I love me some fresh spring rolls! And have recently found a love for tofu satay. I wasn’t much of a tofu fan before, but, as I keep mentioning, when things change, so must I! It’s amazing how one adapts…

Anyway, making your own spring rolls are actually pretty easy, especially when you have someone to help. M joined me (as always) in the kitchen, and helped roll these bad boys up, cutting the time it usually takes me in half!

You’ll need rice paper wrappers, the super thin rice noodles, and then various veggies. This time, we used:

• butter lettuce
• cucumber, thinly sliced
• snap peas, cut in pieces
• bell pepper, julienned
• jalapenos, thinly sliced
• carrots, thinly sliced
• cilantro

I would recommend also some avocado. And maybe some thinly sliced marinated tofu pieces (quick marinade in gf tamari and sriracha or something). Mix it up with some fresh mango slices…

Have a large pie plate handy, filled with hot water. Place one of the rice paper wrappers in this hot water until it becomes translucent and pliable. Gently take it out of the water and lay it flat on a large kitchen towel.

Then start assembling – start with the lettuce, then layer the noodles and other veggies on top.

You roll it basically like a burrito – fold the bottom up over the veggies, then the two sides in, and finish rolling up, keeping it tight, but not breaking the skin.

Repeat until you’ve used up all your ingredients! These can last in the fridge for a couple days, so I always make a large batch and have for lunch over the next day or two.

Serve this with a peanut sauce (similar to what I used in my noodle dish, or the one I list below, slightly different in that it’s stronger and tangier).

For the lemongrass tofu satay:

• 1 block extra firm tofu, sliced (I got 6 large slices out of 1 block)
• 3x 2-3″ pieces of lemongrass
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 medium-large shallot
• 1 small jalapeno
• 1″ ginger
• 1/3 C gf tamari
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1 t cumin
• 1 T canola oil
• 1/3 C sugar (agave, rice syrup, etc)

Process all the above (except the tofu) in a food processor. Marinate the tofu in this mixture (in a zippie or in a dish) for 1-24 hours. When ready to cook, either grill or cook in a skillet until nicely browned on both sides. Serve warm.

Peanut sauce:

• 4 T peanut butter
• 2 T tamari
• 1 T fish sauce
• 1 t agave
• 1/2 t tamarind paste
• 1 t chili garlic sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 – 1/3 C water

Place all but water in a food processor and puree, adding the water slowly to get the right dipping consistency.