes). Until you get your rolling technique down pat, bundle it up in lettuce before rolling it in the rice paper. This holds the “stuff” together which makes it so much easier to roll the rice paper and it will also prevent things like bean sprouts, carrots, cucumber etc from piercing the rice paper;
Use two rice paper sheets – again, this is a tip while you are an up-and-coming Rice Paper Roll Master. It is much easier to handle when rolling. The downside is that the ends are a touch chewy, because there’s triple / quadruple layers. But it’s not tough chewy, not in the least bit. It’s just chewy compared to how soft and fragile a single layer of rice paper is. It doesn’t deter me at all. My mother noticed it, but it didn’t stop her from hoeing down 4 of these in minutes. Never fails to amazes me that a woman of a certain age can consume so much so quickly. (PS She came over to be my hand model for the video, this was a tough one to shoot by myself!)
PS The reason the prawns and lettuce bundle are laid out in different positions on the rice paper is so there is only layer of rice paper on the prawns once rolled up – makes the prawns more visible. Ie Pretty rolls.
Peanut Dipping Sauce for Rice Paper Rolls
This peanut sauce is everything!! This is a Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce. The 2 key ingredients are peanut butter and hoisin sauce which is thinned out with either milk or water (I prefer milk for colour. With water, the sauce is darker). Plus vinegar for a bit of tang (really needs it), garlic (it ain’t Asian if there’s no garlic in it!) and a touch of chilli if you want (which I love).
It’s different to Thai / Malaysian / Chinese style peanut sauces and I think you and this Vietnamese Peanut Sauce are going to be very good friends. 🙂
So…..what do you think? 🙂 Have I convinced you to try your hand at becoming a Rice Paper Roll Master?? – Nagi xx
PS There are a bunch of other filling ideas in the recipe notes. I’ve kept this fairly classic.
PPS Even if they are wonky, they still taste incredible!!!
Get your Vietnamese fix!
Lemongrass Chicken – one of my favourite things to grill!
Vietnamese Caramel Pork – another iconic Vietnamese food! Also see the Chicken version.
Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls – the super quick version of the above
And some other ways with fresh prawns
5 Prawn Dipping Sauces for a giant bucket of fresh prawns
Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls (this recipe)
Fresh peeled prawns alongside a Corn Salad with Avocado for a quick summer meal
Browse all Prawn / Shrimp Recipes
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls (Spring Rolls)
Ingredients
- 7 – 14 sheets of 22cm/8.5″ round rice paper (Note 1)
- 11 small cooked prawns/shrimp (about 12cm/5″ in length, unpeeled including the head)
- 50g / 1.5 oz dried vermicelli noodles
- 7 lettuce leaves – use a lettuce with soft leaves, like Oak or Butter Lettuce (Note 2)
- 14 mint leaves
- 1 cup bean sprouts
Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp peanut butter, preferably smooth (crunchy is ok too)
- 2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar (or lime juice)
- 1/3 cup milk (any fat %) (or water)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 tsp crushed chilli, samba oelak or other chilli paste, adjust to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Peanut Sauce: Combine the Peanut Dipping Sauce ingredients. Mix briefly (it won’t come together), then microwave for 30 seconds. Mix again until smooth. Set aside to cool. Adjust sour with vinegar, salt with salt and spiciness to taste. Thickness can be adjusted with milk or water once cooled.
- Place vermicelli noodles in a bowl and cover with warm water for 2 minutes, then drain (or follow packet instructions).
- Peel the prawns, slice in half lengthwise and devein (watch video).
- Remove the crunchy core of the lettuce leaves (watch video).
- Tip – LETTUCE BUNDLE (Note 4): Place some vermicelli noodles and bean sprouts in a lettuce leaf, then roll it up, finishing seam side down. Repeat.
- Fill a large bowl with warm water. The bowl doesn’t need to be large enough to fit the whole rice paper in one go.
- Place two rice papers together (if using 2). Note which side is the smooth side – this is supposed to be the outside of the spring roll. Submerge the rice papers into the water (both of them at the same time, together) for 2 seconds. If your bowl isn’t large enough to fit the whole rice paper in one go, that’s fine, just rotate it and count 2 seconds for each section you submerge into the water.
- Place both the rice papers (one on top of the other, they will stick together) on a board or the counter with the smooth side down.
- On the top part of the rice paper, place 3 prawns with a mint leaf in between, as per the photo below.
- Place the lettuce bundle with the seam side down onto the middle of the rice paper.
- Fold the left and right edges of the rice paper in, then starting from the bottom, roll up to cover the lettuce bundle. Then keep rolling firmly. The rice paper is sticky, it will seal itself.
- If you placed the ingredients on the rice paper as per the photo below, your rice paper rolls should look pretty with the prawn and mint leaves on the smooth side of the roll and the seam on the side or underside of the roll.
- Serve immediately with the peanut dipping sauce.
Recipe Notes:
* Julienned vegetables like carrots, cucumbers
* Alfalfa, watercress and other similar shaped vegetables
* Thinly sliced tofu
* Shredded chicken and other proteins
* Other herbs like coriander/cilantro, chives (this is classic Viet) 7. ORIGINAL PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE: As requested by a reader! The one provided in the recipe is more authentic and akin to what you get at Vietnamese restaurants here in Sydney. But here is the original one, FYI: ½ cup smooth peanut butter
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis, it’s thick like syrup)
2 small garlic cloves (or 1 large), minced
1 birds eye chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp lime juice
Water Mix together ingredients, using water to thin to a dippable consistency. 8. Nutrition per rice paper roll, no sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Originally posted in July 2014, updated with new words, an even better peanut dipping sauce, new photos and a video!
Life Of Dozer
“WHY is she setting fire to my food???!!!”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOZER!! I want to tell you that he had an extra special day….but honestly? It’s like every day is his birthday….
Hi Nagi. I’ve been chomping down on these lately as a tasty way to eat more fresh food.
For the protein I use lightly fried hoki fillet – scatter some salt, cracked pepper and a light dripping of ponzu whilst frying. Makes for a tasty addition.
Hi Nagi, thank you so much for sharing your Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls recipe. Made them today, and I can honestly say they are truly sensational. Your step by step photos and video really helped.Love your updates about Dozer.
Hi Nagi, you didn’t tell us what was in the storage container 🙂. Looks like a huge naked cake. I bet Doozer didn’t taste it.
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. I held a DIY party with this recipe and it was a KNOCK OUT! All the guests were waving about how fun to make them and how delicious they tasted. The DIY is actually a good way to do it as the rolls don’t store well. I give the credit to you, Nagi!
This is a great meal idea for hot summer days. I made this a couple of days ago for friends who were visiting and they loved the flavor and DIY aspect of it. My 6 year-old son also had fun making his own rolls. I offered julienned carrots, cucumbers, scallions and cilantro for fillings. Also made Nagi’s Vermicelli noodle salad and Galbi Korean BBQ (used chicken thighs) to go with. It was a delicious and healthy feast with very little work involved. Thank you for sharing these wonderful recipes, Nagi.
This peanut sauce recipe for summer rolls is authentic! My Vietnamese step grandma taught me how to make it when I was younger and it’s the same ingredients minus vinegar. She would add a bit of sugar once in a while and warmed her sauce on the stovetop gently sizzling the garlic in a little bit of oil until it was golden before adding the rest of the ingredients. We would alway use about a quarter- half a bottle of hoisin sauce because it was the best for dipping and needed to be sure we had more than enough to serve our family. Thanks for posting!
I love spring rolls. However I wanted to know how you cook the shrimp? Is anyone seasoning added or are they steamed or pan cooked? I didn’t see anything mentioning how the shrimp is cooked unless I missed it. Thank you!
Hi Maricruz, I buy them already cooked. You can always cook yourself though, just blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes then remove and cool. N x
Hi Nagi, do you buy them cooked frozen or unfrozen?
I made these for the first time tonight… I didn’t have prawns, so I went for cooked chicken tenderloin sliced in half, with vermicelli, carrot, mint, coriander and Thai basil… They were incredible..!
Hi Nagi, instead of the chilli paste could you use sriracha sauce. looking forward to trying these.
Yes 100% Tony – just adjust to taste 🙂 N x
Second time I’ve made these (single wrap) and they’re really good. I didn’t use bean sprouts either time – first time I added matchstick red bell pepper (capsicum) and second time used shredded daikon and carrot. Very versatile. Sauce is amazing.
Me and My family just love this recepie, thankyou so much
I made the spring rolls and they came out amazing… I have one issue after I rolled them I put each one onto a plate. When I went to then eat them after I made five they all stuck to the plate ripping the outer shell. Which made my beautiful work fall apart. Please do you have a suggestion for this dilemma!
parchment paper a few drops sesame oil or grape seed oil spread it over paper
A damp tea towel over the plate works great to prevent sticking. Also, I like to wrap each roll in a lettuce leaf, prevents them from sticking to the plate and each other.
This is the first recipe that brought me to your website, last year. Super, super helpful tips and so delicious. I’ve counted up that I’ve now cooked 47 of your recipes. Amazing, well-tested recipe writing! You’re my go-to unless it’s for Japanese food, then I go to your Mum’s site. ❤️❤️❤️ -Sara in UK
Love this recipe!
In Vietnamese restaurants they often have rice paper rolls with pork in them. Do you know how this is made? Is it just boiled pork?
Would like to know as well 🤔
Can I use the peanut sauce from ur satay chicken skewers with these instead?
Hi Nagi, instead of using hoisin in the dipping sauce could I use oyster sauce?
Annie xx
Authentic spring roll sauce has hoisin in it! So I would highly suggest hoisin
These are so good. And that dipping sauce, I could eat it by the spoon full.
I think I’ve finally got the hang of rolling rice paper rolls. Thanks for the lettuce tip.
My eyes went big when I saw your Vietnamese Rice Paper rolls , Hmmmm yummmyyyyy, I need the Recipe please !!! 😊😋🥰😍😎
What kind of sauce would you recommend to eat with these for someone with a peanut allergy?
Hi Tanner, how about a sweet chilli (a lot of shops here serve theirs with a tub of sweet chilli sauce) or soy, soy with a splash of black vinegar and chilli is great too! N x
Vietnamese dipping sauce with the fish sauce.
I love the Vietnamese dipping sauce. Found in Woolworths and Coles
Will the rolls stale if i put it in normal temperature? Because i want to eat it next day
Hi Syaza, store these in the fridge to keep them fresh. N x
Hi Syaza, store these in the fridge to keep them fresh 🙂 N x