Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Vegan)

What to expect from this recipe?

What are traditional Vietnamese spring rolls (gỏi cuốn) recipe? It is hard to say since there are many regional variations to prepare them. What they usually have in common is that they feature vermicelli noodles (bún), julienne vegetables, sometimes sprouts and shrimp, pork or tofu. They are also served cold or at room temperature, just wrapped in softened rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng) without cooking.

So what can you expect from our recipe? The fresh vegetables bring a crunchy texture, while the vermicelli noodles and the rice paper wrappers complement them with their soft and chewy character.

Since we didn’t want to use pork belly or prawns, we added shredded pearl oyster mushrooms. 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 a perfect the ingredient to make such a unique vegan summer rolls.

Ingredients

To make these vegan Vietnamese spring 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.
• 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.
• Rice vermicelli noodles → They are thin noodles made of 100% rice flour. You can also use bean thread noodles or glass noodles as well.
• Julienne carrots
• Shredded lettuce → Romain lettuce or iceberg lettuce.
• Sprouts → We used radish sprouts for their lovely purple color. Many recipes use shredded purple cabbage, which is a good alternative.
• Fresh basil and mint leaves → We recommend using Thai basil. Since it is not commonly available, we opted for 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.

Instructions

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 julienne 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.

Baking the mushrooms

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.

1. 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.
2. Take a small bowl and mix the marinade (olive oil, soy sauce (or tamari), freshly squeezed lemon juice, ground Thai basil, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika powder, hot chili powder, salt, and black pepper).
3. Place parchment paper in a baking tray and spread the marinated oyster mushroom shreds in one layer.
4. Bake them in a preheated oven at 425 Fahrenheit (ca. 218 °C) for 40 minutes, or until crispy. Check it after 20 minutes, as 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.

How to roll summer rolls?

If you haven’t worked with rice paper wrappers, read our guide or at least the Cooking Tips section in this post.

1. To prepare for wrapping Vietnamese spring rolls, fill a large, shallow bowl with water. The bowl should be big enough to submerge the rice paper all at once. Arrange the fillings in individual bowls for easy access while wrapping.

5. Gently submerge the rice paper. (See our Cooking tips section on how long.)
6. Once submerged, transfer it to a dry and smooth surface. (I wipe my surface more or less dry after each roll.)
7. 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).

8. Fold the sides to the middle.

9. Fold the bottom part over the filling. Use your fingers to tuck it tightly. Then roll them up all the way.

Cooking tips

We have created an extensive guide on how to use rice paper wrappers, including distinctions between types, and their relevance to proper handling and rolling techniques. However, the 3 most important tips to know about are here below:

• Use dry hands → Dry your hand before grabbing another wrapper for the package. If you reach inside with wet hands, they will soften and be hard to separate.
• Damp towel or submerging in water? → If you see tapioca starch as the only or first ingredient, you should know it is the delicate type. A damp towel is enough to get them soft. If you see rice flour only or as a first ingredient, then you need to submerge it in water to get them soft.
• How to test how much time you need to submerge the rice papers? → The rice paper in the video is made of 100% rice flour. I submerge this type for 7-8 seconds. If unsure about yours, start with 3-4 seconds and place it on a dry surface. If it softens after 2-3 seconds, you are good to go.

Variations

• Add other vegetables: Any vegetables that are easy to shred (like cabbage), cut thin (like cucumber), or inherently soft (like mushrooms) are good ingredients to add to these Vietnamese spring rolls.
• Pork substitutes: We use TVP in place of pork floss in this Vietnamese rice paper pizza recipe.
• Shredded tofu: Add shredded Hoisin tofu in place of mushrooms. They already work perfectly in these Chinese rice paper spring rolls recipe.
• Use other wrappers: Did you know that there are 10 different things you can use as spring roll wrappers?

Serving ideas

There are a variety of spring roll dipping sauces you can also serve with fresh Vietnamese summer rolls. The most popular one is peanut sauce, but there are many delicious alternatives. We served them with a vegan Hoisin sauce on the pictures.

Equipment

• Rice paper water bowl – This is a neat little invention to make softening the rice paper wrappers easier. You can certainly use a large enough, shallow bowl, but they need more counter space than this compact product. You should consider it if you frequently use rice paper.
• Rice paper tray – It is also a good to have it toll if you make rice paper rolls often. The tray prevents sticking and allows excess liquid to drain through holes.

Storing tips

• Fridge: 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 a plastic 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.
• Freezer: We don’t recommend freezing it since it contains fresh ingredients. Vegetables may lose their texture completely. Fresh herbs may turn brown. Once I had to throw out a whole bag of fresh basil leaves for this exact same reason.