Vietnamese Spring Rolls

One of my wife’s favorite Asian appetizers, besides Filipino lumpia is probably shrimp spring rolls. They are always a big hit at family gatherings, and they are pretty awesome as they are essentially a salad roll. What is also great about these, is that you can pretty much make them however you want, and I love that about them. Vietnamese spring rolls are typically served with a dipping sauce, either a peanut based sauce or nuoc cham which is the sauce that I prefer to eat with the spring rolls.

The spring rolls do take a bit of preparation as you have to slice carrots, and rinse and dry your fresh herbs and lettuce, but trust me, it’s worth the time.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of spring roll rice paper
• 4 bundles of Asian vermicelli noodles, cooked in hot water for 3 minutes, placed in cool water, drained
• 1/2 head of red leaf lettuce
• fresh mint leaves
• fresh basil leaves
• fresh cilantro
• bean sprouts
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, julienne sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, julienne sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled, julienne sliced
• 1 pound of shrimp, tails removed, deveined
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 large bowl warm water
• Lightly moistened paper towels

Again, the prep takes a bit of time, however if you have any helpers, you can always reward them in a short period of time.

Start by adding the soy sauce and lime juice to a bowl. Stir, then toss in the shrimp. Stir again, and let this marinate for about 20 minutes or so, covered in the refrigerator.

Next arrange all of your vegetables and herbs.

Strain the cooked vermicelli, and gently squeeze out any excess liquid.

Heat a large skillet on medium-low heat. Add in the canola oil, move it around, then add in the shrimp. Cook the shrimp until just orangish in color and opaque on both sides, about 4-6 minutes. Remove the cooked shrimp from the skillet, and set aside on a plate to cool.

Once cooked, slice each shrimp in half, lengthwise.

Now the fun part, wrapping.

Get a large bowl of warm water ready.

Get a wrapping buddy if you can as it will make this go by a lot quicker. I enlisted by son who had a blast.

Take a spring roll wrapper, and gently submerge it in the warm water for about 30 seconds.

Add the wrapper to a plate and let it sit for about 45 more seconds. The coating on the wrapper that was once hard, will soften and allow you to begin working with it. I like to keep an edge of the wrapper slightly off of the plate so that I can start the folding process a lot easier.

If you let the wrapper sit in the water too long, it will get too soft and not easy to work with.

To the wrapper, add a bit of the cooked noodles, a couple of carrots, a couple of bell peppers, a couple of cucumbers, some fresh herbs, the lettuce, and  bean sprouts. Fold over, then fold over the edges. Take two of the sliced shrimps and place in the center, then continue to fold.  You can also fold them this way should you prefer. After a couple of them, you will get the hang of it.

Place these onto a plate of platter lightly moistened paper towels. This prevents the wrappers from hardening up.

Next, repeat.  Once you have another layer, add the lightly moistened paper towels once again.

Serve alongside nuoc cham, or if you want, make the peanut sauce. I like mine with a bit of that great garlic spice with fish sauce and vinegar, hence the nuoc cham.

If you want, go ahead and slice them in half, or serve them whole. Either way, spoon a bit of the sauce into the spring roll, and dig in. It truly is a perfect bite with the noodles, fresh herbs, vegetables, and shrimp, heck even my kid who is skeptical of vegetables, especially red bell peppers, was devouring them.

If you are looking for something to bring to your next party, give these a shot. They are a real crowd pleasure, and pretty to boot! Hope you enjoy!

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Dax Phillips

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course Appetizers

Cuisine Vietnamese

Servings 25

Ingredients

  

• 1 package of spring roll rice paper
• 4 bundles of Asian vermicelli noodles cooked in hot water for 3 minutes, placed in cool water, drained
• 1/2 head of red leaf lettuce
• fresh mint leaves
• fresh basil leaves
• fresh cilantro
• bean sprouts
• 1 cucumber peeled, seeds removed, julienne sliced
• 1 red bell pepper seeds and stem removed, julienne sliced
• 1 carrot peeled, julienne sliced
• 1 pound of shrimp tails removed, deveined
• 1 lime juiced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 large bowl warm water
• Lightly moistened paper towels

Instructions

 

• Start by adding the soy sauce and lime juice to a bowl. Stir, then toss in the shrimp. Stir again, and let this marinate for about 20 minutes or so, covered in the refrigerator.
• Next arrange all of your vegetables and herbs.
• Strain the cooked vermicelli, and gently squeeze out any excess liquid.
• Heat a large skillet on medium-low heat. Add in the canola oil, move it around, then add in the shrimp. Cook the shrimp until just orangish in color and opaque on both sides, about 4-6 minutes. Remove the cooked shrimp from the skillet, and set aside on a plate to cool.
• Once cooked, slice each shrimp in half, lengthwise.
• Now the fun part, wrapping.
• Get a large bowl of warm water ready.
• Get a wrapping buddy if you can as it will make this go by a lot quicker. I enlisted by son who had a blast.
• Take a spring roll wrapper, and gently submerge it in the warm water for about 30 seconds.
• Add the wrapper to a plate and let it sit for about 45 more seconds. The coating on the wrapper that was once hard, will soften and allow you to begin working with it. I like to keep an edge of the wrapper slightly off of the plate so that I can start the folding process a lot easier.
• If you let the wrapper sit in the water too long, it will get too soft and not easy to work with.
• To the wrapper, add a bit of the cooked noodles, a couple of carrots, a couple of bell peppers, a couple of cucumbers, some fresh herbs, the lettuce, and bean sprouts. Fold over, then fold over the edges. Take two of the sliced shrimps and place in the center, then continue to fold. You can also fold them this way should you prefer. After a couple of them, you will get the hang of it.
• Place these onto a plate of platter lightly moistened paper towels. This prevents the wrappers from hardening up.
• Next, repeat. Once you have another layer, add the lightly moistened paper towels once again.
• Serve alongside nuoc cham, or if you want, make the peanut sauce. I like mine with a bit of that great garlic spice with fish sauce and vinegar, hence the nuoc cham.
• If you want, go ahead and slice them in half, or serve them whole. Either way, spoon a bit of the sauce into the spring roll, and dig in. It truly is a perfect bite with the noodles, fresh herbs, vegetables, and shrimp, heck even my kid who is skeptical of vegetables, especially red bell peppers, was devouring them.