What’s your favorite take-out cuisine? For me, I’ll always choose any restaurant that offers fresh summer rolls. When I lived in Providence, there was a great Thai and sushi restaurant down the street. They had the most delicious summer rolls with the best peanut dipping sauce. Honestly, give me anything drizzled with peanut sauce and I’ll be happy!

I love to experiment with healthier alternatives to my favorite restaurant and take-out meals in my cooking. By preparing food for yourself, you have total control over all the ingredients you add. Restaurants liberally add salt, oils and other fats to their cooking because, well, it makes their food taste delicious! But, you can still enjoy the vibrant flavors without taking in a day’s worth of sodium or saturated fat. I really love Asian cuisine, so I’ve developed some delicious sauces, like a stir fry and sesame ginger sauce.

I think I’ve finally perfected a peanut sauce I’ve been working on for a while, so I had to share it with you guys! I was also craving summer rolls and decided to just make a meal out of it! Why must we limit them to appetizer course? I paired these vegan rolls with some steamed + lightly salted edamame for a better-than-take-out meal. This sauce is not just for dipping; you can use it as a salad dressing, drizzled over avocado toast or tossed in a stir fry.

Ingredients:

Peanut Sauce

  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp low sodium tamari
  • 1 tbsp cold water
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1-2 tsp chili paste
  • 1 tbsp mauka honey
  • 1 clove garlic, grated
  • 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter

Summer Rolls

  • 1 block firm tofu, water pressed out for 10 minutes
  • 2 tsp Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Company seasoning (or just salt and pepper)
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 cup baby spinach, stems removed
  • Large handful of fresh mint leaves
  • 7 spring roll brown rice paper wrappers
  • 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
  • 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise, or peeled with julienne peeler
  • Half an avocado, thinly sliced
  • Half a small cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice tofu into thin steaks, season with TJ’s Mushroom & Company, toss in avocado oil and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until browned and crispy.
  2. While tofu is cooking, prepare peanut sauce. Whisk together avocado oil, sesame oil, tamari, lime juice, vinegar, chili paste, honey, garlic and ginger. Then whisk in peanut butter until smooth. Add more chili paste if you like heat!
  3. Prepare veggies and avocado as outlined.
  4. When tofu is done cooking, slice each piece in half lengthwise.
  5. Set up a little assembly line on your countertop: start with rice paper wrappers, then spinach and mint, veggies, avocado and tofu.
  6. Fully submerge 1 rice paper wrapper in water, then place on a clean plate.
  7. Arrange about 5-7 spinach leaves and 2 mint leaves in the center of the wrapper, and then top with the remaining ingredients.
  8. I found it easiest to fold in the sides of the wrapper first, then roll the front edge away from you to form the wrap.
  9. Place finished rolls on another clean plate. You can leave them whole or slice in half with a sharp knife.
  10. Serve with peanut dipping sauce!

These will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days, just bring them to room temperature before eating so the wrappers soften.

If you guys try this recipe, tag @daisybeet on Instagram so I can see your creations! 🙂