The English seasonal name for gỏi cuốn popularized by Vietnamese American restaurants is “summer roll.”
Gỏi cuốn are fresh Vietnamese rolls made by wrapping ingredients such as pork, prawns, vegetables, and rice vermicelli in bánh tráng, or rice paper. Unlike fried Vietnamese chả giò, they are served fresh or at room temperature, with the translucent wrapper remaining soft and visible.
“Summer roll” was promoted by some Vietnamese American restaurants as an easy-to-market seasonal counterpart to “spring roll.” The name also helps distinguish these fresh rolls from fried rolls, although many restaurants still call them Vietnamese spring rolls, fresh rolls, salad rolls, or rice-paper rolls.
The name can cause confusion because gỏi cuốn has several regional and English labels. In southern Vietnam, gỏi cuốn means “salad rolls,” while northern speakers commonly use nem cuốn. Typical dipping sauces include hoisin-peanut sauce and nước chấm, a fish-sauce-based condiment.