Food & Drink
Spring Rolls: Nem Rán vs Gỏi Cuốn
"Spring roll" covers two genuinely different Vietnamese dishes — one fried and crunchy, one fresh and translucent — and it's worth knowing which is which before you order.
Nem rán (fried spring rolls)
Also called chả giò in southern Vietnam, nem rán are the fried version — a rice paper wrapper filled with minced pork, wood ear mushroom, glass noodles, and vegetables, deep-fried until crisp. In Hanoi, they're often served as a side dish alongside noodle soups or bún chả, cut into pieces, and dipped in the same sweet-sour nước chấm sauce.
Gỏi cuốn (fresh spring rolls)
The lighter, unfried alternative: a soft translucent rice paper wrapped around rice vermicelli, herbs, and often shrimp or pork, served cold or at room temperature. These are the version usually dipped into a peanut hoisin sauce rather than fish sauce-based nước chấm, and make a good lighter option in the hotter months.
How to tell them apart on a menu
If a menu lists both, nem rán (or chả giò) refers to the fried version and gỏi cuốn (sometimes translated as "fresh spring rolls" or "summer rolls") is the cold, wrapped version. Ordering "spring rolls" without specifying can get you either, depending on the restaurant, so it's worth using the Vietnamese names if you have a preference.