Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

I love fresh spring rolls.  When at a Vietnamese restaurant, I find it almost impossible to not order them.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Rice paper rolls (banh trang)
Green or red leaf lettuce, sliced or shredded.  Hard ribs removed.
Fresh Mint or cilantro sprigs
Shredded or julienned carrots
Rice vermicelli noodles
Cooked shrimp, halved lengthwise

Put noodles in a large, heat-proof bowl.  Boil water.  Pour boiling over the noodles and leave to soak.  Shred or slice lettuce.  Shred or julienne carrots. When the noodles are soft, drain and set aside. 

Fill a shallow pan large enough to hold a rice paper sheet with very warm water.  Slide a rice paper sheet into the water.  Let it soak until almost soft.  I like to have parts of the sheet still feel very slightly stiff.  These parts will soften even after they've been removed from the water.  Otherwise, if the rice sheet is completely soft before I remove it from the water, I can be fairly certain I'll tear the sheets.

Lay the sheet out on a clean work surface.  Put some noodles (1/4 cup or so) across the bottom third of the sheet.  Layer it with lettuce, carrots, mint or cilantro, and three or four shrimp halves.  Roll the bottom edge over the fillings. 

Tuck one or both sides up — whichever you like.  Then tightly, but don't pull too tightly, roll it up.  You'll figure out how much filling to use and how much tension to put on the rice sheet with practice.

Other ingredients to try in fresh spring rolls:  basil, shredded cucumber, scallions, garlic chives. Serve with straight hoisin sauce or with peanut-hoisin sauce (post edited May 4, 2008 to add this recipe):

Peanut-Hoisin Sauce
(adapted from Foods of Vietnam, by Nicole Routhier):

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, ground, for garnish
1 tbsp peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili paste (I use Lan Chi)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
3/4  tsp sugar
1.5-2 tbsp peanut butter (I use a bit more)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce

Heat the oil and add the garlic, chili paste, and tomato paste. Fry until garlic is golden brown. Add the broth, sugar, peanut butter, and hoisin sauce, and whisk to dissolve the peanut butter. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

Garnish with the ground peanuts.

Comments

[Barbara]

You're right, it's hard not to order these. My husband has a love/hate relationship with making them at home. He loves them but hates to make them. Thankfully he has a wonderful wife who is better at making them and doesn't mind the work. The payoff is well worth it.

[JoAnna]

here's a helpful hint to make them TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT: roll them on a damp (wet, then totally wrung out) paper towel that has been placed on your work surface. with enough practice you can get them as tight as the restaurant pros!

practicing is not a total chore, since you get to eat the mistakes!!

have fun, let me know how it works out!

[kathleen]

does anyone know where i can purchase veitnamese spring rolls?
[email protected]

[Joe]

Where are you located? (I'll email you too.)

[rcmartinez27]

hello i go to a resturant that has the best spring roll , they have a little pork in them and 2-3 pieces of shrimp i just cant figure out the sauce i know its peanut oil,anyone else know anything?? its see through and you see some red flakes in it. oh butis it good.anyone help would be greatful. thank you

[Joe]

The raw rolls (like the ones above) are usually served with a sauce that's a mixture of hoisin sauce and peanut butter (or some harder-to-get Vietnamese equivalents). It's thick and brown, and often topped with chopped peanuts.

Deep-fried ones have a thinner pinkish sauce that's made with (I think) sugar, rice vinegar, and fish sauce (nuoc mam), with some chili flakes.

Tell me which one you're talking about, and I'll post a recipe.

-- Kitchen Chick's Husband

[Need the Sauce]

I love the vietnamese spring rolls, but the only sauce I like is a sesame ginger soy sauce (like the one from California Pizza Kitchen). I have no idea how to make it. I don't like the peanut sauce, or the other one, and the only way I'll eat the spring rolls is with the sesame ginger soy sauce. Do you know how to make this sauce?

[Joe]

I've never had the sauce at California Pizza Kitchen, but I've had a lot of sauces that fit the general description and I'm sure I could get you close to it.

Tell me a bit more about it. Is it dark (soy sauce) colored or light? Is it clear or opaque? How sweet is it?

-- Kitchen Chick's Husband

[A watson]

Interested in a recipe for the Peanut dipping sauce discussed above. The sauce I am referring to has the consistency of organic peanut butter (thick & a little oily) & is opaque. Any help would be appreciated.

[Joe, Kitchen Chick's Husband]

As Kitchen Chick says, she generally makes the rolls. I, however, do the sauce... Here's the best Vietnamese peanut sauce I know (adapted from Foods of Vietnam, by Nicole Routhier):

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, ground, for garnish
1 tbsp peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili paste (I use Lan Chi)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
3/4 tsp sugar
1.5-2 tbsp peanut butter (I use a bit more)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce

Heat the oil and add the garlic, chili paste, and tomato paste. Fry until garlic is golden brown. Add the broth, sugar, peanut butter, and hoisin sauce, and whisk to dissolve the peanut butter. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

Garnish with the ground peanuts.

[Amy]

I think that the clearish sauce with red flakes that you are using for dipping might be fish sauce. At my favorite vietnamese restaurant, they serve the shrip springrolls with penut sauce, but they serve the combo spring rolls with fish sauce. Both are fantastic!

[Sarah]

These rolls are actually "summer" rolls, not "spring" rolls. Spring rolls are fried, like ones you'd get from a typical American Chinese restaurant... but these are fresh and not fried, so they are summer rolls.

[Kitchen Chick]

I've seen them called both "summer rolls" and "fresh spring" rolls (to differentiate them from fried spring rolls). My first vietnamese cookbook, the original hardcover version of Foods of Vietnam uses "fresh spring rolls", so it's the name I tend to call them by.

[Jack the Corgi]

Just made these last night for the first time. Well worth the time and efforts. i made at least 3 dozens in couple hours and shared them with friends. What I learned: soften 6-8 wrappers at a time in warm/hot water - 15 seconds are all they need - don't leave them in the water too long or they become excessively soft or start to dissolve. Wet, then wring out couple clean dish towels (instead of paper towels) and lay them flat on your kitchen counter. Lay wrappers carefully on the towel. Your towel should be damp and not too dry. The wrappers will adhere to the towels very tightly, and tear easily, if your towels are dry. Forget about transferring the wrappers from the towel to a plate, etc. and just roll them on the towel. The less your transfer or handle the wrappers, the better. They are delicate and stick together easily -- think Saran wrap or packing tape. Last but not least, if it does stick together, put it back in the warm water and it opens up nicely for you. Well worth a try. Have fun!

[Kate]

I am thinking of making these for a dinner party. How for in advance can they be made?

[Kitchen Chick]

Kate:

I don't have a good time recommendation. I think I would make them no more than a few hours in advance. The noodles may either continue to soften (if very wet) or begin to dry out if exposed to air too long. They need to be protected from air, yet not be touching each other so they don't "glue" themselves together. So if you make them in advance, I recommend wrapping them in plastic wrap, or at least putting a lining of plastic wrap between each layer. You can certain make dipping sauce in advance.

[StAc3y NgUy3n]

Spring Rolls and Salad Rolls are the SAME!!! People call them anyway...Most people call them Spring Rolls Though...

Egg Rolls are the fried ones...