These fresh spring rolls are easy to make and with the crunchy shrimps inside they are a perfect combination of sweet, crunchy, sour and soft. You will want to try this! It’s a delicious light lunch or light meal.

shrimp spring rolls

Spring rolls with shrimps

Now making these shrimp spring rolls is really quite easy to do. The most work is the cutting of the vegetables and frying of the shrimps but that’s about it. I absolutely love making fresh Vietnamese spring rolls. I’ve made them before as you will be able to see by checking out this recipe for Vietnamese spring rolls with a peanut sauce (the peanut sauce will work well here too!) or this one with pretty cucumber slices. There is nothing that beats homemade spring rolls.

Now for making this shrimp spring rolls recipe you need rice paper wrappers. Just check in the Asian grocery stores as there are different kind of spring roll wrappers. Some are meant to be for deep frying like these. Others are supposed to be used fresh and that is what you will need for this particular recipe.

Preparing the filling

First thing you do when making the shrimp spring rolls is that you cut all the vegetables into julienne size. You need it to be small so either use a julienne cutter or slice it thinly. I used carrots, chili pepper, cucumber and spring onions here. But you can vary it well. I sometimes like to add some mango slices too. That works really well with the shrimps. Some fresh herbs are also needed to give it the finishing touch. I like to use Thai basil if available but a mix of sweet basil combined with fresh mint leaves will also be great. Slice the herbs also thinly and set aside in a small bowl.

Spring rolls with shrimps

Once all the fresh veggies are cut it is time to prepare the shrimps. Remove the shells and remove the poop shoot from the prawns. Set three small bowls aside. One with the flour, one with a mix of panko, coconut and lime zest and one with an egg. Dip the cleaned prawns first into the flour, then the egg and last into the panko mixture. That will give them a lovely crunchy finish. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan and fry them until golden brown. Let them drain on kitchen paper and then move on to filling the rice paper sheets. Once cooled slice them into small chunks.

Filling the spring rolls

For softening the rice paper you need a wide bowl. I like to use a silicon tart tin that works perfectly as it has just the right size. Fill it with cold water or luke warm water at most. Now dip the rice paper into the water for a few seconds and take it out. Place it on a clean kitchen counter. When you take it out, it could still be a bit stiff but it will soften further while you add the vegetables.

Shrimp spring rolls

Place a bit of every fresh vegetable in the middle of the rice paper. Don’t use too much. End with the fresh herbs and a few pieces of the shrimps. Fold the bottom part of your rice paper over the filling and using your fingers make sure it is tight. Roll it around the filling and wrap the sides of the paper over the middle as well and continue rolling till the end of the paper.

I will – at some point – make a video on how best to do this but for now there are plenty of videos about fresh spring rolls on Youtube if you’re unsure of how to proceed.

Continue until you’ve used all your ingredients or all your rice papers. 

Variations and additions

Now while I absolutely love the simplicity of these shrimp summer rolls you can definitely vary them easily. I like using a bit of rice noodles or rice vermicelli as well or some bean sprouts also work great with this recipe. In terms of dipping sauce you can also vary easily. Here I simply dipped them into sweet chili sauce, which is always a favorite of mine. But there are many different options out there including ones with peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce or hoisin sauce. I love also adding some red cabbage or thinly sliced bell peppers to the fresh vegetables. You can also use pre-cooked shrimps if you want to make the recipe faster. 

Spring rolls with shrimps

If you don’t want to use the rice paper you can change that into egg roll wrappers, using an omelette as the wrapper or go for a lettuce leaf instead. Both work really well. If you have filling ingredients left over they can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Tips for making the spring rolls with shrimps

If this is your first time making Vietnamese spring roll recipes it might be worth testing it first. One thing you want to test is how quickly the rice paper softens. It can become quite sticky and difficult to work with so it’s easier to test it out. Use a fake filling for ease of use and try to roll your first spring roll. The spring roll paper is pretty cheap to buy at Asian supermarkets so spoiling a couple just to get the hang of the rolling part is ok. Just use some green leaf lettuce for your test filling and go test it out!

Spring roll with shrimps

Spring rolls with shrimps

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GangAppetiser
KeukenVietnamese

√Super easy √Delicious with crunchy shrimps √Filled with fresh vegetables √Vietnamese spring rolls √Summer rolls
Prep time 30 minutes
Cooking time 5 minutes
Total time 35 minutes

2 people

Ingredients

  • 5 sheets rice paper
  • 10 large raw prawns peeled and poopshoot removed
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 3 tbsp panko or other breadcrumbs
  • 3 tbsp dried coconut not sweetened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 lime zest
  • sunflower oil for frying the prawns

Spring roll filling

  • 2 carrots finely sliced into strips
  • 1/2 cucumber finely sliced into long strips
  • 1 red chili finely sliced
  • 1/2 bunch Thai basil
  • 1 spring onions finely sliced into thin strips

  • Prepare all your vegetables and slice them as evenly and as thinly as you can.
  • Mix panko, coconut, lime zest and place into a small bowl.
  • Once all your vegetables are cut and ready to go, prepare your prawns. Clean them and make three little bowls ready; one with flour, one with the combined panko and coconut and lime and one with the egg, loosely beaten.
  • Dip your prawns into the flour first, then the egg and lastly with the coconut mix.
  • Heat a layer of sunflower oil in a wok or frying pan and in batches cook your prawns until golden brown. Leave to drain on kitchen paper.
  • Once cooled, cut them into smaller chunks to include into the rice paper.
  • Prepare a wide bowl (I always use one of our silicon tart cases… perfect size!) for dipping your rice paper in, with lukewarm water. Not to warm, not too cold.
  • Dip each sheet into the water for a few seconds. It will still be slightly stiff when you take it out and put it on your kitchen counter but once it's been there it will soften quickly so work fast.
  • Put your vegetables neatly in the middle and top with some prawns and start wrapping the rolls.
  • Make a nice dipping sauce for dipping your rolls in and enjoy!

Nutrition Information per portion

Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 1822mg | Potassium: 588mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 10838IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 4mg

Disclaimer

The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.

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Simone van den Berg

Food blogger from the Netherlands. Loves good food. Likes to create healthy and easy recipes for daily use, but also loves the occasional sweet dish. Lives in the Netherlands with her two cats; Humphrey and Buffy. Profession: Food photographer, food blogger, recipe developer and nutritionist