Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Seared Shrimp
These Vietnamese summer rolls are perfect for warm weather gatherings, featuring juicy seared shrimp, rice noodles, marinated vegetables, and fresh herbs.
- Prep time
- 50 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 16 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup hot water
- 2 teaspoons chili oil ((or chili garlic sauce))
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic ((minced))
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 pound shrimp ((medium size; peeled, deveined, tails removed))
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cloves garlic ((minced))
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 medium carrot ((peeled and julienned))
- 1 scallion ((julienned))
- 4 oz. rice vermicelli noodles
- 16 rice paper wrappers
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 bunch mint
Instructions
- 1
Start by making the peanut dipping sauce. Combine the peanut butter and hot water until smooth. Then stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- 2
Toss the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking. Sear the shrimp, tossing once or twice, until they are pink and just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
- 3
Whisk together the garlic, sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice in a large bowl. Toss in the bean sprouts, carrot, and scallions, and set aside.
- 4
Boil the rice noodles according to the package instructions. Drain thoroughly and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
- 5
Now you are ready to assemble. Fill a pie plate halfway with tepid water. Immerse a wrapper into the water, and hold it there for about 5 seconds. It will still be quite stiff, but will soften very quickly as you assemble the rolls.
- 6
After 5 seconds has elapsed, immediately pull the wrapper out of the water and lay it on a clean work surface. Start by laying down a few pieces of shrimp horizontally across the middle of the wrapper. Add some of your rice noodles, the marinated vegetables, and a few leaves of each of the three herbs (basil, cilantro, and mint)
- 7
Fold the sides of the wrapper over the filling, and then roll from bottom to top into a cigar. Place on a serving plate. Continue until all the rolls are assembled. Serve with peanut sauce!