These Vietnamese spring rolls with ginger-peanut sauce makes for a light and delicious springtime meal.

Spring rolls can go both ways on the health spectrum. Most spring rolls you find on restaurant menus are filled with chicken or meat and held together by a white flour-based dough that is then fried to a not-so-body-friendly, albeit delicious, perfection. However, you can enjoy the spring roll experience without the excess calories.

The following recipe for vegan Vietnamese spring rolls glorifies warm weather flavors without all the guilt. Rice paper wraps around lightly fried tofu, delicately sweet nectarines, fragrant mint and cilantro. Better yet, each bite is augmented with a zesty peanut sauce dip, making for the ultimate pairing. Enjoy!

Vegan Vietnamese Spring Rolls Recipe

Makes 10

Ingredients

For the tofu

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 16 ounces super firm tofu, sliced into steak-fries
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the peanut sauce

• ¼ cup peanuts
• 2 tablespoons tamarind paste
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1-inch nob fresh ginger

For the spring rolls

• 10 rice papers
• Handful of baby spinach
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 4 medium nectarines, sliced
• 10 sprigs of mint
• 10 sprigs of cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime

Directions

For the tofu, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook and stir for one minute. Add the tofu and fry for 1-2 minutes on both sides. Add the salt and pepper and combine well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook for another 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

For the peanut sauce, add all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Store in the refrigerator while assembling the rolls.

Fill a large flat dish with warm salty water. One at a time, soak each rice paper in the water until soft. Carefully remove and set on a plate. Immediately fill the center with 2-3 leaves of baby spinach, an avocado slice, 2-3 nectarine slices, 1 slice of tofu, 1 sprig of mint, 1 sprig of cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice. Fold the bottom and top of the paper over the filling and then fold in the sides. Repeat with the remaining rice papers.

Once finished, serve the spring rolls aside the peanut sauce and dip before you bite!

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Spring Rolls Image from Shutterstock

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A spring rolls recipe that takes “spring” to its literal potential. 

Many Chinese-American restaurants feature spring rolls that are borderline addictive. They are thick but go down easy and soft on the inside and fried to crispy perfection on the outside. They are often stuffed with all kinds of add-ins, like pork, shrimp, seafood, chicken, beef, tofu and veggies. The variations are endless. And while they all taste fantastic, they aren’t exactly doing your in-progress summer body any favors. Luckily, you can go DIY on this Chinese classic with the following spring rolls recipe for a vegan, figure-friendly version you don’t want to miss.

Before we get to the alternative, healthier spring roll recipe, let’s take a look at why you may want to make the switch in the first place. The average single pork spring roll has about 75 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 28 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium and 7 grams of carbohydrates. However, spring rolls don’t come by the roll – they come in a pack – so you are likely going to consume a few (or much) more than just 1-3 spring rolls in one sitting. Pop after pop, the calories and fat grams add up, and that’s not even accounting for the various sugary dips offered alongside spring rolls.

Traditional spring roll pastry is a mixture of wheat flour, water and salt. The pastry wraps around the add-ins and is then fried. Not quite the recipe for a slim figure. The following spring rolls recipe uses rice paper instead of wheat flour-based pastry, much in the style of Vietnamese spring rolls, and keeps the add-ins completely veggie-based. It also includes a recipe for a delicious almond sauce dip, so you can further enjoy your slimmed-down version of spring rolls.

Easy Vegan Spring Rolls Recipe

Makes about 6 rolls

Ingredients

• 6 rice paper wraps
• Fresh lettuce
• Fresh cilantro
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1.5 cups grated cucumber
• 1 large avocado

Directions

Fill a large bowl with warm water and set down a damp dishtowel to work on. Organize all the ingredients, so you can operate an assembly line. Take one wrap paper and place it into the warm water until it is soft – it will take about one minute. Lay the sheet out on the dishtowel and resume to line the center, in a vertical direction, with a few pieces of lettuce, a few sprigs of cilantro and then a small handful of carrots and cucumber and a few slices of avocado. Fold the top and bottom edges of the rice paper over to slightly overlap the add-ins and then flap over the right edge over the add-ins, rolling the entire spring roll towards the left to close it completely. Repeat with the remaining rice papers and veggies.

Ginger Almond Sauce Recipe

Makes about 3/4 cup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1.5 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• Water

Directions

Add all ingredients except water to a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Add warm water, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach desired consistency. Serve aside the spring rolls and dip away!

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Spring rolls image via Shutterstock

The post Traditional Spring Rolls Recipe Get a Scrumptious Vegan Spring Makeover appeared first on EcoSalon.

Spring roll wrappers, made of fragile rice paper, are brittle when you buy them, but soften easily when soaked in water. They are available in Asian markets. Strips of baked tofu make a good addition to this spring roll recipe. To make this soy-free, use coconut aminos in place of the tamari.

Asian Spring Roll Recipe with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons wheat-free tamari
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon natural sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon minced cilantro leaves

Spring rolls

• 8 rice paper wrappers
• 8 Boston lettuce leaves or other soft leaf lettuce
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into strips
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

Sauce: In a small bowl or food processor, combine the peanut butter, tamari, water, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, sugar, and red pepper flakes until well blended. Taste to adjust the seasonings. Add more water if the sauce is too thick. Set aside while you make the spring rolls, or cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Add minced cilantro to the sauce just prior to serving time.

Spring Rolls: Dip a wrapper into a shallow bowl of warm water just long enough to soften. Remove the wrapper from the water and place on a piece of plastic wrap on a flat work surface. Place a lettuce leaf on top of the wrapper and arrange a small amount of the carrots, sprouts, avocado, and chopped cilantro on the bottom third of the lettuce leaf. Bring the bottom edge of the wrapper over the filling and fold in the sides tightly. Use your finger to spread water along the top edge and roll tightly, using the plastic wrap to help roll it up.

Place the roll seam side down on a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining wrappers, lettuce, and filling ingredients. When assembly is finished, serve the rolls with the peanut sauce for dipping.

From Nut Butter Universe by Robin Robertson. ©2013 Robin Robertson. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press. Photo by Lori Maffei.

The post Asian Spring Roll Recipe with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce appeared first on EcoSalon.