Get Baked: Summer Rolls

In the “food for when it’s too hot to cook” category, these are at the top of my list. I used shrimp as filling, but you could also use chicken, beef, or tofu. The fresh herbs are one of the most important parts of the wraps, so make sure you have enough of them. (If you hate cilantro, use extra basil as a substitute). To finely chop the mint, stack up all of the individual leaves, roll them lengthwise, and slice them thinly across.

SUMMER ROLLS

Ingredients

  • 16 medium sized shrimp, peeled and cooked (or defrosted)
  • rice noodles (as many or as little as you want. Perhaps 1/3 of a package)
  • 8 large round rice paper wrappers (plus a few extras)
  • several handfuls of Boston lettuce, cut into thin strips
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 4 green onions, cut into 3-inch pieces and then thinly sliced lengthwise

Instructions

1. Prepare all of your ingredients ahead of time. Boil a saucepan of water over high heat, add the rice noodles, remove from heat, and let stand for about 8 minutes, stirring and separating the noodles occasionally. Rinse in cool water and drain.

While the water boils, slice the shrimp in half lengthwise. Wash/chop/cut/slice all of your other ingredients if you haven’t already. Find a platter or plates on which to put the finished rolls.

2. Fill a skillet large enough to lay the rice paper flat in with water until very warm (but not simmering). Turn off the heat. Slide a sheet of rice paper into the water until it gets more flexible (I go by when the pattern on the paper starts to disappear), and then remove it and lay it flay on a cutting board or extra plate. The first few times, it will probably stick to itself and the water will be too hot to reach in to and you will be glad you have extra rice paper, but you will get the hang of it.

3. Line up the noodles, lettuce, herbs, and green onions on the lower quarter of the rice paper, working away from you and leaving about an inch between the ingredients and the edges. Roll the bottom edge up and over the ingredients. Fold each side over to close off the ends. Line up the shrimp just above the folded-over edge. Roll the wrap up tightly and press the final edge down (gently wet it with your finger if it won’t stick). Repeat for as many rolls as you have ingredients for.

4. Place the rolls on the platter with some space between them, or they will stick together. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Fine Cooking.

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Ryan Yates

Ryan Yates was the NSFW Editor (2013–2018) and Literary Editor for Autostraddle.com, with bylines in Nylon, Refinery29, The Toast, Bitch, The Daily Beast, Jezebel, and elsewhere. They live in Los Angeles and also on twitter and instagram.

Ryan has written 1142 articles for us.

17 Comments

  1. I have made these before, they are so delish. I used tofu marinated in asian dressing. The rice paper definitely can be a pain in the ass to work, though.

  3. so you’re on your way to my house to make these for me cuz it’s almost lunch time and you know how hungry I get, right?

  4. I was in the store just yesterday evening looking at those rice paper wrappers. I didn’t get any and now I really regret it.

  5. My dad always makes these for cookouts with a yummy peanut dipping sauce. I will get the recipe and post it on here!

  6. Dipping Sauce for Summer Rolls
    2 parts hoisin sauce
    1 chili garlic sauce
    1 part peanut butter
    add a little bit of water to thin it out
    top with chopped peanuts

    • emily! i was just about to comment with I WANT TO MAKE THESE BUT ALSO I WANT TO DIP THEM INTO SOMETHING! WHAT WILL I DIP THEM IN??!’

      and then there was you.

      <3

  8. Rice paper doesn’t have to be so hard! When you’re ready to roll a bunch of rolls, just get a big bowl of lukewarm water and submerge a rice paper sheet in it just until all of it is wet (and no longer than that). Then put it on a plate and start putting all the fillings on it. Chances are, by the time you finish pulling all of your shy on it it will be soft enough to fold and perfectly sticky.

    Alternatively, if you’re making a bunch at once, just dunk a rice paper sheet in water, put it on a plate, and put a plate on top of that, and dunk another rice paper, and so on until oh have a big stack of rice papers on plates, and they’ll all be soft and ready to roll! I do this all the time because my friends are totally incapable of making spring rolls so the duty is delegated to me.

    Also, cucumber is really good with these rolls. And add a teaspoon of chili sauce or sriracha to the peanut butter sauce, it makes everything do much yummier.

    -your friendly neighbourhood viet

    • I totally agree on the cucumber front! Other things I like to add in – avocado, red peppers, shredded carrots and/or mango. Guys… mango. I also like putting sauce inside, as the flavour really gets in there, and the dipping/drizzling can get messy. So amaze-balls in the summer!

  11. i love these. i usually sub the shrimp for cucumber and unsalted peanuts, and use a light/thinned out sweet chilli sauce for dipping.

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