Vietnamese Summer Rolls are a fresh and healthy appetizer or light lunch made with shrimp, rice paper, noodles, lettuce, bell pepper, carrot, and cucumber.
To make the peanut dipping sauce, mix all the peanut sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
Next, mix all the Vietnamese dipping sauce ingredients in another medium bowl to make the Vietnamese dipping sauce.
COOK SHRIMP:
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil on high heat.
Add the shrimp and boil for 3-4 minutes.
Remove the shrimp from the water and let them cool.
Peel and slice the shrimp in half lengthwise.
Chill until ready to use.
COOK RICE NOODLES:
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil on high heat.
Turn off the heat and add the noodles.
Let the noodles sit in hot water for 5 minutes (the cooking time may vary according to the brand, so make sure to check the instructions on the packet).
Once the noodles soften, drain and rinse them under cold water.
ASSEMBLE THE SPRING ROLLS:
Fill a shallow bowl or pie dish with warm water. Then, working with one rice paper sheet at a time, submerge it for 10 seconds or until softened.
Put the wet rice paper on your work surface.
Lay a piece of lettuce closer to the bottom edge of the rice paper.
Add a small number of rice noodles to the lettuce, followed by cucumber, carrots, red bell pepper, and mint leaves.
Arrange 3 pieces of shrimp about 2 inches below the top edge of the rice paper, near the middle.
Grab the lower end of the rice paper and lettuce and start rolling it up.
Once you’ve rolled to the shrimp, fold the left and right sides and roll again until the end.
Repeat with the rest of the rice paper sheets
SERVE:
Serve the spring rolls with any or both dipping sauces.
Notes
Consume the spring rolls fresh or on the same day. Storing them is not advisable because the rice paper hardens in the fridge.
You can use butter, romaine, or iceberg lettuce; you can remove any hard stem from the lettuce because it might pierce through the rice paper while rolling.
Use a wooden platter or cutting board to roll the summer rolls. You can dampen your working surface with water if you feel that your rice paper is sticking to the board.