Vietnamese Tofu Spring Rolls

My mom made this for my sister and I allllll the time and it was in our childhood rotation of home cooked meals. She would wrap the Goi Cuon (spring rolls) for us when we were little and then as we got older, we started eating it the traditional way, which is to set all the ingredients at the dining table and we would each wrap our Goi Cuon ourselves with any fillings we like.

I don’t cook pork that often at home- this dish is usually made with poached shrimp and pork belly, so I thought to fry up some tofu and wrap it with a bunch of veggies and herbs to make it healthy! It was SO good and I honestly prefer it this way.

Goi cuon typically doesn’t have cucumber and carrots, it’s usually only in Nem Nuon Cuon (pork roll spring rolls) but I wanted to add it for an extra crunch and mostly for color!

Watch video HERE.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Spring Rolls—

• 1 pack firm tofu

• rice vermicelli

• spring roll wrappers

• mint

• cilantro

• 1 carrot; shaved into ribbons

• 2 mini cucumbers, sliced into matchsticks

• chives

• red leaf lettuce (I buy the baby red leaf lettuce that’s prepackaged)

• garlic powder

For the Peanut Hoison Sauce—

• 2-3 garlic cloves; minced

• 1/4 cup peanut butter

• 1/2 hoison sauce

• 1 cup filtered water

HOW-TO

1. Wash cucumber and carrots. Slice cucumber into thin slices. Peel carrot and shave into ribbons. Set aside on a large plate.

2. Wash mint and cilantro, pull all the leaves off. Set aside on plate.

3. Wash baby red leaf lettuce. Set aside on plate.

4. Cook rice vermicelli noodles according to package instructions. Make sure not to overcook so it’s not mushy. Drain and rinse under cold water to remove starches and stop cooking. Set aside.

5. To a saucepan, add avocado oil and heat over medium heat. Add minced garlic and fry until fragrant and golden.

6. Add 1/4 peanut butter along with 1/2 cup filtered water. Mix to combine and melt the peanut butter.

7. Add 1/2 cup hoison sauce and 1/2 cup filtered water to start. Mix to thoroughly combine. Check consistency. If it’s still too thick, add more water. I ended up using about 2/3 cup water total. Consistency shouldn’t be too thick.

8. Drain and pat tofu dry. Slice into ~1” sticks. Season both sides with garlic powder.

9. To a large skillet, add avocado oil and heat over medium heat.

10. Add tofu and sear until both sides are golden brown. About 1 minute on each side. Set tofu aside.

11. Find a bowl that can fit your spring roll wrappers. Fill bowl halfway with water and microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds until warm.

12. Dip spring roll wrapper in water, making sure the entire sheet is wet. Lay the wrapper on a cutting board.

13. Start layering your fillings— (leave about 2” of space on either side of the rice paper) Add carrot, then cucumber, then red leaf lettuce, rice noodles, mint, cilantro, and tofu.

14. Tightly fold the left and right sides towards the middle. Lay some chives in the roll with one end poking out. Then fold the bottom up, continuing to roll tight, squeezing everything together as you roll it into a neat summer roll!

15. I like to cut mine in half, serve with the peanut hoison sauce mixed with some Huy Fong Chili Garlic sauce on top!