Vietnamese Spring Rolls

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Fresh Vietnamese spring rolls filled with shrimp, rice noodles, and crisp vegetables, wrapped in soft rice paper and served with a creamy peanut dipping sauce. They're light, no-fuss, and come together with nothing more complicated than a pot of boiling water.

Prep Time35

Cook Time10

Total Time45

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Asian

Servings: spring rolls

Author: Kristin Maxwell

Ingredients

For the spring rolls:

1 pound large shrimp 22 to 25 count, peeled and deveined
3 ounces thin rice noodles
1 large red bell pepper julienned
1 cucumber julienned
1 carrot julienned
½ cup fresh mint leaves
12 large butter or green leaf lettuce leaves
12 large 22 cm round rice paper sheets
Warm water for softening

For the peanut dipping sauce:

½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ cup water

For the Vietnamese dipping sauce (optional):

⅓ cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped red chili
2 teaspoons rice vinegar

Instructions

Make the peanut sauce: Whisk the peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and water in a bowl until smooth. Set aside to let the flavors develop.
Make the Vietnamese dipping sauce, if using. Stir the water, sugar, fish sauce, garlic, lime juice, chili, and rice vinegar together until the sugar dissolves.
Cook the shrimp: Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until pink and curled. Drain and cool, then peel and slice each shrimp in half lengthwise.
Soften the noodles. Bring a second pot of water to a boil, turn off the heat, and add the noodles. Let sit 5 minutes, or per package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
Prep the vegetables. Julienne the bell pepper, cucumber, and carrot into thin matchsticks. Separate the lettuce leaves and pull the mint from the stems.
Set up your station. Fill a shallow bowl with warm water. Lay a damp towel or cutting board on the counter as your rolling surface and line up the fillings.
Soften a rice paper sheet. Submerge one sheet in the warm water for about 10 seconds, until pliable but still slightly firm. Lay it flat on the damp surface.
Fill the roll. Place a lettuce leaf near the bottom edge. Top with a small nest of noodles, then cucumber, carrot, bell pepper, and mint. Arrange 3 shrimp halves cut side down about 2 inches below the top edge, leaving a gap between the shrimp and the vegetables.
Roll it up. Fold the bottom edge over the filling and roll once snugly. Fold in both sides, then continue rolling to the top edge.
Repeat and serve. Set each finished roll on a platter with space around it so they don't stick. Repeat with the remaining sheets and serve with the dipping sauces.

Notes

Makes 12 rolls: You'll use 3 shrimp halves per roll, so 12 rolls needs about 18 shrimp. A pound of 22 to 25 count shrimp gives you a few extra, which is nice insurance if a couple tear.
Water temperature matters more than soak time. Warm, not hot. Hot water oversoftens the paper and it tears.
Ten seconds is enough. The sheet keeps softening on the counter while you add filling.
Don't overfill. About ¼ cup of filling per sheet. Overfilled rolls split at the seam.
Space the finished rolls out. Rice paper sticks to itself. Rolls that touch will fuse together.
Thin matchsticks only. Thick vegetable pieces poke through the wrapper.
Best the same day. Refrigeration toughens rice paper. If storing, wrap each roll in a damp paper towel in an airtight container and eat within 24 hours.
Don't freeze: Rice paper turns brittle and the vegetables go limp.
Prep ahead: Cook the shrimp, boil the noodles, and cut the vegetables up to a day in advance. Sauces keep 3 days.

Nutrition

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