These fresh and delicious rolls are a very popular street food in Vietnam. The name bò bía is probably a Vietnamese adaptation of the Chinese roll “popiah.” But actually they are very different. The Vietnamese version uses rice paper as wrapper whereas the Chinese version uses a wheat-based crêpe. The fillings are quite different too because most popiah recipes include yams, bean sprouts, crispy fried seaweed, green beans etc.

The resourceful Vietnamese have substituted the ingredients with what was available.

What are the bò bía ingredients?

Vietnamese Bo Bia fresh rolls with Chinese sausage and jicama

There are many types of Fresh rolls in Vietnamese cuisine such as blanched prawns and pork, Goi Cuon (recipe here), Duck rolls (recipe here) or Vegetarian rolls (recipe here). What makes bò bía different?

The key different ingredients are dried shrimps, Chinese sausage, julienne Jicama and carrots and julienne thin egg omelette. Each bite is a burst of flavors and textures, sweet, salty, crispy, crunchy, soft and slightly chewy.

But like the other fresh Vietnamese rolls, there are plenty of fresh aromatic herbs, peanut sauce and crushed peanuts.

In Vietnam where bò bía are served as street food, the peanut sauce could be added with other ingredients, and rolled together, so there’s no need to have a separate peanut sauce as dip.

All the ingredients are available in Asian supermarkets, or could be ordered online (scroll down to find the links).

The Preparation

The first step is to soak the dried shrimps in warm water, since it takes the longest (around 2 hours). Once the dry shrimps are hydrated, fry them last so they won’t harden if overcooked.

Next we start peeling and julienning jicama and carrots. You can use equal amount, or more jicama and less carrots, according to your personal preference. The traditional way is to steam them for around 10 to 15 minutes so they are softened but still retain a slight crunch. The shortcut is to simply put them in a microwave safe container, add 1 ice cube, cover with damp paper towel, and microwave for 4 minutes. As the cooking time may vary depending on each microwave oven, test and increase the cooking time if necessary, by increment of 1 minute, in order not to overcook.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and season with a little chicken powder. Heat a pan over medium heat and pour a thin layer of the eggs and swirl to cover pan surface. The egg should be as thin as a crepe so there’s no need to flip. The egg crepe should be cooked through and stay pale yellow without any charring. Repeat the procedure to make 2 or 3 crepes. Stack the egg crepes and roll them, and cut into thin ribbons.

For the Chinese sausages (lạp xưởng or lap cheong), the best way to cook them is to place them in a single layer in a frying pan. Fill the pan with water to just cover the sausages and put over medium heat. Heat until the water boils, reduce the heat to simmer. At this point watch closely the pan as the water will completely evaporate and it’s easy to burn the sausages. Continue to cook the sausages in the frying pan over low heat once the water has evaporated, and flip them around so all sides will be golden. Remove the sausages and let them cool down. Thinly slice the sausages at a slanted angle so the pieces are longer and look nicer in the roll. Some people like to cut them lengthwise, but the pieces may not be uniform.

You can prepare these fresh spring rolls a few hours before meal time, but make sure to cover them with plastic wrap to avoid them drying out. They should be consumed on the same day as they do not refrigerate well.

Vietnamese Fresh Chinese Sausage and Jicama Rolls

Print Recipe

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Soaking time 2

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Vietnamese

Servings 4

Ingredients

16 to 20 pcs rice paper (with tapioca starch in ingredient list)
50 g 2 oz dried shrimps
6 Chinese sausages
3 Eggs
2 carrots
500 g 1 lb jicama
salt and pepper
1/4 tspn sugar
1/2 tspn chicken bouillon powder
1 tbsp neutral oil
water (see instructions)

Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce (to make 2 cups)

1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
1/2 cup Sweet creamy Peanut Butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups vegetable broth or water
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 cup crushed roasted peanuts
1 tspn Sambal or Sriracha chili sauce (optional)

The Herbs

2 cups Assorted Vietnamese herbs like basil, coriander, perilla, mint, lettuce

Instructions

Soak the dry shrimps in warm water for 2 hours. Drain and set aside
Wash and dry the fresh herbs
Wash and peel the carrots and jicama, julienne them into thin strips (size of matches). Put them in microwave-proof container, add 1 ice cube, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave on high for around 4 minutes until softer but still crunchy. Dispose of the ice cube and set aside.
Beat the eggs with the chicken bouillon powder, salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a small to medium non-stick frying pan and add a laddle of the eggs mixture, swirl to thinly cover the pan surface like a crepe, and and cook on medium heat till no longer runny (it's not necessary to flip it over). Remove and set aside. Repeat with the remainder of the egg mixture. Stack the crepes, and roll them together to form a thin log and cut into thin ribbons. Set aside.
In a large frying pan, lay the Chinese sausages in a single layer, add water to barely cover the sausages. Heat over medium heat till the water boils. Reduce the heat to simmer. After the water evaporates, watch closely the pan, flip the sausages around so all sides are golden. Remove them and let cool. Thinly slice the sausages at slanted angle to form elongated slices. Set aside.
In a small to medium frying pan, add a tablespoon of oil and heat over medium heat, add the hydrated dry shrimps with the sugar for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
To assemble the rolls: Have all the ingredients ready, and prepare a large bow of warm water and a large plate or chopping board. Quickly dip the rice paper sheet in a large bowl lukewarm water (no more than 4 seconds) and put on a large plate or chopping board. If you wish, you could cover the plate or board with a clean kitchen towel to absorb any excess water from the rice paper or make sure to shake off any excess water if you have dipped the rice paper for too long. If you briefly dip for 4 seconds, at first the rice paper may seem still a bit stiff but it will quickly soften. On one end (about 1/3 of the rice paper) layer the fresh herbs, Chinese sausages slices, egg ribbons, julienne carrots and jicama, dry shrimps. Start rolling from the end while tightly tucking in the layered ingredients as you roll, then fold in the 2 sides to fully enclose the stuffing, then keep rolling to form a plumb but tight roll. Tip: you can set up 2 large plates or boards so you can alternate dipping the rice paper and let it soften, while you wrap another roll, to save time.
Serve with the Peanut Sauce dip

To make the Peanut Sauce

To prepare the Vietnamese dipping sauce: In a small saucepan, heat the oil on medium high. Add the minced garlic and stir fry till golden (it would take less than a minute). Add the liquid (water or stock), hoisin sauce, peanut butter. Stir well and heat for around 4-5 minutes. Optional: add 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice. Scoop into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts and chili sauce on top.

Keyword Vietnamese fresh rolls

How to Wrap and Roll Vietnamese fresh Chinese sausage with Jicama - Bo Bia 1 — Vietnamese Fresh Bo Bia rolls

You can serve these Vietnamese Chinese Sausage and Jicama rolls, or lay out all the ingredients on the dining table with a large bowl of lukewarm water, for each guest to wrap their own roll: less work for you and fun for everybody!

How to Wrap and Roll Vietnamese fresh Chinese sausage with Jicama - Bo Bia — Vietnamese Fresh Rolls with Chinese sausage and Jicama (Bo Bia)

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How to Wrap and Roll Vietnamese fresh Chinese sausage with Jicama – Bo Bia

What are the bò bía ingredients?

The Preparation