Vietnamese Summer Rolls

By Mark Bittman

Vietnamese Summer Rolls
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(739)
Comments
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If you have ever considered making a Vietnamese summer roll, you may have been intimidated by the process. But these delicious rolls are not at all difficult. I learned my summer roll technique from a native of France. I learned three things: Rice paper is very forgiving; don’t overstuff; and the more you make, the easier it gets. The rolls include rice vermicelli, lettuce, shredded carrots, a variety of herbs (the best combination is basil, mint and cilantro), and pork or shrimp or both. I would consider only the herbs truly sacred, but substitutions would work elsewhere: hard-cooked egg or tofu for the pork or shrimp, shredded daikon or anything else crunchy for the carrots, chopped greens for the lettuce, any pasta for the noodles.

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; Cool and Collected

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Ingredients

Yield:16 rolls
  • 166-inch rounds rice paper
  • 8leaves lettuce, washed, dried and torn or chopped
  • 2cups cooked rice vermicelli, rinsed and drained
  • 1cup shredded peeled carrots
  • ½cup fresh mint leaves
  • ½cup fresh Thai basil leaves
  • ½cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 32slices cooked pork or 32 poached or grilled shrimp, split lengthwise in half, or use half pork and half shrimp
  • ½cup fish sauce
  • 1tablespoon sugar, or to taste
  • 1tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
  • 1teaspoon Vietnamese chili-garlic paste, or to taste, or chopped fresh chilies to taste
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Lime wedges
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

367 calories; 8 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 861 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Dip a sheet of rice paper a third of the way into a bowl of hot water for about 2 seconds. Turn it and dip remaining section, then lay on a damp towel.

  2. Step 2

    Working on bottom third of rice paper, spread a bit of lettuce, noodles, carrots, herbs and pork and/or shrimp. Fold up bottom edge to cover, then fold in the sides. Roll tightly. Continue with remaining ingredients.

  3. Step 3

    Combine fish sauce, sugar, ginger, chili-garlic paste and about ¼ cup water. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary.

  4. Step 4

    Serve rolls right away, or refrigerate, lightly covered, up to 2 hours. Cut each roll into 2 or 3 pieces, then serve with dipping sauce and lime wedges.

Ratings

4 out of 5
739 user ratings
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Comments

rerer

I have to ask..where is the chili peanut sauce?

Miz

I have found it difficult to roll the rolls tightly enough. So, after rolling them, I wrap each in a sheet of saran wrap and roll them tightly. I refrigerate for several hours, then, when ready to eat, unroll--they’re nice and tight--and cut in half. It works beautifully.

Marie R

Sarah's Sauce

1 tbs fish sauce
3 tbd lime juice
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs sugar
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 tbs fresh mint
1 tbs cilantro

Sarah dips sheets in lukewarm water & puts them on wet towel on plate to roll and then on serving dish covered with a wet towel

marisa

PSA "two cups of rice vermicelli" is two cups cooked which is radically different from two cups dry. also "eight leaves of lettuce" is way too much if the leaves are big.

Jen

This is a great and easy recipe! I have always been nervous about making spring rolls but these were astonishingly easy. I would halved the fish sauce and added some lime and scallions to the dipping sauce - I also got some hoisin for dipping as the toddler wasn't up for the one in the recipe. I bought some ready made carnitas (without spice) to put in the rolls as I didn't want to cook pork in a heatwave - but will definitely make these again when I have leftover pork or chicken.

Joe Allen

We love V. food, but I am gonna make these with some nice sea scallops that I will sear and then chunk up, instead of shrimp. Genius!

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