Fresh Vietnamese spring rolls are pretty much a perfect food for me. They are packed with shrimp and fresh vegetables, extremely portable, cheap and very Weight Watchers-friendly. And since they are served chilled, spring rolls are perfect on a hot summer day.
Jeff and I always order a couple when we get pho from our favorite local Vietnamese restaurant — two big rolls only runs us a few bucks. But, we’ve also taken to making these at home to accompany other light Asian-inspired dishes like our Thai Turkey Larb or our Japanese Sunomono Cumber Salad. They’re actually pretty quick and simple to make, and they pair excellently with our Spicy Peanut Dressing as a dipping sauce.
Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls
Weight Watchers Info: 2 PointsPlus per serving (1 roll)
Ingredients
- 2 ounces rice vermicelli
- 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
- 8 large cooked shrimp – peeled, deveined and cut in half
- 1⅓ tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 leaves lettuce, chopped
- 4 teaspoons fish sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic chili sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
- Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
- In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
- Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.
