A Hoa-Vietnamese fresh roll and common Saigon street snack, descended from the Chinese-Fujianese popiah brought by Hoa migrants. Soft rice paper wraps stewed jicama and carrot, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, shredded egg, and herbs, then is dipped in a hoisin-peanut sauce. Unlike goi cuon, which centers on shrimp and pork with vermicelli, bo bia is built around crunchy stewed jicama and has no shrimp-and-pork core.
Bo bia is the Vietnamese form of popiah, the fresh spring roll of the Hokkien (Fujianese) Chinese, carried to Saigon by Hoa migrants and adapted into a street snack. The Vietnamese name itself is a transliteration of the Hokkien word. In Saigon it became a cheap, portable food sold from bicycle carts and sidewalk baskets, often by older Hoa vendors who roll each one to order. The filling was localized — jicama and Vietnamese herbs took the lead, with Chinese sausage and dried shrimp kept from the original — but the dish's lineage to the Chinese popiah is direct and openly acknowledged.
A soft, cool, no-cook roll. The stewed jicama stays crisp and faintly sweet even after cooking, giving the roll its watery crunch; dried shrimp and Chinese sausage thread savory, slightly sweet bass notes through it, and shredded egg adds softness. The hoisin-peanut dip is thick, sweet-salty, and nutty — heavier than the light fish-sauce dips of other rolls. Eaten in two or three bites, it is refreshing rather than rich, the sauce doing most of the flavoring.
The jicama is the engine. It is stewed briefly with dried shrimp and a little Chinese sausage so it softens just enough to roll while keeping its crunch — jicama holds its texture through gentle cooking better than most root vegetables, which is why it can be both stewed and still crisp. Excess liquid must be cooked or drained off, or the rice paper turns soggy and tears. The dip is built on hoisin loosened with a little water or stock and finished with ground roasted peanuts, giving the otherwise mild, watery roll its main savory-sweet weight.
Variations
The savory bo bia is the everyday version, with jicama, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, egg, and herbs. There is also bo bia ngot, a sweet "dessert" version that wraps malt sugar and toasted sesame in rice paper and shares only the name and the wrap. Vendors differ in how much Chinese sausage and dried shrimp they use; the dip is sometimes spiked with chili paste or fried shallot. It should not be confused with goi cuon, which is a shrimp-and-pork roll over vermicelli with a different, lighter dip.
On the Palate
Where Bo Bia sits in the Vietnamese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
6 steps · 30 min active + 5 min waiting
- 16 min
Peel and shred jicama and carrot.
- 212 min
Stew the jicama and carrot briefly with chopped dried shrimp and a little Chinese sausage until softened, then cook off excess liquid.
Watch outStew the jicama just until softened, then cook off every bit of excess liquid — a wet filling soaks through the rice paper and tears it.
- 35 min
Make a thin omelette and slice it into shreds.
- 44 min
Loosen hoisin sauce with a little water or stock, then stir in ground roasted peanuts to make the dip.
Watch outLoosen the hoisin and finish it with ground roasted peanuts — this dip carries the whole roll, since the filling itself is mild and watery.
- 55 min
Soften a sheet of rice paper, lay down lettuce, the stewed jicama mix, egg shreds, more dried shrimp, and herbs.
- 63 min
Roll tightly and serve with the hoisin-peanut dip and chili.
