Vegan Summer Rolls with Hoi Sin Tofu

August 7, 2020
Richard Makin
Main Dish

Super easy, crazy healthy vegan summer rolls that are packed full of fresh veggies, herbs, and grilled tofu. Served with a simple peanut dipping sauce, they’re a summer favourite you can rustle up in a pinch!

Ingredients

For the Vegan Summer Rolls

1 carrot (peeled and sliced into match-sticks)
⅛ red cabbage (finely sliced)
½ cucumber (sliced into match-sticks)
Sweet red pepper (sliced into match-sticks)
Candy striped beet (peeled and finely sliced)
300g extra firm tofu (drained)
4 T hoi sin sauce
50g vermicelli rice noodles
12 sheets of rice paper
Bunch thai basil
Bunch coriander
Bunch mint
1 small red chilli

For the Peanut Sauce

150ml hoi sin sauce
75ml 100% peanut butter
75ml water
3 T sriracha sauce
3 T lime juice
2 T soy sauce

Instructions

To Make the Summer Rolls

Ensure all your veg is chopped nice and finely. Set aside and cover with a damp tea-towel to stop from drying out.
Turn the grill to its highest setting. Slice the drained tofu into 1/2cm rectangles and place on a baking tray. Using a pastry brush, coat the tofu in hoi sin sauce on both sides. Place under the grill until lightly browned before flipping and grilling the other side. Set aside to cool.
Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover with a plate and leave for 5 minutes. Drain the noodles using a sieve and fill the bowl back up with cold water. Return the noodles to the cold water to ensure they stop cooking. Drain again using a sieve and set aside.
Fill a large bowl with cold water. Place a clean chopping board on a work surface and wet it lightly with some water. Submerge one sheet of rice paper in the bowl of water and count to 20 seconds. Remove the rice paper before it softens too much and place it on the chopping board.
Arrange your vegetables, tofu, and herbs however you’d like in the centre of the rice paper, being sure to form a rectangle of fillings in the middle or just slightly above the middle. Fold the sides of the rice paper over the fillings then fold the top down over the sides. Finally roll the filling towards you, tucking the sides in as you go. The summer roll should now be wrapped.
Move the summer roll to a plate lined with baking parchment and repeat with the remaining ingredients.

To Make the Dipping Sauce

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together with a whisk until smooth and creamy.
Serve the summer rolls, sliced in half with a small bowl of dipping sauce.

Notes

These guys are super versatile, so once you’ve got the method down, feel free to play around with other veggies! Here’s a breakdown of the method.

Prep Your Veggies

It’s best to do this first because you’ll need your veggies ready to go as soon as the rest of the ingredients are prepped. Cut everything into long thin strips around 2-3 inches in length, depending on the width of your rice paper.

Prep and Cook the Tofu

Press all the water out of your extra firm tofu using either a tofu press or two sheets of kitchen roll. Slice your tofu into rectangles. Again, try to keep to around 2-3 inches wide. Using a pastry brush, cover both sides of the tofu in hoi sin sauce and lay on a baking tray. Grill both sides until lightly browned but not crispy. Leave to cool completely.

Cook the Noodles

Thin vermicelli rice noodles don’t need much cooking, so just submerge them in boiled water for 5-10 minutes. Drain them well through a sieve then plunge into cold water to stop them cooking. Drain again and set aside.

Start Rolling!

To hydrate your rice paper, you’ll need a large bowl or tray of cold water. You’ll also need a slightly wet chopping board to roll on. Dunk the rice paper for 20 seconds and remove it from the water. If you keep it submerged for too long it’ll over-hydrate and you’ll end up with rice paper that is tricky to work with.

There’s no right or wrong order to arranging your ingredients, but I find it easier to start with the very flat ingredients like tofu or slices of beet and to keep the “difficult to handle” ingredients in the middle of the roll.

Fold the top half of the rice paper over the ingredients then follow with the sides. Finally, roll the sheet towards you to seal.