Vietnamese-Style Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 50 mins
Active: 35 mins
Makes: 8 rolls
By Regan Burns
Give yourself plenty of time (and counter space) to make these. And be sure to have a few extra rice paper wrappers on hand—it may take a few tries before you’re rolling like a pro.
What to buy: Look for medium-size shrimp. For a slacker solution, buy a ready-to-eat shrimp cocktail ring from the supermarket and slice the shrimp in half lengthwise. Rice sticks and rice paper wrappers can be found in most Asian grocery stores. For the wrappers, we like Red Rose brand.
Game plan: Be sure to have all your ingredients ready and easily accessible when you start to roll. Store the summer rolls in a dish or plastic container that’s roomy enough to hold them without their touching. Place a damp paper towel in the bottom of the container to keep the rolls moist. Cover tightly with plastic wrap.
This recipe was featured in our Cooling Off story.
- 12 medium shrimp in their shells
- 2 ounces dried rice sticks or rice vermicelli
- 8 (8-1/4-inch) round rice paper wrappers
- 1/2 cup mung bean sprouts, rinsed
- 24 small mint leaves (from 1 small bunch)
- 16 basil or Thai basil leaves
- 8 small sprigs cilantro
- 1 Thai hot pepper, serrano pepper, or other small hot chile pepper, seeds removed and sliced into very thin matchsticks
- 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-by-1/4-by-2-inch sticks
- 2 large scallions, trimmed, halved, and sliced into 3-inch lengths
- 4 Boston lettuce leaves, cut in half
- Peanut Sauce
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add shrimp and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until they are bright orange and just cooked. Drain shrimp in a colander and run cold water over them until they are cool. Peel shrimp and halve them lengthwise down the center. Cover and refrigerate.
- Cook the rice sticks according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Clear a work surface, such as a large wooden cutting board, for rolling the summer rolls and prepare a pan that is roomy enough to hold the finished rolls in a single layer. Place all filling ingredients in separate containers, and arrange them in the following order around the board: rice paper wrappers, shrimp, rice noodles, bean sprouts, mint, basil, cilantro, hot pepper, cucumber, scallions, and lettuce.
- Fill a wide, shallow dish, large enough to hold the rice paper wrappers, with hot water. Evenly submerge one rice paper in the water for about 30 seconds, or until it is soft and pliable. Remove from the water and place on the work surface.
- Working quickly, lay three shrimp halves in a row, cut side up, just above the center of the wrapper. Layer a scant 1/4 cup of noodles over the shrimp, followed by a few bean sprouts, 3 mint leaves, 2 basil leaves, 1 sprig of cilantro, and 2 pieces of the hot pepper (if using). Place 3 to 4 cucumber sticks and 3 to 4 scallion pieces on either side of the noodle pile. Roll one piece of lettuce into a cigar shape, and place it on top of the noodle pile.
- Fold the bottom half of the rice paper wrapper over the filling. Holding it firmly in place, fold the sides of the wrapper in. Then, pressing firmly down to hold the folds in place, roll the entire pile up to close the top. (Don’t despair, this takes some practice!)
- Turn each roll so that the rice paper seam faces downward and the row of shrimp faces up. Place in the prepared container.
- Serve summer rolls with Peanut Sauce.
Beverage pairing: Thomas Fogarty Monterey Gewürztraminer, California. Gewürztraminers can be great food wines, as long as they’re not too heavily perfumed and floral. This is why it can be good to go with a new-world Gewürz over an Alsatian. This wine, from California’s central coast, has beautiful flavors of ginger, white flowers and litchi, which make a nice foil for the toothsome summer rolls.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
The herbs are the key to this dish. I always use tito (something that looks like Japanese shiso, except more purple than the variety in the US) and rau rum. Any other herb in a Vietnamese grocery store will be a great addition. Herbal dominance of basil, mint, and cilantro must end!
This recipe comes really close to what we always ate in Vietnam. I agree, herbs are key!
though i love knowing what the authentic version of a dish is, i like that this is a roll that i can make easily without having to search out special herbs!
Sounds great.
Can I make a day ahead?
If you do make these ahead, be sure to set them in a large baking dish on lightly dampened paper towels; most importantly, DON'T let them touch each other. Cover with plastic and hope for the best. (They shold be fine.)
Can anyone suggest a vegetarian option without the shrimp?
We sub'd shredded carrots, zuck's and cucumbers in place of the shrimp and followed the rest of the recipe above.
For a vegetarian version, you can use more cucumber, tofu (fried or not), or jicama.
Re: the question about making them ahead: I've not had any luck doing that, even when kept moist...the wrappers get tough. Most recipes mention that you shouldn't make them more than a few hours in advance.
Here's a link to Vietnamese Herbs which I hope will be helpful:
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/essen...
~Ken
Summer rolls are one of my very favorite appetizers. They are so delicious, especially when they are smothered in the peanut sauce. My favorite place for the summer rolls are at The French Roast Cafe in Ft. Myers, FL. Right next to the Bell Tower Shopping Center. It has excellent Vietnamese cuisine and French Gourmet food. It's Vietnamese owned and operated by a man named Mr. Le. He single handedly cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner 7- days a week. He' the Jet Le of cooking and does a phenomonal job at it. But back to the summer rolls, he adds pork to them and they are wonderful. Check that place out and see for yourselves, it's the only Vietnamese food you'll find around Lee County!!
to make a day ahead wrap each individually tightly in saran wrap and place in air tight container, when needed unwrap and cover with a damp dish towel until ready to serve..
I use avocado instead of the shrimp for my veggie friends. Sure it's not authentic, but it's delicious.
Or you could use pressed tofu.
I have not had much luck making Summer Rolls (nime chow) ahead of time. The rice paper gets tough and unpleasantly chewy after a few hours in the fridge. On the other hand, the peanut sauce tasted better the next day.
I learned to make these years ago in Vancouver and they are stil one of my favourite things to munch on.
I make a quick tasty peanut sauce by mixing bottled satay sauce and hoisin sauce...then add some water to thin it out. Only recently did I realize these are a great option to take to work for lunch. I make the night before and wrap individually in saran. I also started to put some peanut sauce right into the roll to make them less messy for work. (ie, no dipping required)
I recommend taking the wrappers out of the water while they are still a little firm and placing on a damp tea towel. The wrapper continues to soften as you add the ingredients and is less likely to tear and fold when placing it on the prep area.
I like to eat them at room temperature, i like the crunchiness of the veggies, but a little sprinkle of rice vinegar adds something for me and I like the peanutsauce, if not that then a red pepper sauce to dip in
I like to eat them at room temperature, i like the crunchiness of the veggies, but a little sprinkle of rice vinegar adds something for me and I like the peanutsauce, if not that then a red pepper sauce to dip in
I also like some broken pieces of raw cashew in the spring roll
I have had something very similar to these at a restaurant in Amherst, MA. They were called "tea rolls." Except, there were various options- cold, hot, veggie, non-veggie and they came with different dipping sauces. I had one with curry rice, chicken and peas- it was hot...Can something similar be done here? Oh, and it was also cut in half.
All sounds good. Do you think Vietnamese people call Boston Lettuce, I'm guessing not Boston.
I just had this at a pho joint in Chandler, AZ. The roll was indifferent though the presentation with the shrimp showing through the wrapper was pretty. But the peanut sauce was outstanding. Not overly sweet, not annoyingly peanutty. Subtle and a good reason to have a nice, unobtrusive base like this roll.
Blair, was it Cyclo or maybe the restaurant in Lee Lee? Try Lee's Sandwiches across the street , just south of Lee Lee on the SE corner of Warner & Dobson. Great sandwiches, etc. We're waiting for the Mekong Plaza to complete just north of Apache on Dobson, too - an oriental super-center!
Garlecchina : The tea rolls at Fresh Side in Amherst are very different than Summer rolls given here. Those are made with a thicker wrapper and contain entirely different ingredients. Moreover, they're intended to be a meal, not an appetizer.
Of course, you could make something like the tea rolls, but the only thing similar to this recipe would be rolling in a wrapper.
Sorry, but this AZ boy has no recommendations for even just OK Sonoran food in Ahwatukee - or even in Tempe anymore - though they may exist. Trying to get the food I grew up on, like green chile (beef) burros or sour cream enchiladas or green corn tamales, is really difficult to track down . Off the Mexican food track: Well, my vote does NOT go to Niro's for Chicago-style Italian Beef. These are nice people, and the quantity of beef in the sandwiches is great, but what a DULL version! The archetypic Italian Beef sandwich may be the best sandwich ever (yeah, moot), but Niro's is not what will WOW! first-timers and result in the normal cravings! No amount of bell peppers, black pepper, or giardiniera can correct it here. More garlic & oregano? Beefier broth? Dunno'. For amazing IB, go to reliably excellent (for everything) Tom's BBQ on Baseline just east of Mill. Pricier, but just opening the sandwich's paper wrapping is a delight, with on-the-money aromas! Way superior to Luke's, Rosati's, etc. The extremely generous & epimonious Tom owns this store, and it shows - he's in there a lot of the time. Employees work there for years, and Jesus, at this location, will definitely fix you up. Say "Hola" to him for me! ~Ken
Oops! I don't know what happened here - Word didn't hold my corrected spelling, I guess... Of course, the adj is eponymous, not epimonious.
This version is not bad. However I found one that I love at the chinese cookbook.
http://www.thechinesecookbook.com/V8....
for veg version, i've pumped up slivers of cucumber, carott, and even the green portions of scallions. in place of shrimp, i've marinated sliced mushrooms, and i have also used sliced avocado (which i prefer for texture and flvor
I have even done without the vermicelli, and relied on the veggies and very lightly flavored lettuce, basil leaves, and Culantro
it makes for a lighter and even more appetizer-worthy roll...
oh, and they never keep ahead for me...the rice paper just changes
I first had Vietnamese Spring rolls at the CHeesecake Co. I thought they were fabulous and wanted to make them at home. These are better - and the peanut sauce is the best I have had. This has become a family favorite.