
I do love me some Thai or Vietnamese spring rolls. I’ve been craving crunchy spring rolls and takeout or delivery spring rolls don’t travel well; they lose the all important crunch. I’m a wimp when it comes to deep frying so I wanted to bake these. Not many fried foods keep that crispiness when baked, but these do. Plus, these spring rolls are vegan, so sort of healthy?
Tofu and shiitake play well together but switch up the filling ingredients and add what you like or have on hand. I like to add cooked chopped vermicelli noodles to the filling for more substance. This time I added toasted chopped cashews because I had them. They added a nice crunchy texture to the filling.
Have all of the ingredients for the filling ready to go and you can even make it a day ahead to save time. You can roll them up ahead of time too. I recommend doubling this recipe and making lots! Leftovers can be sliced and put on top of Vietnamese noodle (bun) bowls, or you can eat them cold, like I do. Good hangover food! -bvox
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
- ½ onion, diced finely
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 medium carrot, shredded
- 1½ -2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped
- 4 scallions, sliced thinly
- ½ package of firm tofu, grated or crumbled
- 1½ cups finely shredded greens such as kale, bok choy or cabbage
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup chopped toasted cashews (optional)
- 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet red chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- Juice from 1 lime
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- Salt to taste, if needed
- 10 square spring roll wrappers (wheat wrappers, not rice)
- Water (for sealing spring rolls)
Preparation
In a large skillet or frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and stir until the vegetables and mushrooms are cooked, about 3 minutes. Add the sesame oil, tofu, garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or two while stirring. Add the shredded greens and cook for another minute. Stir in the chili garlic sauce, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and white pepper. Cook 1 minute more and taste to adjust seasoning, see if salt is needed. Turn heat off and add cilantro, green onions, chopped cashews (if using) and lime juice. Stir and remove from heat; let cool before assembling the spring rolls.
Preheat oven to 400. Set up a workstation with your spring roll wrappers, spring roll filling, a small bowl of water.
To assemble the spring rolls, place a spring roll wrapper on your work surface with a corner pointing towards you (diamond shape). Put about 3 tablespoons of the spring roll filling near the bottom corner of the wrapper. Fold up the bottom corner over the filling, then fold in both sides. While rolling your spring roll, tuck the sides in as you go. Wet the edges with water to seal the spring roll. Finish rolling up the spring roll, then place it seam side down on a parchment covered cooking sheet. Cover with a towel while rolling up the others.
After you have them all rolled, brush the top, sides and bottom with vegetable oil.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning the pan halfway through for even cooking, or until golden. Sometimes I’ll give them a blast in the convection oven towards the end of cooking, for more golden rolls.
Serve with sweet red chili sauce or make your own.
