Vietnamese spring roll or salad roll, summer roll, fresh spring roll, spring roll, rice paper roll, is a Vietnamese dish in which ingredients (usually protein, veggies, noodles) are wrapped in rice paper. These are vegan spring rolls and are filled with marinated tofu and veggies like cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, etc. I like to marinate the tofu for the spring rolls to keep them from drying out and it also adds a lot of flavor! These spring rolls are served with the peanut dipping sauce which is so tasty! They make a delicious and light meal and the best part is that you can customize the fillings as you like. Once you get a hang of rolling them (which is probably after 1-2 of them) they’re a lot of fun to make actually, almost therapeutic.

Happy Cooking!

Servings: 8-10 spring rolls

Prep Time: 20-30 mins

Assembly Time: 15-20 mins

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients: 

• 8-10 rice paper sheets; I used different flavored ones- beetroot, turmeric, and brown rice.

Tofu:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp water

• 1 tsp vinegar

• 1 tbsp sriracha

• 6 oz firm/extra firm tofu cut into thin slices

Veggies:

• 2/3-3/4 cup Carrot grated into thin slices

• 1 -1.25 cups of Cabbage shredded in thin slices

• 1/2 Bell pepper cut into thin slices

• 1/2 Cucumber cut into thin slices

• 3-4 Spring onions finely chopped

• 1/4 cup Coriander leaves to garnish

Peanut Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup Peanut butter - use chunky or smooth. I like to use chunky

• 2.5 tbsp Soy sauce 

• 1 tbsp Maple syrup 

• 1.5 tsp vinegar 

• 2 tbsp Hot sauce/ Sriracha

• 1/3 -1/2 cup lukewarm Water 

Directions: 

1. Peanut Dipping Sauce: In a bowl add Peanut butter, Soy sauce, Maple syrup, vinegar, Hot sauce, and lukewarm water and whisk it together. Add more water if needed till you get the consistency you like. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

2. Tofu:

   1. Cut tofu into thin slices.

   2. In a flat bowl, add soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, and water.

   3. Place the tofu strips in the sauce mixture and let it sit for 2-3 mins. Make sure all sides have soaked the sauce. Take it out of the sauce and keep it aside on a plate.

3. Assembly:

   1. Set up the marinated tofu, chopped veggies, lukewarm water for dipping the rice paper on a work surface. Lightly moisten the work surface on which you will roll the spring rolls.

   2. Work with one rice paper at a time. Dip a rice paper in lukewarm water, moving quickly on each side making sure the rice paper is fully wet. Don’t over soak it, just wet each side quickly. It should take a few seconds to do so.

   3. Place it flat on the surface and then start assembling.

   4. Place some shredded cabbage close to the bottom edge of the rice paper. Top it with carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, and marinated tofu strips.

   5. Sprinkle some chopped scallions over it.

   6. Take the lower edge of the rice paper and start rolling up the spring roll tightly. Once you have rolled over the veggies, fold in the left and right sides.

   7. Place 3-4 coriander leaves on the rice paper with the right side facing the surface where the roll ends. (see video)

   8. Finish rolling up the spring roll all the way to the end.

   9. Repeat the rolling process with the rest of the ingredients. If the work surface looks dry, brush some water over it.

   10. The spring rolls are ready!

   11. Serve the spring rolls with the peanut dipping sauce and enjoy!

Notes/Tips:

• You can prepare the peanut sauce from before, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The peanut sauce will become thick in the refrigerator use some lukewarm water or heat it in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds to thin it out.

• Placing the coriander leaves at the end gives it an aesthetic look when rolled up, you can skip it if you want.

• The rice paper sheets I used were storebought and are available are different flavors. You can use whatever is available to you.

• I like to soak the tofu in the sauce to keep the spring rolls from becoming dry.

• Eat the spring rolls within a couple of hours of assembling. They harden as time goes by and become difficult to chew. Cover them with a damp cloth to help them from drying out.