Instructions

Prep all of the vegetables. They will be the filling for our spring rolls. Peel the carrot and cut it into thin strips. For the lettuce, mint and cilantro, make sure there will be enough to put into however many spring rolls you want. For this recipe, we are doing 20 spring rolls, so try to have 1 or 2 pieces for each spring roll. Place each vegetable into individual bowls for easy use.

Peel and devein the shrimps completely. Boil them in a pot on the stove for about 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp are fully pink and cooked through. Once cooked, place them in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. When they are cooled down, cut each shrimp in half length wise, so that you are able to use 2 half pieces of shrimp per spring roll.

Cook thin vermicelli rice noodles according to package instructions. It will usually say to rest the noodles in boiled water for about 5 minutes. After doing this, place into ice water bath until ready to assemble spring rolls.

Time to assemble! Take a piece of rice paper and submerge it into warm water for about 2-3 seconds. Place it on a flat surface. First put down your pieces of shrimp in the center. Then add carrot, lettuce, mint, cilantro and the noodles. Roll it forward once tightly to create a nice shape, then fold the sides in. Roll forward again until it is all closed up! This can be tricky to do at first, but I’ll show you the proper technique. It’s very easy once you get the hang of it. Garnish with lime and enjoy!

Spring rolls are best eaten right away. If you want to save them for later, I recommend wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap then placing in the fridge for a few days. The plastic wrap will help keep it from drying out.

Notes

When wetting the rice paper, it may be tempting to keep it submerged until it is fully soft. This will make the rice paper break very easily and almost impossible to fold. The goal is to have it pliable but still strong. Only dunk the paper for a few seconds, and trust me that’s all it will need! By the time you have all of your toppings on it, it will be the perfect consistency for rolling.

Feel free to put in any other fillings or omit any fillings! Some other common fillings are cucumber, Thai basil, jalapeño, egg, cabbage, mushrooms, pork or any other protein.