Vietnamese spring rolls (gỏi cuốn) also known as fresh summer rolls are a popular appetizer or snack which you can also easily prepare at home. Wrapping fresh julienned vegetables, fresh herbs like basil and mint, rice vermicelli noodles (bún) and crispy mushroom shreds with rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng) will make for a delicious treat. This recipe is suitable for vegans and vegetarians as well.
While this recipe traditionally calls for rice paper sheets, this recipe is not the only Asian-inspired recipe where we use them. Have you seen our fried Chinese spring rolls or our vegan hoisin duck dumplings? We are working on even more delicious rice paper recipes as we just love using this ingredient.
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What to expect from this recipe?
Is it a traditional Vietnamese spring rolls (gỏi cuốn) recipe? No, not quite. There are many regional variations to prepare these cold salad rolls. What they usually have in common is that they feature vermicelli noodles (bún), julienned vegetables, and sprouts. They are also served cold or at room temperature just wrapped in raw rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng).
Besides the above, most recipes also call for pork belly, pork sausages, shrimp, or other seafood like squid. For vegetarian or vegan versions tofu is the most common added protein.
In this recipe, however, we used crispy shredded pearl oyster mushrooms since they have a fantastic meaty texture that can mimic pork slices. It is allergy-friendly (as opposed to tofu), easy to prepare, and doesn’t have any mushroom taste. It is the perfect plant-based alternative.
Ingredients
To make these fresh Vietnamese summer rolls, you need only 8 main ingredients.
- Rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng) – We recommend using a rice paper sheet that is 100% made of rice flour. If the one you have contains tapioca or any other starch, you need to be more careful during rolling. Since they are thinner, it is easier to tear them. They are gluten-free as well.
- Oyster mushrooms + seasoning – You can use any type of oyster mushrooms, but in this recipe, we used pearl oysters. Here is a list of where to buy them or how to grow them at home.
- Rice vermicelli noodles – They are thin noodles made of 100% rice flour. You can also use bean thread noodles or glass noodles as well. These noodles should be gluten-free as well, but if you are wondering which noodles are gluten-free, we have written about that too.
- Julienned carrots
- Shredded lettuce – Romain lettuce or iceberg lettuce whichever you can find.
- Sprouts – We used radish sprouts just to have something purple as well. Many recipes use shredded purple cabbage which is a good alternative as well.
- Fresh basil and mint leaves – We recommend using Thai basil. Since it is not commonly available we added a bit of fresh mint next to Italian basil to get closer to the anise-like peppery flavor of Thai basil.
🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to make this recipe?
Making crispy oyster mushroom
While there are several ways to cook oyster mushrooms, baking is one of the easiest and mess-free options among them. Since they don’t grow in the dirt but on longs, preparing them is also very easy.
- Cut the end of the stem of pearl oyster mushrooms and tear the cap into small shreds with your hands. If the stem is soft enough you can shred them as well.
- Take a small bowl and mix the marinade (olive oil, soy sauce (or one of the gluten-free substitutes), freshly squeezed lemon juice, ground Thai basil, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika powder, hot chili powder, salt, and black pepper).
- Place a parchment paper in a sheet pan and spread the marinated oyster mushroom shreds in one layer.
- Bake them in a preheated oven at 425 Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius) for 40 minutes or until crispy. Check it after 20 minutes it may already be done if you shredded them thinner than ours in the picture! Baking time largely depends on the size of the strips.
Preparing the filling
- Wash, peel, and slice carrots thinly. Alternatively, you can shred them with a cheese grater, but they are crunchier if you cut them like matchsticks. If you need help with the cutting, check out our sauteed julienned carrot posts for more info.
- Tear off the lettuce leaves from the stem and wash them. Cut them thinly. If you have iceberg lettuce you can shred it instead of cutting it.
- Cook vermicelli noodles according to package instructions.
- Prepare mint, basil, and sprouts.
How to roll spring rolls?
You’ll see it is pretty easy to work with rice paper wrappers. There are only a couple of things you need to pay attention to. We will walk you through it step by step. You can also watch it in our short video.
If you want perfect results, be sure to check out our “Top tips on using rice papers” section right below the step photos!
- Let the baked oyster mushrooms cool before using them. We really don’t recommend starting while it is hot or too warm especially since you serve them cold.
- Pour water into a large shallow bowl. You should use a large enough bowl so you can submerge the rice paper in one go.
- Soft rice paper can get quite sticky so I recommend preparing a non-stick parchment paper nearby to place the finished spring rolls on.
- Place all fillings in small bowls so they are easy to grab.
So here is how to roll them:
- Gently submerge the rice paper. (See our top tips section on how to know the duration right below the step photos.)
- Once submerged, transfer it to a dry and smooth surface. (I wipe my surface more or less dry after each roll.)
- Place the filling in the middle around the lower third of the rice paper. We used a small rice paper with a diameter of 6 inches (approx. 16 cm).
- Fold the sides to the middle (photo #1).
- Fold the bottom part over the filling. Use your fingers to tuck it tightly. Then roll them up (photo #2).
Top tips on using rice paper
We have written a complete guide to rice paper wrappers where we share detailed information about how they are made, what is the difference between them and why is that difference important in terms of how to handle them, or how to roll them. However, the 3 most important tips to know about are here below:
- Use dry hands -> Always dry your hands before taking a rice paper from the package. Wet hands will activate them and they will stick together.
- Damp towel or submerging in water? -> The short answer is “it depends on the tapioca starch content of your rice paper”. You would think rice paper is just rice. But that is not always true. If you check your packaging you will see that there is tapioca starch. The ratio of tapioca dictates how you need to handle your rice paper. If you see tapioca starch only (it can happen) then a damp towel is enough to get them soft. If you see rice flour only (it can also happen), then you need to submerge it in water to get them soft. The larger the ratio of the tapioca (it means the thinner your rice paper) the less time you need to submerge it. In short, keep it shorter and double up if needed.
- How to test how much time you need to submerge the rice papers? -> The rice paper you see in the video is 100% rice flour. I submerge this type for 7-8 seconds. So how do I test if that is enough time? I submerge the rice paper and gently pet it with my hands in the water. I take it out while I still feel it hard. I usually start with 3-4 seconds. I place it on the surface I want to work on and wait for 2-3 seconds and gently pet it again and see whether it has become soft or not. If yes, I add the filling. If not, I submerge it again for 2-3 seconds.
What to serve with them?
There are a variety of Vietnamese dipping sauces you can serve these spring rolls with. The most popular one is peanut sauce, but there are many delicious alternatives. We served them with a vegan Hoisin sauce on the pictures. Other dips we recommend would be these:
- Yum Yum Sauce from Yum Vegan Lunch Ideas
- Easy Peanut Sauce from Veggie Inspired
- Sweet Chili Sauce from It’s Not Complicated
- Carrot Ginger Miso Sauce from Cook Eat Live Love
- Benihana Ginger Sauce from Recipes From A Pantry
- Sweet and Sour Sauce from My Sauce Recipes
FAQs and substitutions
What can you use instead of mushrooms?
We have a wonderful fried Chinese spring roll recipe, where we use crispy shredded hoisin tofu as the protein option. If you don’t want to use mushrooms of any type, you can use that tofu in this summer roll recipe as well.
What can you use instead of rice paper wrappers?
While rice paper wrappers are traditionally used in all Vietnamese spring roll recipes, we understand that not everyone likes them. For those, we listed here 10 alternative wraps for spring rolls to choose from. Let us know in the comments if you try any of them.
How to store it?
To be honest, these are not easy to store or keep for long. If you pack them up in an airtight container they will stick together. We recommend storing them on a plate wrapped in saran wrap. Depending on the filling, some raw veggies or fruits can turn brown as time goes by. Therefore, we do recommend not to store it for more than a day.
This Vietnamese Spring Rolls recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegan, vegetarian, nut-free, and gluten-free diets. It is not WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) since the recipe uses oil to make the oyster mushroom crispy.
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More rice paper recipes
If you are looking for more rice paper recipes, we have tons of delicious dishes you can try.
More Asian recipes
We have many delicious recipes inspired by Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cuisine. You will definitely find something that will fit your taste.
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Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Fresh Summer Rolls)
Ingredients
Spring roll filling
- 1 oz Glass noodles -> which noodles are gluten-fee?
- 1 cup Lettuce shredded
- 1 Carrot
- ½ cup Sprouts
- 10 Fresh basil leaves
- 10 Fresh mint leaves
Crispy osyter mushrooms
- 6 oz Oyster mushrooms
- 1 tsp Soy sauce -> 5 gluten-free soy sauce substitutes
- 2 + ½ Tbsp Olive oil
- ½ Tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 tsp Thai basil ground, dried (or use Italian basil + mint in combination)
- ¼ tsp Sweet smoked paprika powder
- ¼ tsp Hot chili powder or flakes
- ½ tsp Garlic powder
- ½ tsp Onion powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- Wash, peel, and slice carrots thinly. Alternatively, you can shred them with a cheese grater, but they are crunchier if you cut them like matchsticks. If you need help with the cutting, check out our sauteed julienned carrot posts for more info.
- Tear off the lettuce leaves from the stem and wash them. Cut them thinly. If you have iceberg lettuce you can shred it instead of cutting it.
- Cook vermicelli noodles according to package instructions.
- Wash sprouts if you bought them unwashed.
Baking crispy mushroom
- Cut the end of the stem of pearl oyster mushrooms and tear the cap into small shreds with your hands. If the stem is soft enough you can shred them as well.
- Take a small bowl and mix the marinade (olive oil, soy sauce (or one of the gluten-free substitutes), freshly squeezed lemon juice, ground Thai basil, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika powder, hot chili powder, salt, and black pepper).
- Place a parchment paper in a sheet pan or silicone use a baking mat and spread the marinated oyster mushroom shreds in one layer.
- Bake them in a preheated oven at 425 Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius) for 20-40 minutes or until crispy. Check it after 20 minutes it may already be done if you shredded them thinner than ours in the picture! Baking time largely depends on the size of the strips.
Rolling summer rolls
- Gently submerge the rice paper. (See NOTES on how to know the duration.)
- Once submerged, transfer it to a dry and smooth surface.
- I place the filling in the middle around the lower third of the rice paper. If you have a standard size rice paper (approx. 20-22 cm /8-9 inches), you can fit 2-3 Tbsp of filling, which would make an approx. 10 cm (4-inch) long spring roll.
- First fold the sides gently but tight towards the middle.
- Take the bottom seam and fold it upwards gently, but tight.
- Use your fingers to tuck the filling tight within the rice paper before rolling it all the way up.
- Roll it all the way up, but use your fingers to keep the filling tucked tightly.
- Place your finished spring roll on a parchment paper with the closing seam on the bottom.
Notes
- Use dry hands -> Always dry your hands before taking a rice paper from the package. Wet hands will activate them and they will stick together.
- Damp towel or submerging in water? -> The short answer is “it depends on the tapioca starch content of your rice paper”. You would think rice paper is just rice. But that is not always true. If you check your packaging you will see that there is tapioca starch. The ratio of tapioca dictates how you need to handle your rice paper. If you see tapioca starch only (it can happen) then a damp towel is enough to get them soft. If you see rice flour only (it can also happen), then you need to submerge it in water to get them soft. The larger the ratio of the tapioca (it means the thinner your rice paper) the less time you need to submerge it. In short, keep it shorter and double up if needed.
- How to test how much time you need to submerge the rice papers? -> The rice paper you see in the video is 100% rice flour. I submerge this type for 7-8 seconds. If you have rice paper with tapioca starch you might need less time. So how do I test it? I submerge the rice paper and gently pet it with my hands in the water. I take it out while I still feel it hard. I usually start with 3-4 seconds. I place it on the surface I want to work on and wait for 2-3 seconds and gently pet it again and see whether they have become soft or not. If yes, I add the filling. If not, I submerge it again for 2-3 seconds.
Deanna
What is the sauce in the pic?
My Pure Plants
It is hoisin sauce in the photo.