Name: Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 12 spring rolls wrappers; 18 cooked shrimp (split in half); 36 fresh mint leaves; 4 ounces thin rice noodles (cooked and drained); 0.5 package bean sprouts; 0.5 bunch fresh cilantro leaves; 1 large carrot (peeled and julliened); 3 green onions (green parts only (sliced into thin strips)); 4 ounces cooked pork (sliced thin); .25 cup natural peanut butter; 0.5 cup water; 3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 tablespoon chili paste; 2 cloves fresh garlic (pressed or finely minced); 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

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Recreate your favorite Vietnamese Spring Rolls at home with this simple, easy to follow recipe. This light and refreshing appetizer is made with shrimp, pork, fresh vegetables and herbs wrapped in spring roll wrappers and served with a simple, tangy peanut sauce.

Spring rolls laying on a wooden board with a diagonal cut half laying on top and a yellow bowl of peanut sauce in the left corner.

Recipe inspiration

Way back in December I had major surgery and was pretty much unable to move for the first week. Thankfully, my friend Sandy would show up with food, including Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce, and check on me to make sure I was still breathing, LOL. I have a history of pharmaceutical allergies, and we were trying out a new pain killer….a hard core narcotic.

I am one of those people that has never tried drugs, in fact I could never understand why people would use drugs. It seriously has never made any sense to me, until my adventure with Dilaudid. Let me tell you, you don’t really feel anything. You just sort of drift in and out in between doses and you could care less what the rest of the world is doing. Needless to say, it was a short lived vacation from reality. The prescription was for 30 pills with absolutely NO REFILLS!! I was warned not to even try to get more, it would not happen.

spring rolls laying on a wooden board with a cut roll resting on top

On the 4th day post surgery, Sandy showed up with Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce from a restaurant on the other side of town, and I was hooked. I had never tried them before that night, and now I actually crave them. Who knew? On the 8th day post surgery, Sandy picked me up and we went to the restaurant for more spring rolls.

Driving 20 minutes each direction to pick up an order is kind of ridiculous, so I knew that I would need to learn how to make my own. They may not look as pretty as the restaurant version, but they are just as delicious!

How to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Start by getting all of your ingredients chopped, shredded and ready to roll.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls ingredients on a cutting board.

I cooked a pork chop and sliced it as thinly as possible. Then I boiled the shrimp in the noodle water after I removed the cooked noodles. Lay them on their sides and slice in half.

Fill a bowl about half way full with warm water. Place one spring roll wrapper in the water and soak until softened and pliable, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Rice paper wrappers soaking in a large bowl of water.

Gently remove wrapper and place on a flat work surface.

Soaked wrapper laying on a cutting board.

Place 3 mint springs and 3 shrimp slices on wrapper.

Three shrimp and three mint leaves laying on the wrapper.

Next place shredded lettuce, bean sprouts, rice noodles, cilantro leaves, green onions, and 2 slices of pork on top of shrimp.

Bean sprouts aren’t my favorite, so you might want to add more than what is shown. 😉 Carefully pull wrapper up over the filling on both ends.

The first time I rolled my spring rolls {and took the photos}, I started in the center. It worked much better folding up the two sides first…THEN roll up the center! Set your finished spring roll aside and continue with remaining rolls.

To make the Peanut Sauce

Place all ingredients {except for the sesame oil} into a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Peanut butter, garlic, and remaining sauce ingredients in a saucepan.

Whisk to combine and heat until smooth and just beginning to simmer. Allow to cool slightly and serve your Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce.

A small yellow bowl filled with peanut top with chopped peanuts sprinkled on top and surrounded by spring rolls.

The peanut sauce that is served at Pho, the Vietnamese restaurant here in Cedar Rapids, is much thinner and tastes more like a spicy teriyaki sauce with chopped peanuts. I went the other direction and made a thick sauce with peanut butter and less of a kick. This sauce was so good, that I ended up dipping crackers into it when I ran out of spring rolls!

Lots of protein and veggies wrapped into delicious little rolls. What could be better for you than that?

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More delicious shrimp recipes

Check out all of our appetizer recipes in the archives!

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Enjoy!!