When I came across the idea of a Vietnamese summer roll salad on Tasty Kitchen I immediately knew that I would have to try it! Vietnamese summer rolls , goi cuon, consist of meat, vegetables, rice noodles and fresh herbs that are rolled up in rice paper and served at room temperate, without deep frying, accompanied by a dipping sauce. I like to make my summer rolls with shrimp along with plenty of fresh vegetables like cucumber, peppers, carrots, lettuce, bean sprouts, etc and fresh herbs like basil, mint and cilantro and since they are served at room temperature or even cool, it makes them a truly amazing treat on hot summer days. Vietnamese summer rolls are usually served with a dipping sauce the most common of which are a fish sauce based nuoc cham or a Vietnamese style spicy peanut and hoisin sauce. As you can see these summer rolls are practically already just salads wrapped up in rice paper so it is pretty easy to transform the rolls into a salad and to change the dipping sauce into a dressing and I did just that for this salad!
Add your dressing of choice and the salad is ready to serve!
Vietnamese Summer Roll Salad
A salad inspired by the ingredients of Vietnamese summer rolls with shrimp and rice noodles along with plenty of vegetable and herbs in a peanut or nuoc cham dressing.
ingredients
- 8 ounces vermicelli rice noodles, cooked as directed on package
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces shrimp, shelled and deviened
- 2 cups lettuce, torn
- 1 cup cucumber, sliced
- 1 cup carrot, julienned
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1/4 cup basil, torn
- 1/4 cup cilantro, torn
- 1/4 cup mint, torn
- 1/4 cup peanuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 2 birds eye chilies, sliced
- 1/4 cup peanut dressing or nuoc cham
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the shallot and cook until lightly golden brown, about 3-5 minutes, and set aside.
- Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 1-2 minutes per side, and set aside.
- Assemble the salad, toss in dressing and enjoy.
Vietnamese Peanut and Hoisin Dressing
A sweet, sour and garlicky peanut and hoisin dipping sauce.
ingredients
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (~ 1 lime)
- 1 birds eye chili, sliced (or 1 teaspoon chili sauce)
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
- Add the peanut butter, hoisin sauce, water, fish sauce, lime juice and chili and simmer until it thickens a bit, about 5 minutes.
Note: This sauce can come much darker depending on the ratio of peanut butter to hoisin sauce. I prefer the peanut butter to be the dominant flavour but you can experiment with the amounts to get it just the way you like it.
Option: Change the flavours up a bit by using different nut butters like cashew butter or almond butter.
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
Chicken Satay Salad in Spicy Peanut Dressing
Sweet Chili Chicken Salad
Banh Mi Chicken Salad
Mango, Avocado and Grilled Shrimp Salad with a Peanut Dressing
Shrimp and Blueberry Salad in a Maple Blueberry Vinaigrette
Thai Peanut Sauce
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)
Sweet Chili Sauce
Thai Sweet Chili Dressing
Chipotle Lime Grilled Shrimp Salad in Cilantro Lime Dressing
Blackened Shrimp and Fried Green Tomato Po Boy Salad
Roasted Pumpkin and Green Bean Quinoa Salad in Thai Peanut Dressing
Sesame Crusted Seared Ahi Tuna ‘Sushi’ Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette
Korean Style Cold Tofu Shirataki Noodle Salad with Shrimp
Thai Lemongrass Chicken and Avocado Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
Thai Peanut Dressing
Thai Peanut Chicken Buddha Bowls
Thai Grilled Steak Salad
Lemongrass Grilled Chicken Rice Noodle Bowls
I LOVE this salad! I actually just mad something very similar because a reader suggested it! But my gosh I live the shrimp and the dressing is just killer! Great recipe Kevin!
I love all of these flavors…so much. Beautiful salad, Kevin!
Splendid! This fresh and flavorful salad is so droolworthy.
Cheers,
Rosa
Such a crisp and refreshing salad that looks pretty too!
I am loving that dressing!
Yum!! And that dressing looks amazing!
This looks awesome!! It's so beautiful and it's the perfect summer salad 🙂
You did it again! Can't wait to try this. The dressing looks amazing!
Oooh, just looking at this salad cools me down—I can't imagine a more refreshing summer side.
awesome Kevin, just awesome.
anything that involves peanut sauce I'm there!
I'm with vanillasugar, it's there's peanut sauce, count me in!
This looks like the ultimate Summer salad! So light and fresh – I LOVE it.
At my favorite Vietnamese pho shop I frequently eat a salad called Pho Bun.
It has romaine, cucumber, mint, cilantro, pickled carrot and daikon, rice noodles chopped peanuts,green onions and your choice of protein-grilled shrimp, chicken, or pork. It is served with a pungent dressing made with vinegar, sugar, fish sauce and sambal olek.
SOOOOooooo yummy! Sounds a lot like your salad pictured above.
Kevin, your recipes continue to AMAZE me. I have recommended your site to everyone I know.
I think I will do a couple of these "salad in a jar" style so they will be ready when I am. 🙂
Looks yummy!! Love summer rolls!
You are so wonderfully creative. I enjoy your site and every recipe I have tried has been delicious. As soon as I can get some fresh herbs I will be trying this one. Thank you!
You are so wonderfully creative. I enjoy your site and appreciate the hard work you put into it. As soon as I get some fresh herbs I will be trying this for sure. Thanks!
Susan: That Pho Bun salad sounds good! I do something similar in a banh mi inspired salad here: Banh Mi Chicken Salad.
That looks so good! Especially seeing as sometimes the idea of actually making the rolls makes me want to scream.
Made this last night with the nuoc cham sauce as the dressing. I can't wait to make this all summer long!
I made this last night and it was a BIG hit! Loved the peanut dressing and the freshness of everything. Awesome recipe!
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen: I'm glad you enjoyed it! The freshness is one of my favourite things about this salad as well, well after the peanut dressing that is! 🙂
This looks amazing! I can't wait to make it. What kind of lettuce do you recommend using in this recipe?
Cari: I like romaine since you can easily get it on your fork but another lettuce like say bib would also work.