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FINALLY, I have a Chinese snack/side recipe up on this blog – vegan spring rolls!
You guys asked for it, and so now we have it 🙂 Yay! I am so happy to share these with you all!
Truthfully, I wasn’t actually very motivated to post these. Simply because I didn’t feel like there were that many people into spring rolls…but man, I was so wrong! I happened to make these one night and posted a picture on Instagram (it wasn’t even a great picture, to be honest) AND WHAT ON EARTH YOU GUYS! The number of people asking for this recipe wayyyy exceeded my expectations!
Actually I would’ve done it as long as one person asked for it – as long as I know just one person out there appreciates my recipe, that’s more than enough for me!
But noooo! So many of you responded! I am so touched. Really. You guys are gonna make me cry!
OK ENOUGH EMOTIONAL TALK. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE RECIPE.
The filling for these super delicious vegan spring rolls is made up of tofu (extra firm), chives, and shiitake mushrooms. It’s so darn good. Chives and shiitake have so much (awesomely asian) flavour to them and the tofu scramble really helps to add texture!
And protein, of course 😉
Top it all off with some soy sauce and voila! We have a spring roll filling that is bound to impress even non-vegans!
It’s truly super easy – well, except for the part where you have to actually roll the spring roll. That requires a little bit of skill and practice.
No matter how many instructions you attempt to read on the internetz on the art of spring roll rolling (lol), you are bound to mess up (I know I did, many times hehe). Unless of course I am speaking to a spring roll expert, in which case there’s nothing to worry about 😉 Otherwise…don’t say I didn’t warn you!
BUT ALL IS NOT LOST! The more you roll, the better you become! And you won’t lose that skill – you’ll only get better at it 😉
So be patient – some broken skins or filling-escapees are normal when you are a spring roller (lol, get it? I know, great joke :p). If making beautiful Chinese dim sum/snacks were easy those Din Tai Fung chefs would be out of a job! :p It takes practice!
Anyway, I’d still dump the holey spring rolls in to fry, as long as they aren’t completely falling apart.
Still delicious 😉
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Vegan + Gluten-free Option
Easy Vegan Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 10 5"x5" spring roll pastry
- 1/2 block extra firm tofu extra firm
- 1/2 cup chives chopped
- 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms chopped
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- salt to taste
Instructions
Making the Filling
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Heat up a teaspoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
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Squeeze half a block of extra firm tofu over the sink and allow as much water to drip out as possible. When pieces start to fall out of your hands, move to the frying pan and use your fingers to crumble it as much as possible into the pan.
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Fry the tofu scramble with a pinch of salt to help it brown. Meanwhile, chop about 1/2 cup worth of shiitake mushrooms (about 6 mushrooms) and 1/2 cup worth of chives.
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Add in the chopped mushrooms and chives and stir-fry it over medium heat until the mushrooms are cooked.
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When you are done, turn off the heat and add 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce. Stir it in and give it a taste. Add more soy sauce or salt if necessary.
Making the Spring Rolls
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Lay one 5" x 5" mini spring roll pastry in front of you so that it is diamond-shaped as you down at it. Have a cup of water ready so you can seal the edge later.
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Place one heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre. Fold the bottom corner up, then the sides, and then roll upwards.
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Once you've rolled towards the end, stick your finger into the cup and rub it at the edge of the spring roll to seal it. Sometimes it just won't seal, so don't force it. Lay the spring roll with the edge facing down so it won't unwrap itself.
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When you're done, heat up about 1/4 cup oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
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Once the oil is hot enough, shallow fry the spring rolls, with the edge facing down first, and flipping it once when that side is done. Feel free to use more or less oil if necessary!
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Recipe Notes
Be careful when picking up the spring rolls and placing it into the pan. Make sure you don't accidentally unwrap it!
Rolling takes some skillz (even I am not a pro at it!) so be patient, some broken skins or escaping fillings are normal when you are a spring roller (lol, get it?). If making beautiful Chinese dim sum/snacks were easy those Din Tai Fung chefs would be out of a job! :p It takes practice!
For a gluten-free option, you can use rice wrappers instead! You can visit my Cauliflower And Tempeh Rice Roll recipe to see how I work with rice wrappers.
Here I used mini spring roll wrappers as it makes it more snack-like, but feel free to use the full-sized 8 inch by 8 inch version!
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11 comments
The filling in these vegan spring rolls does look amazing! Thanks for a great recipe for a healthy snack!
I love spring rolls and these sound so delish! Great choice of ingredients! Thanks for sharing!
Haha. How could you not know everyone loves spring rolls? Everybody I know loves them. Great thing about this recipe is that it’s shallow fried. Shallow fried means no deep fryer which means I will have no problem making them without making my whole house smell. Thanks for this!
I’m obsessed with these spring rolls! They just look so darn good. Honestly, who doesn’t love fried pockets of goodness? Love the combination of the tofu and chives too! I’ll be making these ASAP… as soon as I can tear my eyes away from your GORGEOUS pictures! Ahhh
Hahaha you’re too kind Alyssa! But yes, these are really delicious! 😀
These are so pretty! And what’s not to love with those ingredients? Thanks for the heads up on how to roll them. These would be such a fun weekend meal to make with my kids!
These look so so so tasty! My mom and I love spring rolls and egg rolls so much that we will frequently have them for dinner. Nothing else. Just tasty crispy spring rolls!
That’s so cool – I love seeing fellow spring roll fans!
I LOVE fresh shiitake mushrooms! It’s so much more flavourful and the texture is less rubbery! Chives, tofu and shiitake is an AWESOME combination. AND AND AND I APPRECIATE YOU AND YOUR RECIPES! 😀 You know I love you girl, right? 🙂 The recipes you do are great for my lazy nights (trust me, happens a lot around here! haha) and I always love your bluntness and honesty <3
Hehehe thanks for the love! <3 this comment is making me diabetic, I swear :p
I bet these could even fool by husband! haha – rolling spring rolls is not my skill…sometimes it ends up being a stirfry instead! 🙂