Vietnamese summer rolls are one of my favorite appetizers or main courses (just make an extra one or two if it’s your primary meal). They are relatively simple to make, healthy, and delicious. Although Vietnamese summer rolls require almost no cooking, restaurants can charge you upwards of $8+ for two small rolls. Once you get the hang of making them, you’ll wonder why you ever paid for them.

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Main ingredients in Vietnamese Summer Rolls

No matter what else you put in your summer roll, you need to have two main ingredients: rice paper and vermicelli noodles. Both of these you can find in any specialty Asian grocery store or in most Asian sections of grocery stores. You can also find them online. Amazon has both authentic Banh Trang spring roll rice paper as well as authentic vermicelli.

The other ingredients you need? This is where you can get creative. For vegetables, my favorites are:

Lettuce – use something crunchy like iceberg and tear into small pieces
Carrots – julienne into thin strips
Basil, mint, or cilantro – these herbs brings a freshness to the dish. I highly recommend at least one or two of your favorites.
Spring onion – optional but if you have available they can add some additional freshness
Beansprouts – optional but if you have available they give us a nice crunch
Cucumber – optional if you’d like to add more vegetables
Red pepper – optional if you’d like to add more vegetables

For protein, nothing is off limits. I usually choose one or two proteins per a roll.

Shrimp – my favorite, use smaller shrimps or cut in half
Pork – small strips
Tofu – great vegetarian option, I would air fry or bake first
Chicken – small strips

Basic Tools Needed to make Summer Rolls

The best part of making Vietnamese summer rolls is how little cooking is involved. The only ingredient you actually have to cook is the vermicelli noodles, which are boiled per the directions on the bag. Just drop them in a 3qt pot and you are good to go.

It’s not necessary, but having a large bowl to dip the rice paper in makes compiling summer rolls much easier. A fairly large mixing bowl like this 5qt mixing bowl would be my preference over having to continuously turn on and off your faucet to wet the rice paper.

Lastly, all you need is a cutting board to roll all the ingredients together, and you’re all set.

Interested in another authentic Asian dish? Try this recipe for Thai Green Curry with Chicken.

Tips for Cooking and Eating Summer Rolls

The hardest part of making Vietnamese summer rolls is rolling the rice paper around the filling, so make sure you have all of the ingredients laid out. Another tip is quickly dipping the rice paper in lukewarm water – no need to saturate it, it will get flexible quickly. Also, try to keep the cutting board slightly damp to avoid the rice paper sticking. The more frequently you put together the rolls the easier it’ll get.

One other tip when making Vietnamese summer rolls is not to skimp on the sauce. These rolls were made for dipping. In the notes section of the recipe are too fantastic sauces, one that is salty (fish based sauce) and the other that is sweet (hoisin based sauce).

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