September 17, 2017
Vegan Tofu Spring Rolls (GF)
I love spring rolls. I could eat them EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
In fact, I have eaten them every single day this week.
I mean, if you ask me, what’s not to love about them? They’re damn delicious, extremely versatile, pretty simple (and fun!) to make, and can be enjoyed as a healthy lunch, dinner, or snack…or breakfast, or brunch, or all day!
I told you, I love spring rolls.
Before transitioning to a vegan diet, Ashlee and I would frequent this little, hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant quite regularly. Our order was always the same. Spring rolls (sometimes 2 orders) and Pho.
After giving up meat, we learned our once favorite Vietnamese restaurant uses fish sauce in their peanut dipping sauce, and they don’t offer a vegetable spring roll. Actually, they do…but it was bland in comparison to what I was used to eating and let’s be honest, the sauce is kiiiiinda crucial when it comes to a good spring roll.
Since we couldn’t enjoy spring rolls at the Vietnamese restaurant any longer, I knew I had to create my own recipe for spring rolls and peanut dipping sauce.
Now I know that many Vietnamese spring rolls come with a slightly sweet, vinegar based sauce, but Pho 75 (restaurant’s name) served theirs with a peanut sauce, so I obviously had to do the same.
The outcome? Fucking delicious. So delicious that you will want to lick your food processor to the blade. Please don’t though, because that could lead to a lot of blood and pain.
We fill our spring rolls with fresh vegetables and oven baked tofu. Add a bit of our peanut sauce, and you’ve got a healthy, quick, and super flavorful meal! The great thing about these delicious hand held foods is that you can fill them with whatever you like! Sometimes, we like to toss our tofu in a bit of cornstarch and fry them a bit to add some more texture! Go crazy because the possibilities are endless!
We hope you guys love the recipe for our vegan tofu spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce! If you try making them, please feel free to take a photo and tag us on Instagram at @Eat_Figs_Not_Pigs! We love, love, love seeing your recreations of our recipes!!! Til next time!!
XOXO
- 8 oz extra firm tofu, thoroughly pressed
- 1 kosher teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter, no salt added
- ¼ - ½ cup warm water,
- ¼ cup Tamari
- ¼ cup chili garlic sauce
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
- 1½ TBS light brown sugar or maple syrup
- Rice paper wrappers
- 1 cup cooked rice noodles, cooked according to package directions
- 1 cup loosely packed julienned green onion, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, green leaf lettuce
- ½ cup loosely packed chopped cilantro and jalapeno
- Preheat oven to 425° F
- Cut tofu into ½" slices, season with salt and pepper, and bake for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Meanwhile, prepare the peanut sauce. Place all its ingredients in a food processor and pulse until completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. set aside.
- Fill a shallow bowl or pan with cool water. Dip rice paper in warm water for about 5-10 seconds, until moistened, but still pliable. Make sure rice paper isn't too wet, as it will be very difficult to fold.
- Lay moistened rice paper onto a flat work surface.
- Layer a small handful of rice noodles, vegetables, tofu, and 1 teaspoon of peanut sauce towards the middle of the wrapper, but a bit lower (closer to you)
- Pull away the edge of wrapper from work surface and roll over the filling
- Slowly start to roll away from you and tuck in the filling to ensure the roll is nice and tight
- Fold in sides and continue to roll until the spring roll is fully formed
- Cut in half or enjoy whole. Serve with peanut sauce and enjoy!
