Vietnamese Salad Rolls
Everyone loves the freshness of Vietnamese Salad Rolls with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce bursting with the flavour of fresh herbs and vegetables.
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Servings: 12 salad rolls
Ingredients
SALAD ROLLS
- 12 rice paper wrappers
- 18 cooked shrimp, halved horizontally (3 halves per salad roll)
- 250 grams fine vermicelli rice noodles
- ½ cup soft lettuce, finely shredded
- ½ cup carrot, finely shredded
- 1 bunch cilantro, Thai basil and/or mint leaves (I like to combine any 2 of these)
- ¼ cup peanuts, chopped
OPTIONAL FILLING INGREDIENTS
- cucumber, peppers, jicama, avocado, mango, edible flowers, black or brown sesame seeds
NUOC CHAM DIPPING SAUCE
- ½ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ½ tablespoon rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup warm water
- ½ teaspoon crushed chiles
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoon small carrot, shredded
Instructions
SOAK NOODLES
- Place rice noodles in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over them and let sit for 5 minutes. Set a timer! Drain, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process then drain again.
NUOC CHAM DIPPING SAUCE
- Combine all ingredients in a large measuring cup or Mason jar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
SALAD ROLL FILLINGS
- Prepare all filling ingredients and refrigerate in an airtight container. Can be done a day in advance.
SOAK RICE PAPER WRAPPERS
- Use a large, flat bowl that is slightly larger than the size of the rice paper wrappers. Fill the bowl with tap hot water. I can make 6 salad rolls before the water is not warm enough. Empty the bowl and refill with hot water.
- Gently slip 1 rice paper wrapper into the bowl of warm water until submerged. Let it soak for 10-20 seconds to soften. Carefully remove from bowl and lay on work surface.
ASSEMBLE SALAD ROLLS
- Place 3 shrimp halves on the bottom third of the wrapper.
- Top with a small amount of noodles, folded into a sausage shape.
- Sprinkle a very small amount of carrot, lettuce, herbs and peanuts.
- There is no correct order. Try different ways and as you roll them up see what you can make show on the best side of the finished salad roll.
- Fold the bottom of the wrapper up over the filling. Next fold over each side of the wrapper. Now hold the filling and roll it up keeping it as tight as possible.*
- Place salad rolls in a single layer on a plate covered with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Continue making salad rolls and covering them up as you go. If not serving immediately, keep the salad rolls tightly covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for 4-6 hours.
- Serve them whole or cut on a diagonal with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce or peanut sauce.
Notes
*In my cooking classes I have people make the first 2 salad rolls and put them in a container for lunch the next day. By the 3rd salad roll you'll be able to make them a little tighter and by 10 you'll be a pro!
TIPS - Whatever you place on the wrapper first is what will show through the finished salad roll. Vary the look by starting with herbs, shrimp, carrot or edible flowers. It still takes practice to roll the wraps without having the folded in ends covering the filling you wanted to show through. Keep practicing!
PINK RICE PAPER WRAPPERS - Add some beet juice (from a jar of pickled beets) to the water to soak the wrappers. Start with just enough water in the bowl plus a generous splash of beet juice so the wrapper can quickly absorb some colour since it soaks for less than a minute. I tried this when the water was a bit cooler so the rice paper soaked for a little longer. Experiment!
NOODLES - Once softened rice noodles can keep in the fridge for several hours or overnight. To make salad rolls you want fairly dry noodles. Lay them on a kitchen towel before using if they're quite wet.