I’ve heard these rolls called many different things depending on who made them or where they’re sold. My absolute favorite rolls were called shrimp rolls at the Vietnamese Ba-Le bakery near my office in Hawaii. There are around 25 Ba-Le bakery/sandwich shops in Hawaii, but I found that after trying shrimp rolls at over 10 of them, the ones by my work were always the freshest. Maybe it was because I always got them around lunch time, but they were the best. I used to dance evenings in a hulu/jazz show in the International Marketplace in Waikiki. There was a little Thai stand in the food court that called theirs Thai Shrimp Rolls, they always put a dot of sriracha in their peanut sauce which gave it such a great kick that I started doing that at every place I went. There were two different Vietnamese restaurants near my first apartment that I’d buy them from, one called the Vietnamese Spring Rolls, the other simply called them Summer Rolls. Fortunately, every restaurant has a picture on the menu so it’s easy enough to know what you’re ordering.
I really don’t make these often enough at home. It’s not a difficult process, there’s just lots of fresh ingredients and they don’t keep that well for leftovers the next day, so for just the two of us we usually go to the Vietnamese restaurant down the street and get 2 for $3. But these are so cheap to make (just under 25 cents each!) that they’re great for a party or potluck. I got Eric to help me with promises that he could eat the first few he made, and so we set out our work station. It’s a lot easier and faster to put these together if you have all your ingredients laid out in a big area. You also need a pie pan of very warm water to soften your rice papers. I was going to write all about choosing a rice paper, and then found this great post to send you to instead. Now typically in restaurants, the shrimp rolls will be one large roll with 3-4 half shrimps and closed ends. I prefer to fold the rice paper in half so you can see the beautiful ingredients poking out (and it’s just easier for me to roll them tightly that way!) The most work for this is preparing the noodles, which takes a little time but it’s not really working time. I rinse the vermicelli in cool water, let them sit on a plate for 5 minutes, and repeat that 3 times before boiling them for 3 minutes. The packages I use always have instructions for soups or stir fries which don’t quite work with making summer rolls. Make these one at a time, it really is faster and easier that way, and don’t be afraid to eat some while you’re making them!
Shrimp Rolls Recipe4 stalks green onion finely chopped
Spread all ingredients out on a work surface. Remove tails from shrimp (if they’re still on) and cut shrimp in half lengthwise.
Peanut Sauce Recipe
I love spring rolls. I always order them whenever I eat out at an Asian restaurant. Those look delicious.
Delicious rolls and I love your recipe for the peanut sauce!
I'm so hungry that I could eat my computer. Yum.
I love peanut sauce – it is one of my favorites! these spring rolls look so colorful and delicious!
wonderful good job send me some pleease
Yum!! We don't have rice paper wrappers here (that I've found anyway) but we'll be in Thailand in 2 weeks, so I'll totally have to pick some up! This looks fun! Yum!!
You ROCK! I love your website 🙂 I lived in Hawaii for a time, so I love it when you cook with SPAM and other fun things like that too! You ROCK!
I love you thai rolls they are superb !!
I used to visit Ba-Le in Ward Center, Honolulu atleast twice a week for lunch. These were a big favorite of mine when I lived in Hawaii!! Mmmm.
Mmmmm…this sounds and looks delectable.
those look SOO good! I must make these soon.
I’ll be making these tomorrow… can’t wait after reading all the *ahem* yummy research it took for you to re-create your favorite fresh shrimp rolls! Thanks so much 🙂