Spring Rolls | capture

Vietnamese Spring Rolls Delight Holiday Guests

Vietnamese Spring Rolls: Scroll over each image for easy step-by-step instructions to create a healthy, tasty dish for friends and family to enjoy.

Minh-Thu's Rice Paper Rolls


First, prepare the vegetables. Make sure they are clean and dry.
Then cut the lettuce into long strips small enough to fit inside of one rice paper piece. Cut the cucumbers in half then cut the pieces into small strips.
Wash and clean the shrimp, making sure to remove the shell and keep the shrimp in one piece. Dice the onions and mince the clove of garlic. In a bowl, combine the uncooked shrimp with the salt, pepper and soy sauce.
In a large pan, heat up the vegetable oil until it begins to sizzle. Then sauté the onion and garlic in the hot oil. Add the shrimp and cook until it is done (Minh-Thu suggests looking for a vibrant pink color to indicate its readiness). As the shrimp is cooking, begin to boil a pot of water for the rice noodles.
Put the rice noodles in the boiling water and cook until soft. Drain the noodles just as you would normal pasta.
As the rice noodles and shrimp are cooking, it’s time to multitask a little more and begin the fish sauce. Grab a new bowl and add in the minced garlic, dried red peppers and sugar. Heat up the water for one minute and add it to the dry mixture. Mix in the vinegar and fish sauce until the clear sauce turns light brown.
Ok, now your sauce is done and your shrimp and noodles should be cooked and ready. It’s time to assemble! Take one sheet of rice paper and submerge it in a bowl of water.
Immediately take it out and lay it out flat, allowing it to dry for a few minutes. Once it’s dry, place a piece of lettuce in the center of the rice paper. Put a few slices of cucumber on each side of the lettuce. Add some noodles on top of the lettuce. Top it off with the plump, cooked shrimp.
Fold in the sides and begin rolling the paper towards you.
Once it is fully wrapped, marvel at your creation and share with your friends and family (or keep them all to yourself…they’re good for you, after all!)

Story by Scott Minor

Ball State University senior Minh-Thu Dang has a passion for food and staying connected to her Vietnamese roots.

“We make everyday foods but presented in an eastern culture type of way,” said Dang, whose parents were born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. when they were young.

Dang’s family regularly serves Vietnamese soups, salads and foods that are rice based. Her family will often cook a “hot pot,” a simmering stew that can contain meat, vegetables, dumplings and seafood, or Bnh Xo which is similar to a crepe.

Dang likes preparing Rice Paper Spring Rolls which she said can be made several different ways, but she uses rice paper stuffed with rice noodles, shrimp, cucumber and lettuce. The rolls are served with a dipping sauce made of water, fish sauce, sugar and vinegar.

Some of Dang’s fondest memories growing up included preparing meals with her younger brother and sister.

“As we were younger we would each have little jobs,” said Dang, who grew up in Kokomo. “Some of us would clean or cut vegetables, set the table, or the funny one which was getting the water. The rice paper you have to dip in water because the rice paper is stiff. To do this we would need a big bowl of water and as kids we would sometimes spill the water. Once in awhile either us, or our parents would slip.”

Despite these minor incidents, Dang’s family’s dishes are often a hit at family gatherings. She said there have been times when her mother actually had to stop their guests from eating too much.

Dang, who majors in dietetics, hopes to learn as much as possible when it comes to different diets to help people have a long and healthy lifespan.

“I would like to be able to travel to the other parts of the world and learn about their diets that benefit a healthy life and bring all of that information back to the U.S. and work on providing those foods into Americans' diet,” said Dang.

Dang also hopes to work with children and teach them the importance of eating nutritional foods.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls Delight Holiday Guests

Minh-Thu's Rice Paper Rolls

First, prepare the vegetables. Make sure they are clean and dry.

Then cut the lettuce into long strips small enough to fit inside of one rice paper piece. Cut the cucumbers in half then cut the pieces into small strips.

Wash and clean the shrimp, making sure to remove the shell and keep the shrimp in one piece. Dice the onions and mince the clove of garlic. In a bowl, combine the uncooked shrimp with the salt, pepper and soy sauce.

Put the rice noodles in the boiling water and cook until soft. Drain the noodles just as you would normal pasta.

Ok, now your sauce is done and your shrimp and noodles should be cooked and ready. It’s time to assemble! Take one sheet of rice paper and submerge it in a bowl of water.

Immediately take it out and lay it out flat, allowing it to dry for a few minutes. Once it’s dry, place a piece of lettuce in the center of the rice paper. Put a few slices of cucumber on each side of the lettuce. Add some noodles on top of the lettuce. Top it off with the plump, cooked shrimp.

Fold in the sides and begin rolling the paper towards you.

Once it is fully wrapped, marvel at your creation and share with your friends and family (or keep them all to yourself…they’re good for you, after all!)