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….
In the middle of prepping your Viet rice paper rolls.
Peanut sauce is scrum diddly.
I swapped out Sambal oulek for my home made Sambal bajak. Basically onion & chilli caramelised reduction. Will swap out bean sprouts for sliced sugar snap peas from the garden. Keep it up Nagi, you make it all so deliciously easy.
Haven’t had a dud yet!
Hello!! What kind of peanut butter do you use? Which one do you recommend? Thank you!
As I can’t eat seafood what else can I use.
It looks delicious!
What a beautiful recipe and dish.
I agree
Help! What am I doing wrong with the dipping sauce? I added all the ingredients but it is like the vinegar curdled the milk almost immediately and before I could get it to the microwave. I persisted and kept stirring after it had been in the microwave but I had what looked like curdled milk pieces floating around – not smooth like it is pictured. Any suggestions?
The milk or water is added at the very end when all the peanut sauce ingredients are incorporated. Milk or water is used to adjust the thickness of the sauce.
Another great recipe .When making the dipping sauce we sauté the garlic a bit then add 1 Tbs. tomato paste cooking till it gets a little darker then add the remaining items. This adds another dimension to the sauce making it a bit more complex. Enjoy.
wdr
as usual amazing
Hi Nagi. Made this for the 2nd time, for a “nibbles” evening with my neighbours. I wasn’t going to let rolling these morsels beat me!!!! I have to say they came out a lot better. The peanut sauce is to die for and so quick and easy to make. I also added a glug of lemon oil to the vermicelli and it took, the flavour up a notch. I purchased the mini rice paper. Had to hold them under water for 45secs to soften.. They were def a Vietnamese product. Yum yum all round.
Made tonight and oh my days, yum! Best bit? Super quick and easy. Not a huge mint fan so went corriander. As usual, thanks Nagi.
Your recipes never fail !
Thanks as always for the step by step instructions and short videos . Rolled these babies like a pro . Can’t believe how good they looked and so tasty !
I am loving your recipes. Almost mastered the lemongrass chicken. So good. Next is the wraps with peanut sauce….looks so good!
Thanks very much!
The video is so good and my rolls looked nicer than many restaurants because of the video. My husband and I felt that the peanut sauce was better the next day so in the future, we will make it in advance. Easy, fresh and delicious. Thanks again Nagi. Hugs to Dozer.
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..!