Whenever I go to an Asian restaurant for dinner, I love to order summer rolls if they have them. Each place does them slightly different, but they are usually cold, wrapped in rice paper sheets, and full of fresh vegetables. They are usually served with a peanut dipping sauce which goes really well with the fresh herbs inside the roll.
Although this recipe requires a bit of chopping, it’s a light dish that you can honestly eat as a one-plate dinner. These have shrimp for a bit of protein but you could put whatever meat you’d like inside. In fact, like most of my recipes, this one is highly customize-able to your own taste.
I couldn’t find the rice paper sheets in my normal grocery store, but they were extremely cheap and easy to find at a local Asian market.
One word of caution for this recipe: do not make these too far in advance or anticipate eating them the next day. You can refrigerate them but after a couple hours, the wrapper starts to harden again in the fridge and you won’t be able to eat them the next day with a hard shell. This recipe could easily serve 4-6 for dinner, or you could cut them in half and serve at a party and it would go a long way.
Shrimp Summer Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 lb. shrimp cooked, peeled, & deveined
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 english cucumber seeds removed
- 1 handful fresh cilantro
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 2 carrots peeled
- ½ box rice noodles
- 12 rice paper sheets
- 1 avocado
- 1 romaine lettuce heart
Sweet peanut dipping sauce:
- ½ c. peanut butter
- 1/3 c. hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce reduced sodium
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tsp. fresh ginger grated
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients for the dipping sauce and refrigerate until needed.
- Prepare the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. While the rice noodles are cooking, prepare your vegetables. The bell pepper and cucumber should be cut into thin strips. The carrot can be grated or cut into strips, which ever is easier for you. Slice the avocado into thin slices, and cut the romaine lettuce leaves into inch-wide pieces.
- Assemble the summer rolls by dipping the rice paper sheets in water for 3-4 seconds which makes them soft, wet, and pliable. Lay 3 shrimp down first, top with 2 slices red pepper, 2 slices cucumber, 2 basil leaves, 2-4 cilantro leaves, about 2 tbsp rice noodles, 1 slice avocado, and 2-4 small pieces of chopped romaine. Wrap the roll as tightly as you can similar to a burrito roll, but be gentle as to not break the rice paper wrapping. Serve whole or cut in half with dipping sauce on the side.
