I have been exploring my local grocery store and looking for something fun and interesting to make this weekend. Every now and then I just get into a culinary rut. When, what I usually make, just seems repetitive and boring. What I cook tends to go in waves. I'll make variations of the same dish all throughout the season. This tends to follow what is and isn't readily available during that particular time of the year. In the peak of summer with the most amount of produce available, fruits and vegetables becomes the star of the meal. In the fall, when gourds are ripening, I pack my meals full of pumpkins and squash. And, in the winter, when the least amount of produce is in season, it's time for slow cooked soups and stews and casseroles. But I find myself at a precipice at the moment. It isn't quite out of summer produce season, but not quite into fall gourd season yet. So, I'm branching out of my comfort zone and making spring rolls. Specifically, Tofu Spring Rolls.
Now, I've never made spring rolls before. I've really only had them a handful of times. The last time that I got spring rolls was probably a decade ago recently off of a plane right before I got into my first and only ever car accident. So, I wouldn't be remised to say that the unfortuitous events surrounding that spring roll incident may have put me off of them almost entirely!
But I'm giving spring rolls another chance here. After all, I did have quite a bit of fun making Sushi the other day. And this is a much simpler process than that! So, I'm only a bit frightened at the concept. And mostly just excited that they did in fact have spring roll wraps.
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Variations of Tofu Spring Rolls
I don't tend to eat that much meat, but I do enjoy seafood from time-to-time! And this foray into spring rolls likely has much to do with the amount of sushi and other fish and crustaceans that I've been cooking with lately. This particular roll is made of tofu, but I also have a couple of Patagonian shrimp variations as well as the Ahi tuna sushi rolls that I made the other day.
These tofu spring rolls consist of carrots, cucumbers, avocados, vermicelli, and a spicy peanut sauce with tamari and Thai chilis. Although you can easily mix and match your own favorite fruits and vegetables for these vegan spring rolls. Or you can substitute Patagonian shrimp for a pescatarian alternative. I made a mix of both of these today to test out the flavor profiles. And I'm quite pleased with both of them. The peanut sauce gives a nice kick to both the tofu and the shellfish.
Combine all of the ingredients for the peanut sauce in a bowl and mix until combined.If you don't have to have to finely mince the chilis, you can always put all of this in a food processor and pulse until puréed. This method also helps if you only have chunky peanut butter and still want a smoother consistency.
Cook Vermicelli
Add about 3 inches of water to a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
Cook vermicelli according to the manufacturer's instructions.Vermicelli cooks very quickly. I tend to add the vermicelli and then immediately remove it from heat. Then, go on to prepare the produce. Merely sitting in the once boiling water is sufficient enough soften it enough to eat without overcooking.
Fry Tofu
While the pot is boiling for the vermicelli, drain the water out of the tofu and cut into cubes.
Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying at high temperatures, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet. Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Assemble Spring Rolls
Add warm water to a large plate. Then, place one rice paper in and wet for 15-30 seconds, or until it becomes translucent and malleable.
Move the rice paper to a dry plate or cutting board and place all of the filling ingredients into the center of the sheet.You want these fairly tightly packed in the center. Or alternatively slightly towards the back side. It should be rectangular in shape and fairly compact. Just make sure that they're not loosely lying around! You will need to compress them together to make the spring roll shape.It doesn't matter what order you put the toppings in. Although I started with the ingredients that I most wanted to be seen through the translucent rice paper. With the way that I ended up folding them, this was the most prominently visible part of the spring roll! And can be arranged in quite an artistic way if you want to get fancy with it.I didn't get that fancy, but started with the tofu on the bottom, avocado next to it on the side, carrot and cucumber slices in the middle, and vermicelli on the top. The vermicelli was also the most pliable with no sharp edges, so this may have helped in wrapping the spring roll.
Gently fold in both of the sides on the short ends.This is like folding an envelope in on the sides. The two ends aren't going to touch in the center, but they will keep the fillings from spilling out at what will become the top and bottom of the spring roll.
Carefully pull one of the remaining long ends around the toppings.Pull tight enough for the fillings to compress into the spring roll shape. It's a similar process to making sushi rolls, where you want it to be as tightly round as possible, without tearing the rice paper.
Then, roll the spring roll from that folded edge to the end of the rice sheet.In theory, this should make a spring roll! Although getting the correct tension to form a roll without it ripping did take a bit of practice and patience.Making a spring roll is kind of like trying to do origami with cling wrap. It sticks together immediately and you don't have a lot of wiggle room to start over! So, I would recommend having a few extra sheets of rice paper until you get the hang of it. Knowing how to wrap a tortilla definitely came in handy for me. But it still took a couple of tries to get a technique down!
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