Vegetarian rice paper rolls

Rice paper rolls recipe

Goi cuon, which translates to ‘salad roll’ in Vietnamese, is the traditional name for rice paper rolls. The fresh, colourful rolls are perfect examples of what Vietnamese food is famous for: simple, in-season ingredients put together to bring out big flavours. One of the main ingredients in a typical rice paper roll is vermicelli rice noodles, which are blanched rather than cooked. And whether you go for prawns, chicken or beef for the protein, fresh veggies are also included in the mix – from carrots and cucumber to cabbage and radish – as well as herbs like mint and coriander. These rice paper roll fillings are wrapped in rice paper sheets that have been dipped in water to soften. There’s also the essential rice paper roll dipping sauce: a tasty peanut sauce that perfectly compliments the fresh flavours of the rice paper rolls.

Ingredients for Vietnamese rice paper rolls

This rice paper roll recipe makes 30, which makes it ideal to serve at your next picnic or get-together. You’ll need 50g of vermicelli rice noodles and 30 small rice paper sheets. The remainder of the fillings for the vegetarian rice paper rolls include 4 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced, 1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into matchsticks, 1 carrot that’s peeled and also cut into matchsticks and ½ a sliced avocado. The main protein for these easy rice paper rolls is a 200g pack of honey soy tofu that’s thinly sliced. The herbs include ½ cup of mint leaves and ½ cup of coriander leaves. To make filling and rolling the rice paper rolls a breeze, make sure the fillings are sliced and chopped to roughly around the same size.

How to make rice paper rolls

Rice paper rolls recipes are super easy to follow. Have all your fillings in small bowls so it’s easy to pick them up as you roll along. Start with preparing the noodles first. Place them in a small heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 2 minutes to soften then drain well. Coarsely chop with kitchen scissors.

Then fill a shallow dish with warm water and dip 1 rice paper sheet in water. Drain and place on a clean board. It will continue to soften on standing so don’t worry too much if it’s not super soft when you remove it from the water.

Next: how to roll rice paper rolls. Arrange a little of the noodles, radish, cucumber, carrot, avocado, cabbage, tofu, mint and coriander along the bottom third of the rice paper sheet. Fold the edge of the rice paper sheet over the filling. Fold in the sides, then roll up to enclose. Transfer to a serving plate and repeat with the remaining rice paper sheets, noodles and filling.

When it comes to a dipping sauce for rice paper rolls, you can use sweet chilli sauce or a peanut sauce, which is super easy to make. See for yourself in this prawn and herb rolls with peanut sauce recipe.

Now get cooking

There are plenty more rice paper roll ideas, like these lunchbox-friendly chicken rice paper rolls. Give weeknights a fresh, colourful touch with these ham and kaleslaw rice paper rolls. Hungry for more tasty Vietnamese-style recipes? Start with this Vietnamese spring roll salad. Warm up with this quick and easy Vietnamese-style chicken noodle soup – a tasty twist on pho.