These salad rolls are always a hit whenever I make them. They’re so refreshing and full of bright flavors, making them absolutely irresistible, especially in the warmer months. Also known as Vietnamese spring rolls, summer rolls, or just simply rice paper rolls, these rolls are perfect for any occasion.
While they may seem tricky to make, these salad rolls come together quite easily. The trick is to have all your ingredients ready to go for assembly. Alternatively, you can even make this into a DIY party by laying out all the ingredients and having everyone customizable and roll their own rolls. Want another tasty and refreshing lunch idea? Try my shrimp lettuce wrap recipe or air fryer tuna steak recipe.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Shrimp — You can buy peeled and deveined shrimp with their tails removed to save you prep time.
- Rice vermicelli noodles — The cooking time for rice vermicelli noodles varies across brands, so always double-check the packaging. These noodles might also be labeled as rice noodles or rice sticks.
- Rice paper wrappers — These come in a few different sizes. Try to get the larger rice paper wrappers so you can fit more filling into them.
- Vegetables — For vibrant and filling salad rolls, I fill them with lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers. You can always swap the vegetables for what you have on hand or your favorite vegetables.
- Herbs — I use fresh cilantro and mint and recommend sticking to fresh herbs for the rolls.
- Peanut sauce — I like making my own peanut sauce. It comes together quickly with only peanut butter, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and water.
How to Make Salad Rolls
Step 1: To make the peanut sauce, combine peanut butter, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and water in a small mixing bowl. Mix until well combined.
Step 2: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the shrimp for 3 - 4 minutes. Remove the shrimp and set them aside to cool.
Step 3: In another pot, bring water to a boil and cook the vermicelli noodles for 2 minutes until soft. Strain and set aside to cool.
Step 4: Fill a large bowl with water and dip one rice paper wrapper in the water. Place the wrapper on a cutting board along with a row of shrimp and mint.
Step 5: Add the rest of the fillings, vermicelli noodles, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers, and cilantro.
Step 6: Wrap the veggies and shrimp, like a burrito, as tightly as you can without tearing it, bottom side first, then the left side folds in, then the right side, and finally the top. Serve with the peanut sauce.
Tips For This Recipe
- The texture and thickness of rice wrappers vary depending on the brand. Some may need more time soaked in water for it to become pliable.
- Do not dip all the rice paper wrappers into the water at once. Dip them one at a time. After you’ve soaked the wrappers, they will become sticky as they sit.
- When serving the salad rolls, do not place them side by side. As I mentioned, the wrappers become sticky, and it will cause the rolls to tear as you try to pick them up.
- Make sure the shrimp, noodles, and vegetables are dry before adding them to the rice paper wrapper. If your filling is wet, it will lead to the wrappers disintegrating.
- If your wrapper is tearing as you roll them, you can double up and use two wrappers.
Frequently Asked Questions
While salad rolls hold up well for a couple of hours, I do not recommend making this recipe too far ahead of time. The longer the rolls are stored, the more the rice paper wrappers will dry out and harden. It’s best to consume these rolls the day you make them.
For sure! If you do not have fresh shrimp, frozen shrimp is just as delicious. Just make sure you thaw them ahead of time.
Most rice paper wrappers are made up of rice flour, tapioca starch, water, and salt, so they are naturally gluten-free.
If you are having trouble with the rice paper sticking to your working surface, you can add some water to your cutting board or counter, so they roll easier. Alternatively, you can roll the salad rolls on a damp towel to prevent sticking.
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Salad Rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 16 shrimp deveined with heads and tails removed
- 8 - 10 rice paper wrappers
- 1 cup rice vermicelli noodles
- 1 cup butter lettuce leaves ribs removed
- 1 cup red cabbage sliced thin
- 1 cup carrots thin sliced
- 1 cup cucumbers thin sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup mint leaves chopped
For the peanut sauce:
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- To make the sauce, combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Mix until well combined.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the shrimp for 3 - 4 minutes. Remove the shrimp and set aside to cool.
- In another pot, bring water to a boil and cook the vermicelli noodles for 2 minutes until soft. Strain and set aside to cool.
- Fill a large bowl with water and dip one rice paper wrapper in the water. This will allow the wrapper to become flexible and easy to work with. Place the wrapper on a cutting board and add some vermicelli noodles, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers, cilantro and mint. On the top of the veggies add 2 to 3 shrimp. Wrap the veggies and shrimp-like a burrito as tightly as you can without tearing it, bottom side first, then the left side folds in, then the right side, and finally the top. The rice wrapper should be sticky enough to stay sealed once you have rolled it all the way up.
- Serve with the peanut sauce.
Video
Notes
- The texture and thickness of rice wrappers vary depending on the brand. Some may need more time soaked in water for it to become pliable.
- Do not dip all the rice paper wrappers into the water at once. Dip them one at a time. After you’ve soaked the wrappers, they will become sticky as they sit.
- When serving the salad rolls, do not place them side by side. As I mentioned, the wrappers become sticky, and it will cause the rolls to tear as you try to pick them up.
- Make sure the shrimp, noodles, and vegetables are dry before adding them to the rice paper wrapper. If your filling is wet, it will lead to the wrappers disintegrating.
- If your wrapper is tearing as you roll them, you can double up and use two wrappers.