By Andrew Zimmern
Beef and shrimp winter rolls are so easy and delicious to make. The lightly seared beef adds such a richness to a fresh bunch of herbs and greens.
Watch Me Make Winter Rolls:
Winter Rolls with Grilled Beef & Shrimp Recipe
Ingredients
Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup fish sauce, or more to taste
- Juice of 2 limes or to taste
- 1 fresh red chile, minced (use a hot one!)
- 3 tablespoons shallots, minced
- 1 garlic clove, sliced thin
Spring Rolls
- 1 pound beef tenderloin, thinly sliced
- 1 pound 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 head romaine lettuce, julienned fine
- 1/2 bunch mint sprigs
- 1/2 bunch cilantro sprigs
- 8 ounces fresh bean sprouts
- 4 tablespoons peanuts, toasted and ground
- 1 cucumber, seeded and julienned very thin
- 2 carrots, peeled and julienned very thin
- 2 cups Vietnamese rice stick noodles, cooked and cooled
- Fresh chives, cut an inch longer than the width of your final rolls
- 12-inch banh trang rice paper sheets
Instructions
Make the dipping sauce
Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small pan, cool. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Reserve.
The beef and shrimp
Have one pound of thin slices of beef sirloin and one pound whole 16-20 count shrimp that you have peeled and deveined ready to rock. Allow guests to sear their own beef and shrimp or serve piles of them fresh off the cast iron, grill, grill pan, etc.
Make the spring rolls
Prepare all of your spring roll stuffings. Julienne the lettuce. Pull sprigs from mint and cilantro. Wash and dry the bean sprouts. Toast and grind the peanuts. Julienne the cucumber and carrots. Cook the rice stick noodles according to the directions on the package. And finally, place all of the fillings on a tray, so it’s easy to grab them while you make your spring rolls.
Dip rice paper sheets one at a time in a pan of hot water (an oversized saute pan works well), until soft. This will take 6-10 seconds.
Place refreshed rice paper on a work surface covered with a damp towel in front of you. Place a small portion of lettuce on the bottom third of the sheet, along with a few herb leaves, a pinch of ground peanuts, a scattering of sprouts, a couple pieces of julienned carrot and cucumber, and 2 tablespoons of the cooked rice noodle.
Roll, burrito style, top to bottom, folding in the sides of the rice paper as you roll.
Add the halved shrimp or beef (or both), after you’ve made the first rolling motion so when they are served you can see them through the translucent skins. Add a few chives at this point (they should be cut so they extend over the edges). Keep rolling the wrapper in a cylinder until it is sealed.
Serve with the dipping sauce.
