Vietnamese Spring Rolls

By golly I think I did it! I have been experimenting with Vietnamese spring rolls for over a year and I think I finally figured it out. My wrappers used to fall apart and tear, then my sauce was never to my satisfaction. So, when my Uncle and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant recently, I asked about the wrappers and I was told to soak the rice papers longer. Whala it worked! I even made two different sauces that I liked, Jalapeño Lime Sauce and a Peanut Lime Sauce. I really like the Jalapeño Lime Sauce and the Peanut Lime Sauce is good, but I may make a change. The spring rolls are great to make in the summer when you have fresh mint and basil from the garden. Once you get the hang of it, it’s an easy “low” cook summer recipe (boil water). The spring rolls are gluten free with the Jalapeño Lime Sauce; the Peanut Lime sauce has Hoisin Sauce in it which is not gluten free.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

3 ½ ounces Rice noodles* quarter of the package

7-Shrimp 1 per roll

7-Spring Roll Skins (Banh Trang)

Fresh mint leaves

Fresh basil leaves, Thai basil is best

Leaf lettuce washed and shredded

Green onion thinly sliced on the diagonal

Vegetables cut in thin strips, such as; snow peas, cucumber, red bell pepper, carrot

Bring water to bowl, add noodles, stir and cook 5-6 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside. Steam shrimp until no longer pink, peel, devein, cut in half lengthwise and set aside.

Place a sheet of rice paper in enough warm water to cover and let sit until soft and pliable. Recipes I have read in the past say 5 seconds or 30 seconds. Nope, be patient and make sure it is completely soft. I have had problems in the past with it ripping, falling apart and not sticking together. Believe me, take my advice, if the rice paper isn’t soft it’s very frustrating. Once soft, remove and place on a damp plate.

An inch from the bottom and an inch from both sides start layering your ingredients. Doesn’t matter what order you put them in, play around with it. I like to put 2 shrimp halves on the bottom and layer from there. So, when I roll it you can see the shrimp through the rice paper and it looks pretty. Don’t overstuff, this is a problem I have had, then you can’t roll it shut without tearing. It might take you a couple to get your rhythm down. Make sure each one has some noodles, lettuce, mint and basil. Then you can pick and choose the other veggies to add.

Then fold the bottom over the veggies, fold in the sides and roll up. The same as if you’re making a burrito. Place a damp paper towel in a container, set the finished roll on the paper towel and continue with the others. Don’t let the finished rolls touch because they will stick together!

Serve whole or slice diagonally with a wet knife and choose your dipping sauce.

*Most of the recipes call for vermicelli, very thin, rice noodles. I ran out so I used Banh Pho noodles, medium size, I liked this size much better.

Jalapeño Lime Dipping Sauce

1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce

1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon water

 ½ teaspoon minced jalapeño

½ teaspoon grated garlic

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Peanut Lime Dipping Sauce

2 Tablespoons natural chunky peanut butter

1 Tablespoon Hoisin sauce

1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon sesame oil

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, add a teaspoon of water to thin and set aside.

I liked the Jalapeño Lime Dipping Sauce best while others preferred the Peanut Lime Dipping Sauce. Well, we couldn’t decide so we agreed that they were both good! So, make some for your next summer gathering and taste test for yourself and let me know what you think.

Posted in Cucumbers, Herbs, Lettuce, Peppers, Snow Peas | 1 Comment »

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