A Vietnamese delicacy you definitely should not miss – Goi Cuon (summer rolls). Check out where to eat Goi Cuon in Ho Chi Minh City at the end!
Names of Goi Cuon in Ho Chi Minh City
Goi Cuon is the Vietnamese name of the dish. It’s internationally known by the name “summer rolls”, or “fresh spring rolls”.
The difference between “spring rolls” and “fresh spring rolls” (summer rolls) is that spring rolls are fried, and their fillings include chopped meat, chopped wood ear mushrooms, among others whereas summer rolls are served fresh with fillings of cooked, sliced pork, shrimp, rice vermicelli and herbs.
Spring rolls (left) and summer rolls (right) are both famous, and very different.
Ingredients of Goi Cuon in Ho Chi Minh City
A Goi Cuon roll is exemplary for Vietnamese food culture because it is a healthy combination of all the essential macronutrients for our body: carb from rice paper and rice vermicelli, protein from pork and shrimp, fat from pork fat, and fiber from lettuce and other greens in the roll.
Steps to make Goi Cuon are straightforward:
- First, carefully wash and prepare the greens: lettuce, Thai basil, peppermint, Chinese chives (“he”), fish mint or heartleaf (“diep ca”), Vietnamese perilla (“tia to”), along with fresh julienned cucumber (optional).
- Second, boil the pork and the shrimps (other methods are fine as long as they are cooked); slice pork and cut shrimps in half.
- Third, roll: slightly wet the rice paper, place toppings in order lettuce and herbs – rice vermicelli – pork and shrimp. Roll them all beautifully.
Proteins of summer rolls: Pork and Shrimp& Lettuce and herbs in fresh spring rolls
Time to roll!
- Lastly, make the dipping sauce!
3 popular types of dipping sauce go with summer rolls: (The first two are more popular in the south than in the north)
- Tuong den: thick soy sauce (or soy jam, soy paste) tasted with sugar, boiled water (the water from boiling pork), peanut butter. Sprinkle peanuts on top.
- Mam nem: fermented fish sauce (different from fish sauce, also known as southern fish sauce) tasted with sugar, lime juice, and chopped garlic. Add chili for a spicy taste.
- Nuoc mam chua ngot: regular fish sauce tasted in the same way with “Mam nem” above. Sprinkle peanuts on top.
Mam nem (fermented fish sauce)
Tuong den (thick soy sauce) – first one on left
Varieties of Goi Cuon in Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnamese create various Goi Cuon varieties by changing the protein source
- Regular Goi Cuon: pork and shrimp
- Goi Cuon Tai Heo: boiled, sliced pork ear fillings
- Goi Cuon Chay: vegan summer rolls
- Goi Cuon Bo Bia (or Bo Bia for short): Chinese sausage, carrots, and fried egg fillings
Where to eat Goi Cuon in Ho Chi Minh City
Local markets
Where to eat summer rolls in Ho Chi Minh City? – The local markets! They are cheap, they are fresh, you can go on eating forever! In big and most popular local markets in Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll surely find some good summer rolls. Here’s the list of markets we’ve reviewed in detail in our blog:
Goi Cuon restaurants
Below are popular Goi Cuon places among locals in Ho Chi Minh City, offering many Goi Cuon varieties at reasonable prices (about VND 7,000, or USD 0.3 per roll).
- 359/1/9A Le Van Sy, District 3. Open 2 PM to 6 PM
- Goi Cuon Tom Nhay – 424 Lac Long Quan, Ward 5, District 11. Open 11 AM – 9 PM
- Goi Cuon Hanh – 420A Hoa Hao, District 10. Open 10 AM – 6 PM
- Goi Cuon Bi Cuon Bo Bia – 69 Tran Van Dang, District 3. Open 11 AM – 10 PM
- 57 Tran Khac Chan, District 1. Open 12 PM – 6 PM
- Goi Cuon Co Hong – T2 Nguyen Huu Hao, District 4. Open 2 PM – 6 PM
Homestyle eating of Goi Cuon. Some Goi Cuon restaurants also serve this way.
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Summary of Goi Cuon in Ho Chi Minh City
Treat yourself to the ultimate yumminess of Vietnamese summer rolls. It’s super to easy to find summer rolls in Ho Chi Minh City.
Check out:
Vietnamese Family Meals – North, Central, South
20 Best Vietnamese dishes