Grilling season is here and these build-your-own summer roll boards are a fun and healthy recipe for your next cookout. The grilled shrimp and pineapple skewers adds so much flavor to these summer rolls and they’re so easy to make! It’s also a great way to get your little ones to try new veggies.
what vegetables can i use for this board?
Cooking is all about being creative and making it your own. Traditional Vietnamese summer rolls include lettuce, mint, garlic chives, and cilantro but you can customize these boards with your family’s favorite veggies. I love going to my local farmers market to pick up vegetables that are in season. For this board, I included:
- Carrots
- Baby Romaine Lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Green Beans
- Asparagus
- Red and Orange Bell Peppers
- Red Cabbage
- Jalapeno
- Pink Radish
- Mint
When prepping the vegetables, make sure to cut them into thin strips or shred them which will make it easier to assemble the summer rolls.
what protein can I use for summer rolls?
Traditional Vietnamese summer rolls include pork and shrimp. For my version, I grilled shrimp pineapple skewers which are so easy to make and they can be prepped a day ahead.
what type of sauce can I use for these summer rolls?
Traditional summer rolls use a peanut dipping sauce that’s usually made with peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic and hoisin sauce. For this version, I went with a lighter nut-free sauce inspired by another traditional Vietnamese dipping sauce called, Nước chấm, which is made with fish sauce, garlic, fresh lime juice and sugar. For my version, I added a splash of pineapple juice to round out the sweetness of the sauce.
Build-Your-Own-Summer Roll Board
Equipment
- 1 Large Cheese Board
Ingredients
Summer Roll
- 12 dried rice paper
- 1 pack dried rice vermicellii (aka dried bánh hỏi)
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup thinly sliced cucumbers
- fresh mint leaves
- fresh Thai basil or cilantro
- Any seasonal veggies of your choice asparagus, bell peppers, pink radishes, red cabbage
Dipping Sauce
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 large garlic clove finely diced
- 1 small Thai chili pepper optional
- shredded carrot for garnish
Instructions
Summer Roll Board
- Arrange all the vegetables onto the board along with the shrimp skewers.
- Pour warm water into a large shallow bowl. Quickly submerge a sheet of rice paper in the water for 2 seconds. (It’s ok if the rice paper still feels stiff. It will soften while you’re assembling the roll.) Transfer the rice paper to a plate.
- On the bottom third of the rice paper, layer lettuce, noodles, carrots, cucumbers, herbs and any of your preferred veggies. Then place the shrimp and pineapples (or any protein) above the layers of veggies. Fold up bottom edge to cover the veggies and noodles. Then fold the sides. Then roll the veggie side on top of the shrimp and pineapple and roll tightly until the roll is sealed. Serve rolls immediately with dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the shredded carrots right before serving.
[…] If you love summer rolls, you can serve these shrimp and pineapple skewers with this build-your-own summer roll board. […]