Bò bía is the cousin of gỏi cuốn that most home cooks forget exists — a Vietnamese fresh spring roll that swaps rice noodles for the unusual combination of jicama, dried shrimp, Chinese sausage, and scrambled egg. The rolls are wrapped in rice paper and eaten with hoisin-peanut sauce (or a sweet-savory tương) at room temperature, never deep-fried like chả giò. The flavor is layered: sweet from the jicama and Chinese sausage, savory from the dried shrimp, and the egg provides a soft cushion for the julienned fillings.

Bò bía is most commonly sold from street carts in the Chinatown districts of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), wrapped in wax paper and handed over with a small container of sauce. In the Vietnamese diaspora, you'll find it at family gatherings, particularly for Tết, when the dish often appears alongside chả giò. The filling is forgiving — once you've got the rice-paper technique down (which is the same as gỏi cuốn), you can vary the filling to whatever you have on hand.

The hardest part of the recipe is the rice paper. It cracks if it's too dry and tears if it's too wet. The right texture is briefly dampened, pliable but not floppy, with a slight give when you press your finger to it. The actual rolling is a five-second operation once you've prepped the fillings and arranged them on the wet rice paper.

Ingredients

For the filling

  • 1 medium jicama (about 1 lb / 450 g), peeled and julienned into thin matchsticks
  • ½ cup dried shrimp, rehydrated in warm water for 30 minutes, drained and minced
  • 4 Chinese sausages (lạp xưởng), sliced thin on the diagonal
  • 3 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For assembly

  • 12 sheets rice paper (bánh tráng), 8-inch diameter
  • 1 head green leaf or red leaf lettuce, separated into whole leaves
  • ½ cup fresh mint leaves
  • ½ cup Vietnamese perilla (tía tô), optional
  • ¼ cup pickled carrot and daikon (đồ chua), drained
  • ½ cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the dipping sauce

  • ½ cup hoisin sauce
  • 3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp warm water (more as needed)
  • 1 tbsp crushed peanuts
  • 1 tsp chili garlic sauce (Sriracha or tương ớt)

Instructions

1

Cook the dried shrimp

After rehydrating the dried shrimp, drain well. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat and add the shrimp. Toast for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Mince finely and set aside.

2

Cook the Chinese sausage

In the same skillet, add the Chinese sausage slices and cook 2–3 minutes per side until caramelized at the edges. Remove and slice into thin strips.

3

Scramble the eggs

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir gently with a spatula. Cook just until set but still moist, breaking into bite-size pieces. Remove from heat and set aside.

4

Cook the jicama

In the same skillet, add the julienned jicama, fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper. Toss to coat and cook over medium heat for 5–7 minutes until the jicama is tender but still crisp. It should bend without snapping. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

5

Make the dipping sauce

In a small bowl, whisk the hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and warm water until smooth. Stir in the crushed peanuts and chili garlic sauce. Add more water a tablespoon at a time if the sauce is too thick. It should be the consistency of heavy cream.

6

Assemble the rolls

Fill a wide, shallow bowl with warm water (room temperature is fine — cold water doesn't work). Dip one sheet of rice paper in the water for 5–10 seconds, just until pliable. Don't oversoak or it will tear. Lay the wet sheet flat on a clean cutting board or damp towel.

Arrange a lettuce leaf in the lower third of the rice paper, leaving a 1-inch border on each side. Top with a small handful of the cooked jicama, a few strips of Chinese sausage, a pinch of scrambled egg, a sprinkle of toasted dried shrimp, a few mint and perilla leaves, a pinch of pickled carrot and daikon, and a sprinkle of crushed peanuts.

Fold the bottom of the rice paper up over the filling, then fold in the left and right sides. Roll the bundle away from you, tucking the filling in tightly as you go. Place the finished roll on a plate and cover with a damp towel while you roll the rest.

7

Serve

Cut each roll in half on the diagonal with a sharp, damp knife. Arrange on a platter with the dipping sauce in a small bowl alongside. Serve immediately — these are best eaten fresh.

VNomy notes

  • Rice paper timing is everything. Too dry and it cracks when you roll. Too wet and it tears. The window is 5–10 seconds of dipping, then 30 seconds to a minute to roll before it stiffens back up. If your kitchen is very dry, you may need to keep a damp towel over your finished rolls to prevent cracking.
  • Dried shrimp is the signature flavor. Don't substitute with cooked fresh shrimp — the dried version provides a concentrated umami that defines the dish. Find them at any Asian grocery; a small bag costs less than $3 and keeps for months.
  • Jicama must be cooked. Unlike the bean sprouts or noodles in gỏi cuốn, the jicama in bò bía is sautéed until tender. This softens its raw starchy bite and lets it absorb the seasoning.
  • Cut with a damp knife. A dry knife drags and tears the rice paper. Run the blade under water, shake off the excess, and cut through the rolls cleanly.
  • Make-ahead strategy. The jicama filling keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Cook everything in advance, then assemble the rolls just before serving. Don't try to make fully assembled rolls ahead — the rice paper gets tough and chewy.

Source notes

Recipe adapted from Huy at Hungry Huy, a Vietnamese-American food blogger who has documented hundreds of family recipes from his parents' generation. Technique cross-checked against Helen Le's bò bía recipe for the sautéed jicama step and dried-shrimp toasting technique.