Spring Rolls with Oven-Baked Sriracha Tofu

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There is an elegance to these Spring Rolls with Oven-Baked Sriracha Tofu. Alive with mint, Thai basil and a spicy kick from the Sriracha tofu, these spring rolls are a sure-to-please healthy meal prep item or elevated salad-style appetizer for guests.

Sometimes these are called salad rolls or summer rolls. Spring is here, so today they are spring rolls.

Ingredient Notes

Tofu

My last post, Sriracha Oven-Baked Tofu, gives these yummy spring rolls that little bit of extra. Extra flavor, texture, and protein. This tofu is easy to make, yet hard not to devour right off the baking sheet.

When making 12 spring rolls, I usually make the tofu the day before, set aside 24 pieces to cool and place in the fridge. Then we eat the rest off of the baking sheet or place on top of a salad. This way you don’t have to wait for the tofu to cool to roll up your spring rolls.

If you don’t make the tofu ahead, that’s fine too. Make the tofu and wash and prep everything else while they are baking and cooling.

Use Mint Sparingly

Once while making spring rolls, I had a lot of remaining mint leaves when I got down to the last few rolls. Without giving it much thought, I boosted the mint in the last few rolls. They were Listerine-Fresh Minty. I love mint, so it actually surprised me that I could use too much – live and learn.

I recommend placing 4 – 5 mint leaves in a row so that the minty goodness is evenly distributed.

Thai Basil

If you have an Asian grocery store nearby, I recommend getting some Thai basil. Sometimes I find it at other grocers too, but it is surprisingly cheap for a big ol’ bunch at Asian grocery stores.

If you cannot get your mitts on some Thai Basil, then whatever you have for basil will still be wonderful in these spring rolls.

Make it your own

You should put whatever you want in your spring rolls. Don’t like cilantro? Leave it out. Crazy about avocados? Roll it in.

Cameron at thatvegannephew.com has a spring roll post that includes lightly pickled cucumbers! I am very excited to try it.

Mandolin & A Cut Glove

To slice the red pepper, I used a Mandolin while wearing a cut-resistant glove. Please keep in mind that the cut-resistant glove makes it more difficult to cut yourself, but not impossible. This chain-mail glove makes it closer to impossible to cut yourself. If you have one of these nifty Mandolin gadgets, please be very careful.

I recommend using pre-shredded carrots from the produce section of your grocery store. Otherwise, you can also use a Mandolin to thinly slice the carrots, or you can grate the carrots with a grater.

I like this Mandolin because it stands up on its own and it is stable. I haven’t used any of the fancy changeable blades it came with and I’ve never used the blades that twist up out of the base because I’m a little scared of them. Having a healthy fear of the Mandolin is good. I’ve worked in a lot of restaurants – I’ve seen and heard too many things.

Sauce It Up

I recommend either buying or making a peanut sauce to dip these spring rolls in.

Sister’s Pantry Spicy Gluten-Free Peanut Sauce my favorite store-bought peanut sauce – it’s everything. I get it from Whole Foods.

Also, I recommend Hoisin sauce and a few drops Sriracha as a nice dipping sauce. Most Hoisin sauces are vegan. Some are labeled vegetarian, as in suitable for a Buddhist vegetarian because they do not contain garlic or onions. Thanks, google. I agree it’s confusing.

Working With Rice Paper

You can find white and brown rice papers in Asian grocery stores and often times at your local grocery stores.

Learning how to work with rice paper has been an ongoing journey for me. This technique, of using 2 pieces of rice paper per roll, comes from the vegan culinary classes I took.

Mistakes I’ve made when working with rice paper:

• Using very hot water
• Only using one rice paper per roll
• Letting the rice paper get too soggy
• Trying to work too quickly
• Not rolling the rolls tightly enough

Warm water is fine, no need to change it out as it cools

You only need warm water from the tap in a casserole dish. The water cools closer to room temp when I roll my spring rolls and I do not change it out for warmer water.

Using two pieces of rice paper is genius for a plethora of reasons

If your rice paper is cracked, you can use it by overlapping the cracked part onto the other piece of rice paper. Also, you won’t have to worry about tiny holes in your rice paper. This was an issue for me when I was a one-sheet roller.

10 seconds if the water is warm, up to 20 seconds if it’s closer to room temp.

The paper may not seem flexible enough, but it is. Trust the process. Working with rice paper tends to be the most frustrating when the paper gets soggy and stick to itself and turns to fragile, unyielding mush. In cooking class, the people who seemed to have the most trouble were the ones working with over-soaked rice paper. I was one of those people; learn from my mistake.

Work at a comfortable pace

Surprisingly, time is not really of the essence when working with rice paper. My rolls used to be pretty sloppy because I tried to work too quickly. Take your time arranging and rolling your spring rolls. Enjoy the process.

Some of the rice paper gets tucked in for tight rolls

My rolls are not perfect. Over time I have learned that tight rolls make for both a better presentation and a better experience when eating the roll. Also, if you have rolled them tightly, you can cut them in half at an angle to show the vibrant filling without worrying that the filling will fall out.

Don’t be afraid to tuck in and roll using both hands. Since you are pulling the paper up over the filling, prior to rolling, you are rolling from a halfway point. See the photos and instructions below.

Let’s make Spring Rolls With Oven-Baked Sriracha Tofu

Set up your spring rolling table.

Ready to roll

Fill a casserole dish halfway full of warm water. Place one piece of rice paper in the water for 10 seconds. Remove the rice paper from the water and place it on the cutting board.

Next, place a second piece of rice paper in the water for 10 seconds. Then remove the rice paper and place it so that it overlaps about 3 – 4 inches on top of the other piece of rice paper, resembling a figure 8.

Place a piece of lettuce slightly higher than the center of your figure 8 shape of rice papers. Next, place two tofu strips, a row of about 4 mint leaves, 3 basil leaves, some red pepper strips, shredded carrots, scallions, and cilantro leaves (if using) onto the lettuce.

Fold the sides of the rice paper over the edges of the lettuce.

Pull the bottom part over the lettuce and filling.

Roll everything together tightly like you are rolling up a yoga mat. This means some of the paper is rolled into the spring roll, yet you only see rice paper on the outside. Another way to look at this is if you were rolling up a sleeping bag with veggies and tofu inside.

Repeat this process making the rest of the spring rolls.

Serve or Store

To store the spring rolls, wrap them individually in plastic wrap. This is important because if you cover them without wrapping them individually, they will dry out. Store in the fridge for no more than 3 days.

Recommendation: Serve with peanut sauce, hoisin or dipping sauce or your choice.

If you want to make spring rolls with different fillings, you can use brown rice papers in addition to white rice papers so that you can easily identify the contents.

For your shopping convenience, this post contains affiliate links.

If you like recipes with tofu, you might also enjoy Green Cashew-Fu Ricotta (a.k.a. cashew-tofu ricotta), Vegan Noodle House Ramen with Tofu, and Oil-Free Vegan Mayo.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you roll up some spring rolls? How did it go? Any fun herbs or filling additions? Tell me more in the comments below!