I love eating Vietnamese-style fresh spring rolls (gỏi cuốn) in the summer because they are light and fresh and don’t require much cooking around the stove. Traditionally, they’re made with shrimp, pork, vegetables, and rice vermicelli wrapped in rice paper and served with nước chấm (sweet dipping sauce made with fish sauce). When I prepare this style of spring roll for my meals, I like playing around with different ingredients for the filling, such as roasted vegetables, tofu, avocado, and various fresh vegetables. These teriyaki tofu spring rolls are a family favorite. I pan fry strips of tofu and season them with my teriyaki sauce for savory and sweet flavor. Then I roll the tofu inside rice paper wrappers along with julienned vegetables, herbs, and sliced strawberries. The strawberries add juicy sweetness to the spring rolls, which pairs well with the savory flavor of the teriyaki tofu. The basil, mint, and vegetables add freshness and crunch.
HOW TO MAKE TERIYAKI TOFU SPRING ROLLS
RICE PAPER WRAPPERS
PREPARE FILLING
For the tofu, I’m using House Foods’ 10-ounce super-firm tofu. I like using their super-firm tofu because it’s quite pressed and easy to pan fry straight out of the package. You can also use extra-firm tofu, but I recommend pressing it by wrapping the tofu with a muslin cloth or paper towels and placing a short stack of plates over the tofu. Let that sit for 15 to 20 minutes to press out excess moisture. If you don’t have time to press the tofu, you can pan fry extra-firm tofu straight out of the package as well. Note that they might take a little longer to turn golden because there’s still a lot of moisture in the tofu. The tofu will also splatter a lot more because of the excess moisture. Slice the tofu into 6 planks, along the long side of the block of tofu. Take each plank and slice it in half, into 2 strips. Then, pan fry the tofu strips in some oil over medium-high heat until golden. The first side may take 3 to 4 minutes to turn golden and the other sides 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and drizzle 4 to 5 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce over the tofu. Flip the tofu strips around to coat them in the teriyaki sauce. Transfer the tofu to a plate and let cool for 10 minutes. Finally, prepare the vegetables and strawberries. Rinse a small handful of basil leaves and a small handful of mint leaves. Julienne 2 medium-sized carrots and 2 Persian cucumbers or 1 Japanese cucumber. Rinse and slice some strawberries until you get 1 cup of sliced strawberries.
PREPARE SAUCES
I typically prepare a half batch of my sweet chili sauce or peanut sauce for serving with the spring rolls. This recipe makes 12 spring rolls, so you don’t need that much dipping sauce. I enjoy serving the spring rolls with the peanut sauce the most. However, my husband is not a fan of peanut butter, so he prefers the sweet chili sauce.
ROLL SPRING ROLLS
The trickiest part about making spring rolls is the wrapping. To rehydrate rice paper wrappers, you need to dip it in some water. Fill a large bowl with warm water, about 100ºF (37ºC). Dip your hand in the water and wet a large chopping board or work surface with water. Alternatively, you can wet a kitchen towel and use it as the surface for rolling spring rolls. You must place the rice paper wrappers over a wet surface to prevent sticking. Dip the rice paper in the warm water, making sure to wet the entire surface. You don’t need to submerge the paper in there for long, just enough to get the entire surface wet. The rice paper will still be stiff and that’s totally fine. You actually don’t want the wrapper to be soft at this stage because it will be difficult to transfer to your work surface. Transfer the rice paper on the wet chopping board, counter or towel. The wet surface will soften the wrapper even more. Place some julienned cucumber and carrots at about the bottom third of the rice paper (there should be a 1.5 inch gap between the bottom edge of the wrapper and the tofu. Then, place a strip of tofu and a few mint and basil leaves over the vegetables. Take 3 strawberry slices and place them in a row on the top third of the wrapper, about 1.5 inches from the top edge of the wrapper. By leaving a gap between the strawberries and the other ingredients, the strawberries will look more vibrant in the final roll because they will be covered by only one layer of rice paper. Grab the lower edge of the rice paper with your thumbs and pointer fingers, lift, and roll up the spring roll. If the wrapper is still feeling stiff at this stage, leave it on the cutting board for another 15 seconds or so. The rice paper will soften over time. Continue rolling the spring roll until you reach the strawberries. Then, fold the left and right sides of the wrapper toward the center (see photographs above). Finally, roll the spring roll all the way to the end. If you are rolling the spring rolls on a chopping board or the counter, make sure to wet the surface after you wrap each spring roll. You don’t need to wet the towel again as it is still damp. If at any time you notice that the rice paper is clinging to the surface, it means the surface is too dry. Just splash more water on the chopping board or counter. I’ve noticed that wood or bamboo chopping boards dry up faster as those chopping boards are more porous and absorb water. Continue wrapping spring rolls until you run out of tofu strips.
CAN YOU MAKE TOFU SPRING ROLLS AHEAD?
Fresh spring rolls are best consumed the day they are made. As the rice paper dries over time, it will harden, making them more difficult to chew. If you are planning to consume them within a few hours, transfer the spring rolls to a plate lined with parchment paper. This will prevent the spring rolls from sticking to the plate. Then, cover the rolls tightly with plastic wrap to keep the rice paper from drying out. If you refrigerate spring rolls overnight, the rice paper will turn very hard. You can microwave the spring rolls on high for 30 seconds to soften the wrapper, but the texture won’t be the same as freshly made rolls.
MORE SPRING ROLL RECIPES
Fresh Vietnamese Spring RollsRainbow Vegetable Spring Rolls
