This is our favorite snack finger food in the world. You can carry them anywhere, eat them on the run, stop at a park bench, or sit back and munch them in mid flight to some hastily planned destination. They are one of the healthiest snacks you can make for yourself and your family.
Seared Salmon Spring Rolls like these are easy to make, incredibly tasty and are an amazingly healthy snack.
One pound is enough shrimp (or salmon) for ten to fifteen Spring Rolls, so you can prepare them all at once and if you have leftovers, you have them ready in the refrigerator. We often like to use wild caught Gulf shrimp, they are caught by American fishermen and it supports that fishery. They are not farm raised, so they taste wildly! better. We like the peanut sauce to be spicy, and you can adjust to your taste with the Sriracha sauce.
Ingredients
1 pound shrimp (or Salmon), we use wild caught shrimp from the Gulf or Argentinian Red shrimp
2 heaping tablespoons of coconut oil
2 big cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger peeled and shredded
10 sheets of round rice paper, we use Banh Trang Ba Co Gai (ordered on Amazon)
3 cups of already shredded red and green cabbage, carrots, and spring lettuce
1 cup whole cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt for shrimp
Spicy Peanut Sauce
5 heaping tablespoons smooth peanut butter (we use Laura Scudder’s or make our own with purchased peanuts)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin (or 2 teaspoons sugar)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons authentic Sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce or Tamari (which has no wheat)
Prep Work
For Spicy Peanut Sauce:
Start with the peanut butter, add the rice vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, Sriracha sauce, and soy sauce all at once, and then stir slowly until it’s a smooth and slightly thin paste. Don’t over stir.
For Vegetable Filling: Shred fresh spring lettuce, carrots, red and white cabbage. If we buy it already shredded, we soak it in 2 cups cold water with 2 tablespoons sugar. It re-hydrates the cabbage and restores natural sweetness.
Cooking
In a 12 inch pan, crush the garlic into the coconut oil and slowly heat until aromatic. Add the shrimp and the ginger and cook until they are plump and done. Salt and remove from pan.
Heat remaining oil at low heat until the garlic is toasty. Allow to cool and add 1 tablespoon to the peanut sauce if you like it garlicky.
Preparing the Spring Rolls: Soak each of the round sheets of rice paper for 8 to 10 seconds in a shallow pan with cold water. Place this on a flat plate. Add 3 shrimp in the middle and then a small bunch of the cilantro on top, and then add the shredded cabbage and lettuce.
Carefully roll one side of the rice paper over the shrimp and greens, tuck both sides in, and roll the rest of the way. It should be a tight package with the three shrimp clearly showing through.
Serve the spring rolls displayed on a plate with the dipping sauce on the side. After each bite, re-dip. Yes, you can double dip… you are with friends and loved ones.
Enjoy this light yet intensely flavorful delight from the magically fragrant and evocative culinary land of Vietnam. While eating in the city of Hue, world traveler/chef Anthony Bourdain called the street food there his absolute favorite in the world… but if you can’t get there soon, why not try one of their most iconic and satisfying street foods. You’ll probably never buy the pre-packaged ones again.
