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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Tofu rice paper rolls

April 15, 2016 by Ania - 13

Asian-inspired, easy, gluten-free, healthy, tofugo to recipe

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tofu rice paper rolls platter

Do you love rice paper rolls as much as I do? If you do, you’re in for a treat!

Last year, I decided to give them a bit of a Greek twist and packed them with slices of juicy local peaches. If you are after a 100% raw recipe, check it out.

This year, I wanted to make them a bit more hearty and stuffed them with peanut tofu instead. The tofu gets baked in the oven until golden (you can also fry it like in this recipe if you are feeling a bit more indulgent) and then coated in naturally sweet date and peanut marinade.

I know, dates and peanuts together may sound like a strange combo encompassing different cuisines, but my aim was to make these tofu rice paper rolls refined sugar free and damn tasty and I’m pleased to say that I think I succeeded on both fronts.

PS: If you make my tofu rice paper rolls, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

tofu rice paper rolls making

tofu rice paper rolls

tofu rice paper rolls close up

5.00 from 4 votes
Print
  • makes: 16 rolls / 32 halves
  • prep: 60 min
  • cooking: 30 min

Ingredients

TOFU RICE PAPER ROLLS

  • 16 rice paper wrappers (mine were 22 cm diameter)
  • 400 g tofu, pressed*
  • 1 red pepper, julienned
  • 1 small cucumber, julienned
  • 2 carrots, julienned
  • ¼ small red cabbage, sliced thinly
  • 50 g vermicelli rice noodles
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
  • 2 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)
  • handful of fresh mint and coriander

PEANUT SAUCE AND TOFU MARINADE

  • 1 cup roasted (unsalted) peanuts**
  • 20 Deglet Noor dates, adjust to taste
  • about 4-5 tbsp / 60-75 ml lime juice
  • 2 tbsp / 30 ml tamari (for gluten free version) or soy sauce
  • 1 garlic clove, grated finely
  • 1-2 tbsp Sriracha

Method

PEANUT SAUCE AND TOFU MARINADE

  1. Pit the dates and place them in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over them and soak for 10 minutes.
  2. Prepare vermicelli noodles according to packet instructions.
  3. Smash peanuts (in smaller batches) into a coarse powder in a pestle and mortar. Remove dates from the water and blitz them into a thick paste with a hand blender or in a food processor. Add lime juice, most of the crushed peanuts (reserve 2 tbsp to sprinkle inside the rolls), tamari, garlic and Sriracha. Save 2-3 tbsp to coat the baked tofu. Loosen the rest of the sauce up with a few tablespoons of water if it’s too thick for dipping.

PEANUT TOFU

  1. Heat up the oven to 175º C / 350º F. Line a baking tray with a piece of baking parchment.
  2. Cut pressed tofu into 32 long strips. I cut each 200 g into 8 strips and then cut each strip in half.
  3. Put tofu into a shallow dish and sprinkle with tamari or soy sauce on both sides. Let them sit in the seasoning until the oven is ready.
  4. Place tofu on the prepared baking tray. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 mins, turning tofu sticks half way through.
  5. Once the baked tofu cools off, coat it in 2-3 tbsp of the peanut sauce.

SUMMER ROLLS

  1. Dampen a clean kitchen towel and put on a clean surface. Prepare rice wrappers, one at a time, according to instructions on the packet. Put rehydrated rice wrapper on the damp towel.
  2. Start filling the wrapper, but make sure you do not overfill. I put two mint leaves at the bottom, followed by a small clump of noodles, followed by vegetables and two sticks of tofu. I finished with some coriander, two slices of chilli, a few slices of spring onion and a sprinkle of smashed peanuts.
  3. Once you finish with the filling, start rolling each like a burrito. Fold sides over and start rolling from the bottom making sure you hold the filling tightly with your other hand. It takes a few goes to get the knack of it.
  4. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you’ve run out of your filling or / and wrappers.
  5. Cut rolls in half and enjoy them fresh, dipped in the prepared sauce.

Notes

*To press the tofu without a tofu press, wrap your tofu in a paper towel, place it on a plate and weigh it down with something heavy (like a can of coconut milk, for example). Once the paper towel becomes wet, change it for a new one. Repeat a few times until the paper towel stays almost dry. Pressed tofu is tastier as it absorbs flavours better.

**If you have a peanut allergy, you can use almonds or cashews instead.

My recipe is inspired by this recipe by Serious Eats.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Reiko says

    April 16, 2016 at 3:37 am

    Hi! Saw your beautiful pictures at foodgawker. Love all the pictures and recipes. By looking at the pictures I could almost taste the freshness of each dish. Interesting to use dates in the peanut sauce. I should definitely try it.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      April 16, 2016 at 11:00 am

      Hi Reiko,

      Thank you so much for kind words! They made my day 🙂 Yes, I know, it’s not very original to use dates in this context but I wanted to make the sauce healthier yet still deliciously sweet with a tang of sourness. I really think it works!

      Warm greetings!

      Ania

      Reply
  2. Stephanie D'Souza says

    July 12, 2017 at 1:40 am

    The peanut sauce is absolutely amazing! My husband usually doesn’t like rice paper rolls, but he scoffed these down and even took leftovers for lunch the next day – score!! I mixed the leftover sauce with sweet chilli sauce for dipping 😛 Thanks for a great recipe 😀

    Reply
    • Ania says

      July 12, 2017 at 10:21 am

      That’s great to hear, Stephanie! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave such nice comment! Ania

      Reply
  3. Emily says

    February 22, 2018 at 10:03 am

    I can’t wait to try this recipe, it’s sounds like so flavorful and fresh! I normally press my tofu by wrapping it in a clean kitchen towel, so that I don’t have to waste a lot of paper towels. I normally wrap the towel around in a double layer so that it can really absorb all the water!

    Reply
  4. Mary kay says

    August 16, 2018 at 5:01 am

    this looks great! I have to eat a low fat diet and thought could I substitute the peanuts for the powdered peanut butter that has the fat removed (pb2) and if so what ration would you recommend I’m thinking not a whole cup of the pb2?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 16, 2018 at 11:48 am

      Hi Mary,

      Unfortunately, I have never tried or even heard of PB2 until now so I cannot give you any advice on that – you’ll need to keep on tasting as you go along. I’m glad you are able to enjoy dishes like that despite the diet. Ania

      Reply
  5. Catherine says

    January 9, 2019 at 10:27 am

    Currently making these and can’t wait to eat them, what a great recipe; simple ingredients that combine together beautifully! Can’t wait to check out your other recipes 😊

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 9, 2019 at 2:25 pm

      Thanks, Catherine! I’m delighted to hear that are enjoying these and I hope you’ll find other equally enjoyable recipes too! Ania

      Reply
  6. Frances says

    October 21, 2019 at 5:10 am

    This is like the 43rd time I’ve come back to this recipe to make it again.
    The dipping sauce is THE BEST.
    THANK YOU

    Reply
    • Ania says

      October 21, 2019 at 11:02 am

      Hahaha, thank you! That’s so lovely to hear, Frances! And thank you for taking the time to rate the recipe, I really appreciate it – it helps my blog grow! Ania

      Reply
  7. Sarah says

    October 16, 2020 at 5:10 am

    YUM! I made the sauce using peanut butter rather than peanuts as that’s what I had, and 1/2 the dates and some hot water to thin, and it was wonderful. As was the tofu and everything else. Such a great recipe!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      October 16, 2020 at 7:01 pm

      Thank you, Sarah. I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. Ania

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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