These Vietnamese spring rolls feature chopped veggies, crispy shallots, and rice noodles all wrapped into rice paper rolls. They’re crunchy, refreshing, and perfect for summer. Paired with a mango almond butter sauce to take them to the next level!
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Rice paper spring rolls were always one of my favorite appetizers at southeast Asian restaurants. They were such a lovely way to start a meal – dipping light crunchy rolls with fresh veggies into a peanut sauce. The only problem is there were never enough of them. So if you’ve ever wished that the appetizer was the whole meal, these rice paper rolls are for you. They’re paired with a mango almond butter sauce made with mangos, almond butter, lime juice, garlic, and tamari. It’s fun and fresh!
I made these Vietnamese spring rolls with whatever I had at home, which included red cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, shallots, and rice noodles. Vietnamese spring rolls originate from China, but have been adapted to Vietnamese cuisine. They require rice paper and feature lots of crunchy seasonal veggies.
I added some flavor to the noodles with some simple ingredients and crisped up the shallots. From there, it was just a matter of learning how to fold the rolls! It took a little practice, but I eventually got the hang of it after a few rolls.
How to Make These Spring Rolls
Pick your veggies and cut them thin! Use a mandolin to make this faster. This recipe includes carrots, red cabbage, and cucumbers, but feel free to get creative and use what you have. Make sure to add some fresh mint!
Make the crispy shallots. Just use a little oil in a pan and they should be crispy in about 5 minutes! They add a lovely texture to the rolls.
Soak the rice paper in warm water. Refer to the package instructions on your rice paper rolls for the timing, but I soaked mine for about 10 seconds in warm water.
Fold the spring rolls. After letting the rice paper rest for a minute, I piled on the toppings in the bottom third of the rice paper. Then I folded as pictured! A few of them were messy, but eventually I got the hang of it and it was a really therapeutic pastime.
Note: I didn’t feel like adding tofu, but feel free to cut up some tofu to add straight to the rolls OR crisp up in a pan before adding to the rolls.
Get Saucy With It
I’ve mostly heard of spring rolls being served with peanut sauce, but I had a mango on hand. So added a little this and that and ended up with something quite magical that is totally worth trying! I love a good peanut sauce, but I enjoyed this even more. You just need to process mangos, almond butter, lime juice, garlic, and tamari.
Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Mango Almond Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 10 rice paper sheets
- 1.5 cups thinly cut veggies (red cabbage, carrot, cucumber)
- ¼ cup fresh mint
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 oz. thin rice noodles
- 2 tbsp coco aminos *or tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tsp sambal olaek *or chili garlic sauce
- 1 tsp lime juice
- black pepper
Mango Almond Butter Sauce
- ¼ cup mango, fresh or frozen
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp sambal olaek
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp tamari *or soy sauce
Instructions
- Soak the rice noodles in boiling hot water for about 10 minutes or until they are soft. Drain and toss with coco aminos (or tamari/soy sauce), sambal olaek (or chili garlic sauce), lime juice, and pepper.
- Saute the thinly sliced shallots in a bit of oil in a pan for 5 minutes or until crispy.
- Process all the ingredients for the sauce in a small processor. Add a few spoons of lukewarm water until you've arrived at a nice dippable consistency.
- Set up a medium saucepan with water on the stove and heat until it is warm, but not too hot. Keep the saucepan on low heat once you reach the right temperature.
- Soak the rice paper in the water until soft, about 10 seconds. Take it out and place on a cutting board. Let it rest for a minute before piling on the filling.
- In the bottom third of the rice paper, add noodles, thin veggies, mint leaves, crispy shallots, and a little sauce. You will likely need less than you think you need. Gently fold in the sides (pictures included above) and then pinch up the bottom third and roll until you form the spring roll!
