Vietnamese Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls
These fresh, homemade Vietnamese Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls are filled with a delicious flavor. They are made with rice paper rolls, shrimp, lettuce, bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles in 15 minutes. Serve as an appetizer or light lunch with peanut sauce.
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These fresh rolls are soft on the outside, chewy on the inside, and bursting with delicious seafood flavor thanks to the shrimp. Light, summery, and healthy, they make the perfect starter to impress your family and friends. Best of all, you can whip them up in less than 20 minutes!
You may also enjoy my, Thai Shrimp Coconut Curry, Shrimp Pineapple Fried Rice and Crispy Panko Shrimp.
Why This Recipe Works
- The Vietnamese rice paper rolls are a tasty, easy-to-make side option with fresh Asian flavors.
- It's a foolproof, crowd-pleasing shrimp recipe.
- Serve with Singapore Rice Noodles and Chinese Prawn Fried Rice.
- Feel free to double or triple the recipe to feed more.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Shrimp: deshell and clean the shrimp before cooking. Use large shrimps for the best results.
- Rice paper sheets: Use large rice paper sheets to ensure that all of the ingredients fit inside of the rolls.
- Lettuce: Select green lettuce leaves for this recipe.
- Peanut butter: Choose a high-quality peanut butter to ensure the dip is creamy, smooth, and delicious.
Tips and Substitutions
- Filling: Fill Vietnamese rolls with your choice of ingredients, such as chicken, pork, salmon, eggs, tofu, and more. This recipe is easily adaptable to be made vegetarian, plant-based, and dairy-free.
- Shrimp: You can also use either large fresh or frozen prawns for this recipe.
- Rice paper: Elsewhere in the world, you can find rice paper sheets in most Asian supermarkets. It's very affordable. You'll find it in a hard, dry form. But for most recipes, including these Vietnamese Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls, you'll soften the rice paper in warm water. It becomes pliable and sticky, which makes it easy to roll and seal these fresh rolls.
How to Make Vietnamese Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls
- Pour warm water into a bowl and add the vermicelli noodles. Let them soak for 3-5 minutes until they're nice and soft, then drain and set them aside. As an alternative, check the instructions on the packaging.
2. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt, and then add the prawns. Boil them for about 3 minutes, then remove them, pat them dry on a paper towel, and slice them in half.
3. Dip a sheet of rice paper into a bowl of warm water for 2 to 5 seconds, then lay it flat on a clean surface. In the center, stack a little lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, basil, and some of those noodles. Line up three shrimp slices near the top edge so they peek through once you roll them up. Leave a bit of space around the edges for folding.
Now fold the bottom of the rice paper over the filling, tuck in the sides, and roll it up nice and snug from the middle to the top. Repeat with the rest and you've got yourself a batch of fresh summer rolls.
4. Add creamy peanut butter, water, rice vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, and roasted peanuts to a bowl and stir until smooth.
5. Serve these tasty Vietnamese shrimp rice paper rolls with peanut sauce Honey Sriracha Sauce, Asian Cucumber Salad and Asian Carrot Salad.
Recipe FAQs
While the rice paper may get sticky, loosening it up is easy. To do so, sprinkle a bit of warm water on top of each spring roll to keep the rice paper from sticking to itself.
Uncooked rice paper can be stored in a cool and dry place, such as your pantry. Cooked Vietnamese shrimp rolls can be refrigerated for 2-4 days in a sealed container. In addition, spring rolls are served at room temperature.
Yes, you can make a batch of Vietnamese fresh rolls ahead of time. Store them in the fridge, and be sure to let them come up to room temperature before serving. These rolls are best served at room temperature. If the rolls start to get sticky, simply sprinkle them with warm water.
Yes! In fact, most traditional Vietnamese vermicelli rolls are fried. I decided to keep this recipe not fried, as it's still crunchy and flavorful, but a bit healthier. However, if you'd like to fry them, simply follow the recipe as written, and fry in a few inches of hot oil.
More Tasty East Asian Recipes
Vietnamese Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls
Equipment
- 1 chopping board
- 1 Chopping knife
Ingredients
- 18 medium-sized or large prawns
- Salt to taste
- 100 g thin vermicelli rice noodles
- 1 cucumber julienne
- 16 lettuce leaves chopped
- Basil
- Beansprouts
- 14 rice paper sheets
- A large bowl of warm water
Peanut Sauce
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- A splash of lime juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon of honey
- 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts chopped
Instructions
- Add warm water to a bowl. Add vermicelli noodles and soak for 3-5 minutes, or until soft. Drain and set aside.
- In a small pot, bring water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the prawns. Cook for 3 minutes, then remove the prawns and place them on a paper towel on a plate and slice them in half.
- Dip one sheet of rice paper in a bowl of warm water for 2-5 seconds. Then, lay the softened rice paper flat on a clean, dry surface. In the center, place a small amount of lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, basil, and vermicelli noodles. Place three shrimp slices near the top edge so they are visible when rolled. Make sure you leave some of the edges out to seal the rolls.
- Fold the bottom of the rice paper over the filling in the center, then bring the left and right sides inwards to seal.
- Then, roll tightly from the middle until you have a neat, sealed summer roll. Repeat these steps to make the remaining rolls.
Dipping sauce
- Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined.
- Serve the rolls with the peanut sauce.
Notes
- Shrimp: For this recipe, you can use either large fresh or frozen prawns.
- Rice Paper: Rice paper sheets are commonly found in most Asian supermarkets around the world. They are affordable and typically come in a hard, dry form. To use them in recipes like these Vietnamese Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls, soften the rice paper in warm water until it becomes pliable and sticky, making it easy to roll and seal the fresh rolls.
Yes you are correct. You can use the rest later as they are dried.
This was amazing and such a treat! Thank you!
These are gorgeous and so refreshing. This is great summer dinner and a super impressive party food.
Shrimp is one of my favorite ingredients, and I'm always looking for new ways to eat it. I've never made a dish with rice paper before so I'm looking forward to trying this out!
One of my favorite Vietnamese recipes ever! The flavors here are spot on. Thanks for all the great tips too!
So fresh and delicious! A perfect appetizer to make all summer long!
I was surprised at how easy this recipe was to make - very very tasty!