These fresh and flavorful Authentic Vietnamese spring rolls are made with shrimp, pork, and lots of fresh herbs and vegetables– they’re easy to assemble and taste so much better than the ones you find at restaurants. They’re light on the palate and make a perfect appetizer paired with Vietnamese shaking beef or grilled lemongrass pork!
If you’ve ever been to a Vietnamese restaurant, you’ll always find spring rolls on the menu. Goi cuon (meaning wrap) tom thit (shrimp and pork) is one of the most popular Vietnamese appetizers and for good reason. They’re absolutely delicious and a real crowd-pleaser, especially when served with nuoc mam cham or peanut dipping sauce.
When you make them at home, don’t skimp out on the filling, and make sure to use the freshest herbs and vegetables with plenty of shrimp and pork.
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Ingredients & notes
Pork – Pork belly is preferred as the extra fat delivers extra flavor, plus this cut of meat won’t dry out as much after cooking. If you prefer lower fat, use pork shoulder.
Shrimp – Use 20/30 size shrimp with the shell on, or larger. Bigger is better in this recipe.
Vermicelli – Thin Asian rice noodles can be found at most Asian markets.
Rice paper wrapper – There are a variety of rice paper wrappers out there, but I prefer the Three Ladies- Ba Co Gai brand. It’s thin yet sturdy, and does not rip easily.
Vegetables & herbs – Lettuce, cucumber and fresh herbs like mint in my opinion are required, but the others are up to you. Other vegetable options include bean sprouts and iceberg lettuce. Optional herbs include cilantro, Thai basil and garlic chives.
Instructions
1). Boil the pork in a pot of water with salt for 30-40 minutes. Use the same pot to boil the shrimp for 3 mins, rinse with cold water, peel and devein the shrimp.
2). Meanwhile, cook the vermicelli noodles, then drain and rinse with cold water to prevent them from sticking together.
3). Cut the shrimp in half lengthwise. When the pork is cool enough, slice into thin pieces. Set aside.
4). Fill a large bowl with warm water. Prep your station and set out the rest of your ingredients. Start by soaking the rice paper in a large bowl for a few seconds, then lay it on a cutting board. Layer the roll with shrimp, lettuce, pork, vermicelli, herbs and vegetables. Roll the ingredients tightly and set aside.
Serve with your choice of sauce, try my peanut sauce for spring rolls!
Pro Tips
- Don’t overload your spring roll with too many ingredients or it’ll be too hard to roll and will break open.
- Trim the lettuce, so that you will be using just the soft leaf part and not the harder stalk/rib section of the lettuce.
- Boil the shrimp with the shell on! Keeping the shell when cooking it will help prevent it from shrinking too much.
- When deveining shrimp, use water to help rinse the veins out easier.
- If you’re making the rolls ahead of time, to prevent the rice paper from drying out, wrap each roll individually with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Spring rolls are best served right away, but can keep overnight, individually wrapped with plastic wrap. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and microwave, for about 30 to 40 seconds, until just warmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vermicelli rice noodles. They come in various sizes, thin, medium and thick. I recommend using thin or medium sized noodles.
After soaking the rice paper and making your rolls, keep them separated and don’t stack them on top of each other. Or you can wrap them individually with plastic wrap to serve them later.
How do you eat Goi Cuon?
Serve with your sauce of choice, usually nuoc cham sauce or peanut sauce. Add sauce with each bite and enjoy!
More Vietnamese recipes to try
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Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon)
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork belly or pork shoulder for less fat option
- ½ pound shrimp with shell on preferrably 21/25 count size
- 1 head lettuce use the soft leaf part
- 12 rice paper wrapper
- 1-2 cucumbers, sliced lengthwise into matchsticks
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- bunch mint leaves
- 12 garlic chives optional
- bunch cilantro leaves optional
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water and cook the pork for 30-40 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through (depends on the thickness of the pork).
- Meanwhile cook the rice noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain well in a colander. Set aside.
- Wash and prep the vegetables and herbs. Set aside.
- When the pork is done cooking, take the pork out and place it on a plate, let it cool. Keep the water to cook the shrimp in.
- Cook shrimp for 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Cut the shrimp lengthwise and de-vein, using cold water to help wash the vein out easier.
- Prep your station. Fill a large bowl or shallow plate with warm water.
- Take one piece of rice paper and dip it into warm water for about 5 seconds. You may need to rotate the wrapper to evenly moisten it in the water. Place rice paper on a plate or cutting board.
- Add the shrimp, pork, cucumber, lettuce and herbs ⅓ from the bottom of the rice paper. Leaving about an inch of space on each side of the wrapper.
- Fold the bottom end of the rice paper over the filling. Fold the bottom end of the rice paper over the filling. Roll and tuck the filling in tightly until you complete the roll.
- Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
Notes
- Lettuce, cucumber and fresh herbs like mint in my opinion are required, but the others are up to you. Other options include bean sprouts, iceberg lettuce, cilantro, Thai basil and garlic chives.
- Don’t overload your spring roll with too many ingredients or it’ll be too hard to roll and will break open.
- Boil the shrimp with the shell on! Keeping the shell when cooking it will help prevent it from shrinking too much.
- Spring rolls are best served right away, but can keep overnight, individually wrapped with plastic wrap. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap and microwave, for about 30 to 40 seconds, until just warmed.