What Is Goi Cuon?

Goi cuon is a Vietnamese fresh spring roll made by wrapping cooked ingredients, fresh herbs, vegetables, and rice vermicelli inside softened rice paper. The rolls are served fresh at room temperature, with a soft and slightly chewy wrapper that carries the flavors of the fillings and dipping sauce.

The name describes the structure of the dish: gỏi refers to Vietnamese preparations that combine fresh ingredients, vegetables, and herbs, while cuốn means rolled or wrapped. English speakers usually pronounce gỏi cuốn close to “goy koon” ([ɣɔj˧˩ kuən˧˦]), although English spelling cannot fully represent Vietnamese tones.

Gỏi cuốn is commonly translated into English as Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, summer rolls, salad rolls, or rice paper rolls. These names describe the appearance of the dish, while the Vietnamese term identifies its cultural preparation style more precisely.

Unlike fried rolls such as chả giò, gỏi cuốn uses a softened rice paper wrapper without frying, creating a fresh contrast between herbs, vegetables, rice vermicelli, shrimp, pork, and dipping sauce.

Regional naming also varies. Southern Vietnam commonly uses gỏi cuốn, while Northern Vietnam often uses nem cuốn. The dish belongs to the wider Vietnamese cuốn family, which includes foods wrapped in rice sheets or leaves.

What Is The Difference Between Goi Cuon And Cha Gio?

The main difference between goi cuon and cha gio is how the wrapper is prepared: goi cuon uses softened rice paper assembled fresh, while cha gio uses a wrapper that is deep-fried until crisp.

Both dishes can share ingredients such as pork, shrimp, noodles, and herbs, but they create different eating experiences. Goi cuon focuses on freshness, soft textures, and herb balance, while cha gio focuses on frying, browning, and crispness.

Why You'll Love Goi Cuon?

You’ll love this goi cuon recipe because it delivers a fresh, customizable meal with no frying and a simple rolling process that anyone can learn.

• Fresh and balanced. Each roll combines protein, vegetables, rice vermicelli, and herbs without deep frying, creating a light texture with layers of flavor.
• Perfect for sharing. The ingredients are prepared separately and placed on the table, allowing everyone to build and roll their own fresh spring rolls.
• Easy to customize. Adjust the protein, vegetables, and herbs based on availability while keeping the same simple wrapping method.
• Simple to master at home. The first few rolls may take practice, but the folding technique becomes easier as the repeated motion becomes familiar.

Goi Cuon Ingredients

This goi cuon comes together from four component groups: the pork and shrimp, the noodles and wrappers, the vegetables and herbs, and the peanut dipping sauce.

Pork and Shrimp

• 1.3 lb (600 g) pork belly (thịt ba rọi), skinless and boneless. Pork belly gives each roll both lean meat and fat, which tastes better here than a lean cut does.
• 1.5 lb (700 g) shrimp, shell on. Shrimp gets split in half lengthwise so it lies flat in the roll instead of pushing against the wrapper. Medium shrimp around size 31/35 makes wrapping easiest, and keep in mind that shrimp shrinks a little as it cooks.
• 1 shallot, sliced. Shallot goes into the pork water and gives the boiled meat a background sweetness.
• 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar, for the pork water. Salt and sugar season the pork from the outside in while it boils, so the meat tastes finished on its own.

Noodles and Wrappers

• Rice paper (bánh tráng), the thicker kind sold for fresh rolls. This type of rice paper holds together while you roll instead of splitting, and round or square sheets both work. Look for sheets labeled bánh tráng rather than the thinner tapioca sheets, which are more delicate and tear more easily. American rice paper usually has tapioca flour added for strength, so it handles more easily than the pure rice-flour sheets sold in Vietnam. You will find several brands side by side at any Asian grocery store.
• Fresh rice vermicelli (bún). Rice vermicelli fills out the roll and softens the bite between the meat and the herbs. Thin noodles are the easiest to arrange inside a roll.

Vegetables and Herbs

The greens here are not garnish; they are half the roll, and the quantities are loose enough that you can go by eye.

• Leaf lettuce and a mix of fresh herbs. Leaf lettuce and herbs go in first and give the roll its cool, fresh half, with the exact mix a matter of preference. Mint is the standard, and cilantro and Thai basil are common additions.
• Garlic chives (lá hẹ), trimmed. Garlic chives are the one herb that stays whole and sticks out of the finished roll, and this recipe treats them as essential.
• Bean sprouts. Bean sprouts add a raw crunch against the soft noodles and go in with the herbs.

Peanut Dipping Sauce (Tương Xào)

The sauce decides whether the dish works, and a homemade one beats the jarred kind by a wide margin.

• ⅔ cup fermented soybean paste (tương hột), blended smooth. Fermented soybean paste is the base of this sauce and gives it the savory depth that peanut butter alone cannot. Look for one that isn't too salty and isn't too dark in color. You will find it in the sauce aisle of an Asian grocery store, and there is a swap in the substitutions section if your store doesn't stock it.
• ½ cup hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce brings the sweetness and the dark color that make this a dipping sauce rather than a paste. Jarred hoisin tends to be less sweet than bottled, which keeps the finished sauce from turning cloying.
• 2 tbsp peanut butter. Peanut butter thickens the sauce and carries the roasted flavor, and both chunky and smooth work.
• ⅔ cup water. Water thins the sauce to a dipping consistency, and it will thicken again as it cools.
• 2 tbsp sugar. Sugar balances the salt in the soybean paste, and the amount is worth adjusting to taste.
• 1 tbsp cooking oil and 1 tbsp minced shallot. Oil and shallot start the sauce, and frying the shallot until golden is what gives the finished sauce its aroma.

For the sauce bowls, set out roasted peanuts, fried shallots, minced chili, and a little pickled vegetable (đồ chua) to spoon over the top.

How to Make Goi Cuon Step by Step?

Making goi cuon takes about 1 hour 30 minutes, including 30–40 minutes of cooking the pork and preparing the fillings, followed by assembly. The process has seven steps: cooking the pork and shrimp, preparing the fillings, making the dipping sauce, and rolling the fresh spring rolls.

Step 1: Boil the Pork

Wash the pork belly with salt and diluted vinegar, then put it in a pot with water, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 sliced shallot. Boil it over medium heat, turning the pork now and then so it cooks evenly.

Give it 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how thick your piece is. The pork is done when a skewer pushed into the thickest part draws no pink liquid, which is the same check as an instant-read thermometer reading 145°F (63°C). 

Step 2: Ice-Bath the Pork

Transfer the cooked pork directly into a bowl of iced water.

The cold water helps firm the meat, keeps the surface from darkening, and makes the pork easier to slice cleanly later. Leave it in the ice bath while preparing the shrimp.

Step 3: Devein and Cook the Shrimp

Remove the vein from the shrimp, then rinse and drain them well. Frozen shrimp should be fully thawed before cleaning and cooking.

Cook the shrimp in the same pork broth immediately after removing the pork. The seasoned cooking liquid gives the shrimp additional flavor without requiring a separate marinade.

Cook for 4–5 minutes until the shrimp become opaque and firm, then transfer them to the same ice bath to maintain a fresh, slightly firm texture.

Step 4: Slice the Pork and Shrimp

Peel the cooled shrimp and cut each one lengthwise into two flat halves. Halved shrimp sit more evenly inside the roll and reduce pressure on the softened rice paper.

Drain the pork and slice it into even pieces across the grain. Cooling the pork first creates cleaner slices and helps each piece fit neatly inside the wrapper.

Step 5: Prepare the Noodles and Vegetables

Arrange the fresh rice vermicelli loosely on a plate so it is easier to portion during rolling.

Wash the lettuce, herbs, and bean sprouts, then drain them thoroughly. Excess water on the vegetables can weaken the rice paper and make the rolls harder to handle.

Trim the garlic chives to a length that allows them to extend slightly beyond the finished roll, which is a common presentation style for Vietnamese fresh spring rolls.

Step 6: Make the Peanut Dipping Sauce

Blend ⅔ cup fermented soybean paste until smooth. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot and fry 1 tbsp minced shallot until fragrant.

Add the blended paste, ½ cup hoisin sauce, 2 tbsp peanut butter, ⅔ cup water, and 2 tbsp sugar. Stir until combined and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.

The finished sauce should be savory, lightly sweet, and rich from the peanut butter. It thickens naturally as it cools, so avoid reducing it further. Adjust the sweetness based on your preference.

Step 7: Roll the Goi Cuon

Place a rice paper sheet on a clean surface and soften it with a quick pass through warm water or by wiping it with a damp cloth. Avoid soaking the wrapper because excess water makes it difficult to control during rolling.

Layer the filling in order: lettuce first, followed by herbs, bean sprouts, and rice vermicelli. Place 2 slices of pork on top, then arrange 3 shrimp halves in a row with the cut side facing up.

This arrangement follows the Vietnamese rolling technique of placing visible ingredients near the outer side of the wrapper, creating a neat appearance when the roll is finished.

Fold the sides inward, roll forward tightly but gently, then place a garlic chive across the filling before completing the roll. Leave about 4–5 cm (2 inches) of chives extending from one end.

Cover finished rolls with a damp cloth while working to prevent the rice paper surface from drying out. This recipe makes approximately 20 rolls.

How to Assemble and Serve Goi Cuon?

Goi cuon is served as a build-your-own platter, with each ingredient arranged separately so everyone can roll their own fresh spring rolls at the table. The rolling process is part of the meal experience, although pre-rolled rolls can also be prepared when serving guests.

Set out the components separately:

• Rice paper wrappers, with a shallow bowl of warm water for softening.
• Lettuce, fresh herbs, and vegetables.
• Rice vermicelli, sliced pork, shrimp, and garlic chives.
• Dipping sauce, served in individual bowls.

Soften one wrapper at a time, add the fillings, and roll while the remaining wrappers stay dry. Cut longer rolls diagonally in half before serving if they are easier to handle.

Goi cuon is traditionally eaten by hand and dipped generously into sauce. Each person can adjust the amount of herbs, noodles, fillings, and sauce based on personal preference.

Some households serve goi cuon with peanut dipping sauce, while others prefer nước chấm made with fish sauce, lime, sugar, garlic, and chili. CHIN-SU fish sauce can be used as the base for a traditional Vietnamese dipping sauce.

Tips for the Best Goi Cuon

These five techniques make the biggest difference between neat, flexible goi cuon and rolls that tear during assembly.

• Do not over-wet the wrapper. Rice paper continues softening after leaving the water or damp cloth, so it should still feel slightly firm when the filling is added. A wrapper that becomes too soft is more likely to tear or stick.
• Prepare the rolling station before softening the first wrapper. Have the pork, shrimp, noodles, herbs, vegetables, and sauce ready before rolling begins. A softened wrapper left waiting becomes sticky and difficult to handle.
• Keep the ingredients dry. Drain the rice vermicelli, vegetables, herbs, and shrimp well before assembling. Excess water inside the roll weakens the wrapper and affects its texture.
• Do not overfill the rolls. Keep about 1–1.5 inches (2.5–4 cm) of empty space on each side and arrange the filling into a neat line. Overfilled rolls are harder to tighten and more likely to split.
• Keep finished rolls separate. Rice paper becomes naturally sticky after rolling, so place finished rolls apart or cover them with a damp cloth while working to prevent the wrappers from sticking together.

What Can You Substitute or Change in Goi Cuon?

These substitutions help you adapt goi cuon ingredients based on availability while keeping the balance between soft wrappers, fresh vegetables, protein, and dipping sauce.

• Fermented soybean paste (tương hột) in peanut sauce can be replaced with more hoisin sauce and peanut butter. The sauce will still work, but it will taste sweeter and less complex because fermented soybean paste provides a deeper savory flavor.
• Pork belly (thịt ba rọi) can be replaced with pork shoulder. Pork shoulder creates a leaner roll with less richness while maintaining a tender texture. Grilled pork can also be used for a different smoky flavor.
• Rice vermicelli (bún) can be replaced with bánh hỏi or other thin rice noodles. Bánh hỏi creates a lighter, less sticky texture and can be easier to portion inside the roll.
• Shrimp can be replaced with cooked chicken, sliced pork, seared tofu, or mushrooms. These alternatives change the sweetness and flavor of the roll, but the wrapping method remains the same.
• Garlic chives (lá hẹ) can be replaced with regular chives, sliced scallions, or omitted. The roll will lose some of the mild garlic aroma and visual contrast, but the structure remains unchanged.
• Peanut dipping sauce can be replaced with nước chấm. Fish sauce-based dipping sauce creates a lighter, sharper flavor compared with the richer peanut-based sauce.

How to Store and Hold Goi Cuon?

Goi cuon is best enjoyed shortly after rolling because the rice paper wrapper gradually changes texture as it absorbs moisture from the fillings. For preparation ahead, cook and prepare the fillings separately, then assemble the rolls close to serving time to maintain the soft wrapper and fresh ingredients.

Finished rolls can be held for a short period at room temperature when covered and arranged with space between each roll. Avoid stacking them directly because rice paper becomes sticky and can tear when separated. If storing multiple rolls temporarily, place parchment paper or plastic wrap between layers and cover them with a damp cloth or plastic wrap to prevent the wrappers from drying out.

Cooked shrimp, pork, noodles, herbs, and vegetables can be prepared in advance and refrigerated separately. Rolling the goi cuon shortly before serving provides the best balance between a soft wrapper, fresh fillings, and clean texture.

Peanut dipping sauce can be stored separately in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Stir the sauce before serving because the ingredients may separate during storage.

Are you rolling these for the first time, or is this the goi cuon your family has always bought by the tray? Let us know in the comments, along with any questions, tweaks, or results. If the recipe worked out for you, a quick star rating really helps other home cooks find it. Share a photo of your platter on social media with #CHINSU, since we love seeing every one of them. And if you want to put a bowl of nước chấm next to the peanut sauce, grab a bottle of CHIN-SU fish sauce at chinsu.com and give it a try.