The first time I made shrimp summer rolls was a few years ago when I worked mornings as a sous-chef for a catering company in Toronto.
I will always look back at my time there with fondness and affection for the owners and the executive chef, a delightful girl who taught me so much about cooking and the importance of a good mise en place. Leaving was hard as I was eventually offered a full-time job, but the decision to move to the US had already been made in order to take a two year long distance relationship to the next level.
My bags were packed and I wasn’t about to change my mind. I dove in headfirst and hopped on a plane to NYC, ready to start a new life.
That was seven years ago and I am happy to report that Ben and I have just celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary, woohoo! Sadly, I haven’t kept in touch with the chef but I do continue cooking her tasty recipes from time to time. One of my favorites is this mango shrimp summer rolls concoction. I like that she omitted the rice noodles and instead opted to fill them with plenty of vegetables. Not only do they taste delicious, they also make a fantastic healthy and low fat snack!
The dipping sauce is my own creation as I am not big on peanut sauce, preferring salty over sweet. It’s a very simple sauce made of dark soy, fish sauce and honey that complements the clean and refreshing taste of these shrimp summer rolls.
Instead of weighing them down (the way peanut sauce does with its oily and creamy texture), this sauce is light and has a sharp taste.
Taking a bite of these colorful rolls takes me back to that kitchen where the music blaring from the radio added tempo to our steps as we sliced, grilled and arranged plates of food for upcoming weddings and special events.
You can serve them as an appetizer or together with a Thai spicy apple salad and a bowl of Vietnamese chicken noodle soup for a complete Asian dinner.
PrintMango and shrimp summer rolls
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 rolls 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients
Summer rolls
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1/2 English cucumber, sliced in half lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1 cup lettuce leaves
- 2 scallions (green parts only) thinly sliced lengthwise – SAVE the white part for the dipping sauce!
- 1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 12 large shrimps, peeled de-veined and sliced in half
- 8 spring roll wrappers (rice paper)
Sauce
- 2 scallions (white parts), finely chopped
- 2 tbsp dark soy
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp sri racha sauce
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Set aside.
- Have a deep pan or large bowl, bigger than the size of a rice paper wrap, filled with about 2 inches warm water.
- Put a dish towel down next to the bowl of water.
- Place your hands on opposite sides of rice paper and dunk in water, sliding it from side to side until it becomes smooth and soft, almost see through.
- Put the rice paper on the towel and place a couple of bell pepper slices, cucumber, scallions, mango, cilantro leaves and shrimp pieces closer to one side of the paper.
- fold the bottom ends, then the side with the ingredients, gently so the wrapper doesn’t break. Roll tightly up to the other end. Repeat with remaining ingredients and rice paper wrappers.
- Slice in half and serve with dipping sauce.
Notes
These shrimp and mango summer rolls will keep refrigerated in an air tight storage container for 1 day.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 summer roll
- Calories: 50
- Sugar: 3.9 g
- Sodium: 67.7 mg
- Fat: 0.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.8 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 23.1 mg
Keywords: recipe, side dish, seafood, Asian
