How to Make Vietnamese Rice Rolls

Prepare the Ingredients

Crack the eggs into a bowl, and season with 1/2 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon cooking oil to prevent the eggs from being bland or having an unpleasant smell. Beat the eggs until well mixed.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, pour in the eggs to fry. Fry the eggs into thin layers over medium heat. When the underside is cooked, the eggs will naturally release from the pan; flip and cook the other side for an additional 15 seconds. Continue frying all the prepared eggs. Once cooled, slice the fried eggs into long strips.

For the vegetables used in the rice rolls, such as carrots, cucumbers, and green beans, wash them thoroughly in salted water. When purchasing, select vegetables of similar length to the seaweed sheets, ensuring the rice rolls are compact and visually appealing.

Slice the cucumber into long, thin strips, about 0.5cm thick.

Similarly, slice the carrot. Trim the ends of the green beans and remove the strings. Then, steam the carrots and green beans. Steam the carrots first for 2 minutes, then add the green beans and steam for another 3 minutes until both ingredients are just cooked. Let them cool. If any green beans are too thick, you can slice them in half lengthwise, leaving the smaller ones whole.

For ready-to-eat sausages, choose those that are similar in length to the vegetables. Slice them into long, thin strips as well.

Steam the crab sticks for about 2 minutes. Let them cool and slice into long, thin strips.

Mix the Rice

To make rice rolls, cook the rice slightly soft, not too dry, and of course, not mushy. Slightly soft rice is easier to spread and sticks well to the other ingredients.

Take the rice in small portions, about a full bowl of rice at a time, which is enough for about three rolls. Taking smaller portions ensures the rice stays warm and sticky. If you take too much at once, the rice will dry out and become hard, making it difficult to spread evenly.

For a full bowl of rice, season with 1/2 teaspoon seasoning powder, 2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Mix the rice thoroughly with these ingredients until well combined.

If you have seaweed flakes, you can sprinkle some into the rice mixture to enhance its flavor.

How to Roll Beautiful, Unbroken Seaweed Rice Rolls

After mixing the rice and preparing the other ingredients, you are ready to roll the rice.

As mentioned, large seaweed sheets for rolling rice come in various types, so choose the one that suits you best. To ensure the rice rolls are neat, evenly shaped, and the ingredients stick together, a bamboo mat is commonly used. This mat helps give the rolls a better shape. If you don't have a bamboo mat, you can use foil or a cloth as a substitute.

First, place the bamboo mat on a clean cutting board. Then, lay a seaweed sheet on top.

Spread a thin layer of rice evenly over the seaweed sheet from bottom to top, covering the entire sheet but not too thickly. Using too much rice can cause the seaweed to tear when rolling.

When spreading the rice, leave a small gap at the top edge of the seaweed sheet (about two finger widths) to allow for a tighter roll. If you spread rice all the way to the top edge, the roll may come undone easily.

After spreading the rice, start adding the toppings, such as cucumber, carrot, green beans, sausage, eggs, and crab sticks.

Next, gently roll the rice from bottom to top. As you roll, press the ingredients together. After rolling a bit, press again to ensure the rice roll is evenly shaped and secure. Continue rolling until you reach the end of the seaweed sheet. With practice, you can master rolling without needing a bamboo mat.

Once rolled, place the rice roll at the bottom edge of the bamboo mat, and continue to press the mat around the roll to shape it securely and beautifully.

When rolling the rice, avoid rolling too loosely or too tightly (trying to pack in too many ingredients and pressing them too hard). If rolled loosely, the toppings and rice won't stick together well. If rolled too tightly, the roll may crack and tear the seaweed sheet.

Using the above rolling method and tips from Cookbeo, roll all the prepared ingredients and seaweed sheets.

After rolling, do not cut the roll into slices immediately. Leave the roll whole and slice it into round pieces about 3cm thick just before serving. If cut too early and left out, the rice roll will dry out and become hard, losing its texture.

Rice rolls made this way are visually appealing and flavorful, with a variety of tastes. Serve the rice rolls with dipping sauce. Adults can enjoy them with kimchi as well.

Make the Dipping Sauce for the Rice Rolls

For the dipping sauce, combine:

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1.5 tablespoons lime juice

Mix the ingredients well. This sauce has a balanced flavor—slightly salty, mildly sweet, with a hint of tartness, and a rich, creamy texture. It's perfect for dipping rice rolls, french fries, fried chicken, grilled chicken, crispy fried squid, or fried sweet potato balls. Finally, sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds on top to finish.