Fresh Spring Rolls

5 from 6 votes

If you are looking for a quick, healthy dinner recipe then you need these Fresh Spring Rolls! They are so good dunked in our homemade Thai Peanut Sauce. So much flavor form the shrimp, carrots, purple cabbage, cucumber, and fresh herbs.

Prep Time20

Cook Time6

Total Time26

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian

Servings:

Calories: 349kcal

Author: Julie Evink

Ingredients

Spring Rolls:

2 oz rice vermicelli or rice noodles cooked according to package directions
8 rice wrappers 8.5 inches in diameter
32 large cooked shrimp peeled and deveined
3/4 c. shredded carrot
3/4 c. shredded purple cabbage
1/2 cucumber cut into matchsticks
3 Tbsp Thai basil chopped
3 Tbsp mint leaves chopped
3 Tbsp cilantro chopped
2-3 leaves of lettuce but into 2 pieces so that it lies flat (I like to remove the center portion)

Peanut Dipping Sauce

2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp chopped peanuts
4 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp lime juice (~¼ of a lime)
1-3 Tbsp water
Top with crushed peanuts optional garnish

Instructions

Spring Rolls

Prepare all ingredients and set aside. You want to be able to assemble quickly once the rice wrapper has been softened.
Wet a paper towel and lay on workspace.
Take out one wrapper and heat tap water until it reaches it becomes hot but won’t burn you.
Run the rice wrapper underneath water until both sides have been covered. The rice wrapper will become softer the longer it sits.
Place rice wrapper on wet paper towel.
Working quickly, lay down 4 shrimp in a row, then the rice noodles, followed by the shredded carrots, purple cabbage, cucumber, thai basil, mint, and cilantro.
Lay the lettuce on the very top and over the sides
Fold in the two sides of the rice wrapper.
Take the edge piece closest to you and fold it in and around the rest of the ingredients.
Pull the bottom toward you and close the spring roll. Be careful not to pull too hard to prevent ripping. The rice wrapper also has a visual guide to help. This process takes some time and practice to get the hang of, but you will be a pro in no time! Once these are folded, they are likely to stick together. I prefer to lay the spring rolls on a damp paper towel until serving to prevent them sticking on a plate.

Peanut Sauce

Stir together peanut butter, hoisin sauce, peanuts, lime juice, and 1 Tbs of water.
Heat in microwave, stirring every 15 seconds until heated through.
Add in 1-2 Tbs of water during the cooking process as needed until it reaches desired dipping consistency.

Notes

Why is my rice paper tearing when I roll it up?

Rolling up a spring roll takes practice, but don’t get discouraged. You will get the hang of it in no time. If you are having problems with your rice paper tearing as you roll it up, try these tips:

Don’t soak the rice wrapper. It needs to be fully submerged in water and pulled out immediately. The longer it sits, the softer it will become.
Work quickly once you wet the rice wrapper. Have everything ready to go once you lay the rice wrapper down and immediately start assembling.
You might be overfilling your roll. Try not to overload it with your ingredients. The roll should be about 3 inches thick. If you notice that your shrimp is too thick, feel free to cut it in half lengthwise. Pile your ingredients on top of each other. You don’t the ingredients to be much wider than the shrimp on the bottom of the pile.
Wrap the lettuce around the other ingredients like a blanket (except for the shrimp on the bottom. You want to be able to see that from the outside of the wrapper). This will help keep a smoother area for the wrapper so that nothing will poke through, causing a tear.
Work on a damp paper towel. The rice paper will stick on to anything once it’s wet, including your workspace. The damp paper towel will prevent sticking and aids in the rolling process. I like to re-dampen the same paper towel after rolling each spring roll.

Can I make spring rolls ahead?

You can but not too far ahead. If you're making them for a party, you can assemble them up to an hour ahead. Keep them covered with a cool, damp kitchen towel and they will hold up well. I wouldn't make them any further ahead than that because they just won't be as good!

How do you store the leftovers?

I think these are best when you make them, but if you have some leftover you can keep them in the refrigerator for one to two days. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then keep them in an airtight container.

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