Vegan Spring Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Vegan Spring Rolls packed to the brim with carrots, cucumber, avocado, and mango. Can you get any fresher than that? This truly is a summer must-try, and makes for the perfect date night activity.
Skip to any part of the recipe by clicking on one of the links below:
Introduction
I promised when I began this blog that I would never do two things:
Make long, rambling, unnecessary introductions that could be turned into a short novella about my upbringing, my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and my family heritage. I wanted to keep them short, funny (as funny as I can be - which, let’s be frank, is not very), and full of tips to make the recipe easier.
Pretend my recipes came together in 15 minutes when in reality, I was peering over the oven for an evening and a half, becoming increasingly existential by the hour.
This recipe is hard work, and there’s a bit of technique to it. It took me a bit to get the hang of it - it was my first time, too. So, don’t sweat it if it takes you forever. It took me ages. Don’t rush yourself, focus on your vegetables one at slice at a time. Stay organised. It all pays off in the end.
I’ve embedded a video that walks you through one of the trickier techniques, as well as provided written instructions that can hopefully fill you in on any of the blanks that I might have missed in the video.
The trick is all in the folding. Dip your rice paper in the water bowl for about 15 seconds, and if it starts to dry up, dip your finger in the warm water, and trace it around the perimeter. It’ll soften up immediately and fold easily.
It truly is a fun recipe to put together. The spring rolls taste amazing, especially with the peanut sauce - seriously, don’t skip on the peanut sauce. They’re so, so fresh.
Check out the Spruce it Up section for ideas on how to take this recipe to the next level.
Eat wonderfully.
Before we Get Started
Prep Time: 1 Hour
Cook Time: 0 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour
Ingredients
2 Medium/Large Carrots
1 Cucumber
2 Mangoes
1 Avocado
2 Green Onions
Package of Rice Paper
Mine were 10 inches in diameter
3 or 4 Stems of Kale
1/4 Head of Red Cabbage
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1 tsp. Red Thai Chili Paste
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
Splash of Lime Juice
1 tbsp. Maple Syrup
Method
Begin by squaring off your carrots and cucumber and cutting them into thin strips. Check out the video below the Method for instructions on how to do this. I’ll type them out here as well just in case anything is unclear in the video.
Cut the top and bottom of the vegetable (known as “Top and Tailing”). Starting from the top of the vegetable, thinly slice one of the sides all the way to the bottom (you really just want to get the skin here) so that the vegetable is flat on one side. Lay it down on the flat side, and thinly slice the remaining three sides, until your vegetable resembles a long rectangle.
Deseed and remove the skin from the mangoes, and cut into strips approximately the same size as your cucumber and carrots.
Just try your best - it’s really not a big deal if they’re not perfect. Mine aren’t!
Cut your avocado in half, remove the skin, and deseed the avocado. Lay one half flat on the board. Approx. half a centimetre from the bottom of the avocado, slice horizontally, all the way across. Move your knife up another 1/2 cm, and do the same. Continue until you’re at the top of the avocado (typically about three slices).
Stack up your slices, and make slices downwards from one side of the avocado to the other, like an onion. Rotate the avocado, and do the same.
You just diced an avocado!
Grab your green onions, and slice thinly on a sharp angle.
Despine your kale (rip the leaves from the stem), and tear into small pieces.
Cut your head of red cabbage in half, and then in half again so that you have 1/4 head. Slice thinly.
Organise your vegetables so that each are at reach.
Put some warm water into a large bowl. Dip one sheet of your rice paper into the bowl for about 15 seconds (or the duration of time specified on the box), until soft and malleable.
Place the sheet of rice paper on your cutting board, and begin layering right in the middle of the paper. Kale first, then add ingredients in the order you like. I went:
Kale
Red Cabbage
Cucumber, Carrots, Mango, Avocado
Green Onions
Bring the bottom of the rice paper up over your ingredients in the middle. Fold in the sides, them tightly roll.
It’s tough at first, but it’s a total breeze when you get the hang of it.
If the rice paper gets tough to fold or hardens up, dab your finger in the warm water, and trace it around the perimeter of the paper.
Continue for the remaining wraps.
In a small bowl. combine your peanut butter, maple syrup, lime juice, red Thai chili paste, and soy sauce. Add a splash of hot water. Mix thoroughly until fully incorporated. Taste for ingredients and add more of each as needed.
Enjoy.
Spruce it Up
Sprinkle some red chili flakes over top.
If you’re not a huge fan of the crunch of the carrots, blanche them first. Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add your slices of carrots. Boil for approximately 2 minutes, then place in a bowl with ice and cold water.
Slice and fry up some tofu in soy sauce and add to your roll.