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Fresh and crisp Shrimp Summer Rolls make a delicious appetizer perfect for dipping or a lovely light lunch. They are filled with succulent shrimp and cool veggies all rolled up in rice paper wrappers. Not to be confused with spring rolls which are usually fried, these easy rice paper rolls are so light and pack a ton of flavor and texture.
Why You’ll Love These Shrimp Summer Rolls
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: Vietnamese
- Primary Cooking Method: Stovetop
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free option, Dairy-free
- Skill Level: Easy
Linda, who originally contributed this recipe to my site, was inspired to make these rice paper rolls after a visit to a Vietnamese restaurant. They provided all of the fillings and wrappers so you could roll your own right at the table. This inspired her to take the dining experience and bring it into her own kitchen. And now you can too. Here’s why you’ll love this recipe…
- Easy but impressive. No need to be intimidated. Making shrimp rolls at home is totally doable since it requires nothing more than sauteeing some shrimp and tossing it with veggies in a simple sauce before you roll it all up in a rice paper wrapper.
- Fun for a party. This is actually a good dinner party idea, because you can let everybody make their own combination. Then everyone will stay longer and enjoy themselves. And even if you make them in advance, you can set out soy, chili, or other sauces and have fun dipping or drizzling.
- Allergy friendly. This dish is naturally dairy-free, and you only have to use a gluten free alternative to soy sauce and fish sauce in order to make GF summer rolls.
Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls Ingredients and Substitutions
Here is an overview of what you’ll need, as well as information for substitutions. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full amounts and detailed instructions.
- Sesame oil.
- Shallot. Minced. You can substitute red onion, if that’s what you have on hand.
- Kaffir lime leaves. These are a common ingredient in Southeast Asian dishes and can be found in many grocery stores or Asian markets. Fresh kaffir lime leaves are even available on Amazon. But in a pinch, you could substitute bay leaves, lime zest, or a combination of both.
- Shrimp. Raw but peeled and deveined with the tails off. You can leave out the shrimp or use tofu to make vegetarian rice paper rolls. Keep with the seafood them and use crab. Or try cooked beef or Asian grilled chicken that you’ve sliced.
- Veggies. I like a combination of julienned cucumber and carrot, along with Boston or Bibb lettuce, fresh mint, and some jalapeno slices for kick. But you can use what you like, such as broccoli, sweet bell peppers, cabbage, cilantro, or even some pineapple..
- Soy sauce and fish sauce. If you need to make this gluten free, be sure to use tamari or even coconut aminos for the soy sauce and use a brand of fish sauce that is GF, like Red Boat or Thai Kitchen.
- Lime juice. Fresh is best.
- Rice paper wrappers. These are sold in packages and can be round or square. Typically for rolls like this, you would use the round ones. They are hard as a thin sheet of plastic and you soak them briefly in warm water to make them pliable.
How to Make Shrimp Summer Rolls
It’s so much easier than you think! Let’s get started.
- Cook the shrimp. Saute shallots, kaffir lime leaves, and shrimp until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Let cool.
- Toss in the sauce. Julienne the cucumbers and carrots, then toss with the shrimp in a mixture of soy sauce (or tamari), fish sauce, and lime juice.
- Soak and roll rice paper wrappers. Fill a shallow dish with warm water and soak one rice paper sheet for about 30 seconds. Place rice paper on your work surface and top with one leaf of lettuce, mint leaves, carrots and cucumbers, and shrimp, plus any other fillings you might like. Roll up to enclose the fillings.
- Serve and enjoy. Put out bowls of soy sauce, tamari, or chili sauce for dipping, or check out my suggestions below.
FAQs
Spring rolls are wrapped in a flour-based dough or wrapper and deep-fried. Summer rolls are rolled up in rice paper wrappers and enjoyed cold or at room temperature.
Either you’ve overfilled the wrappers or not wrapped them tight enough. It’s also possible you didn’t soak the wrappers long enough and maybe they aren’t sticky enough.
If you are storing your summer rolls, you’ll need to wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Wrap them tightly so the plastic is touching the surface of the rice paper.
While best eaten right away, if you wrap them tightly, you can refrigerate them for a day or two. Otherwise, I recommend prepping the ingreidents in advance. The cut vegetales and cooked shrimp will keep in the refrigeratore for 3 or 4 days. Then soak your wrappers and rolls them fresh when you plan to eat them.
What to Serve with Shrimp Summer Rolls
Whether you serve these rice paper rolls with a Vietnamese Salad inspired by the Banh Mi sandwich for dinner or alongside some Beef Lettuce Wraps as an appetizer, the most important thing is to remember a dipping sauce. Basic soy sauce or chili sauce is simple and tasty, but here are some other ideas:
- Sesame Dipping Sauce that you’ll find with this Asian Vegetable Pancakes recipe
- Peanut Sauce
- Bang Bang Sauce
- Gluten Free Teriyaki Sauce
Shrimp Summer Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 12 oz raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail-off
- 1 cucumber, julienned
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1/3 cup fresh mint
- 1 small head Bibb or leaf lettuce
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce (be sure to use gluten free soy sauce or tamari, if needed)
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 12 medium rice paper wrappers
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the kaffir lime leaves and shrimp, and cook until the shrimp are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
- When cool, combine the shrimp with cucumber, carrot, mint, fish sauce, soy sauce (or tamari), and lime juice.
- Place a rice paper wrapper in a bowl of warm water for 30 seconds or until soft and pliable. Remove and pat dry.
- Place one leaf lettuce on the center of the ice paper wrapper as a base.
- Add the shrimp mixture and roll over one side to enclose the filling.
- Serve with soy sauce or sweet chili sauce in small bowls for dipping.
Did you make this?
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Categories:
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