Tofu Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Fresh, light and fun to make, try these Vietnamese-inspired tofu summer rolls with rice noodles, cucumber, mint and cilantro and spicy peanut butter dipping sauce. Such a refreshing summer meal, you'll make these vegan/vegetarian rolls again and again.

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Vietnamese summer rolls are usually served at room temperature, sometimes cold. The outside wrapping is made of rice paper briefly soaked in warm water.

We are going to make these summer rolls vegan and vegetarian by using tofu as our protein.

This works great for a party with friends! Put all the various ingredients on a big platter and start an assembly line.

🧄 Very useful ingredient notes

Rice paper - The rice paper I use is a standard round size. Not the mini ones, not the square ones, not the giant ones. They are about 10 inches across. They carry them in most of the grocery stores I shop in. But, if you need to buy them online, the Three Ladies brand of rice paper is good.
Tofu - You can use tofu straight out of the packet, cut into long pieces for this. Or, go the extra mile and bake or air fry them with the seasonings for extra flavor.
Cucumber - The quartered spears of cucumber will serve as the "backbone" of your spring roll so they don't easily bend over. I like Persian (baby) cucumbers here because they are the perfect size. They just need to be quartered lengthwise. But, you can use any type of cucumber. You'll need to just trim them to be the right length for the size rice paper you're using.
Rice noodles - Cooked rice vermicelli noodles add a little bulk to these summer rolls. Cook them according to the package instructions, because they all get cooked at slightly different times based on their thickness. Look for thin, dried rice noodles that are about the thickness of angel hair or spaghetti pasta.
Carrot - grates or matchstick carrots work best here (you could also use quick pickled carrots)
Fresh herbs - Definitely add fresh herbs, like cilantro, mint and/or Thai basil leaves to your summer rolls. They had amazing flavor!
Mirin - a sweet and slightly tangy Japanese cooking wine.

📋 Substitutions and variations

Rice noodles - Instead of rice vermicelli, you could use mung bean vermicelli. It is very thin and only requires soaking in water for 3 minutes to be ready to eat.
Peanut butter - For a lower fat peanut sauce, substitute the peanut butter for PB2 peanut powder and add additional water to reconstitute. Peanut dipping sauce could also be made with an alternative nut butter.

🔪 Instructions

Peanut butter, sriracha, mirin and soy sauce in glass measuring cup

Step 1: Prepare the spicy peanut dipping sauce by adding all sauce ingredients together in a bowl or glass measuring cup.

mixed peanut sauce in a glass measuring cup with fork

Step 2: Whisk ingredients together and add a tablespoon of water at a time until you get the consistency you want. Reduce or increase sriracha, according to your tolerance to spice. Sprinkle top with minced peanuts, for garnish, if you'd like. Set aside.

Step 3: Brush marinade on tofu fingers and then bake or air fry until browns on the edges.

Cooked rice noodles that have been rinsed in a plastic bowl

Step 4: Cook rice noodles according to your package instructions. Drain, then immediately rinse in cold water and set aside.

Prep all the fillings before you assemble

Mise in what? Mise en place (French pronunciation: [mi zɑ̃ ˈplas]) is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place" or "everything in its place."

Basically, it means to cut and prepare everything you're going to use before you start rolling.

So, grate your carrots, wash, dry and trim your lettuce to a good size, cut your cucumbers and bell pepper.

Set everything within arms reach while you're rolling your fresh summer rolls.

You'll also need to have a clean, flat surface ready to lay the rice paper on when you pull it out of the water. And, you'll need a plate or serving dish to place them on as you finish rolling them.

Soaking rice paper in warm water in a wide stainless steel skillet.

Step 5: Turn your rice paper in water for 10-20 seconds, until just flexible. The water you use to soak your rice paper should not be boiling hot or cold - it should be warm, even hot-ish, like the temperature of water you would use to wash dishes. I fill one of my wide 10 inch stainless steel skillets halfway with hot water and use that to dunk the rice paper, because it is larger than the width of the paper. This works well, because if the water starts to get too cold, I can turn the heat on for a minute and warm it back up.

White plate with soaked rice paper and piece of lettuce in center of rice paper

Step 6: Place soaked rice paper on plate and then add a leaf of lettuce.

White plate with soaked rice paper and veggies, tofu and rice noodles layered on top

Step 7: Layer remaining filling ingredients in the center of the rice paper, being careful not to overfill it.

folding bottom edge of rice paper up over fillings with two hands

Step 8: Pull bottom of rice paper up over filling, using your fingers to tuck the filling in.

folding sides of rice paper in to stick to the summer roll

Step 9: Fold sides over to stick to the roll.

Rolling up until the summer rolls seals itself

Step 10: Roll up to seal the summer roll.

Expert tips

Have all your ingredients in place before you get started
Only soak your rice paper for 10-20 seconds or until it's just starting to become more pliable. If you soak them too long, they'll get mushy and tear easily.
Use a flat smooth surface that is plastic, sealed ceramic (like a large plate) or a stone cutting board. Do NOT use a wooden cutting board, they will stick like crazy!
Lightly wet surface before rolling each spring roll.
Don’t overfill your spring rolls, they will be too hard to roll and unwieldy to eat. It's better to make two rolls that are small than a huge one that falls apart.

❓ FAQ

How long do fresh summer rolls last?

Freshly made summer rolls are best eaten freshly made. But, they will last for 1-3 days in the refrigerator, depending on the ingredients you use to make them. For produce that spoils quickly like avocado, those are better eaten fresh. But produce like carrots, bell pepper will stay fresh tasting longer.

How do you store fresh summer rolls?

If you make extra summer rolls, you'll want to wrap them individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate them to store them so they don't dry out or stick to each other and tear. You might want to refrain from using avocado if you're going to eat them the next day. The other ingredients will keep better.

How do you make peanut sauce for vietnamese fresh cold summer rolls?

A simple and easy recipe is combining peanut butter, soy sauce, sriracha and water until you get the consistency you like. I have exact ingredients down below in the recipe card.

Are summer rolls vegan?

Summer rolls are typically rolled in rice paper, which has no egg in it and is vegan. However, sometimes, the filling may have animal products (meat, seafood or egg, usually) in it. So, be sure to check what's inside before assuming summer rolls are vegan.

What's the difference between spring rolls and summer rolls?

Summer rolls are served cold or cool wrapped in rice paper. The filling is typically fresh herbs, thinly sliced raw vegetables and some type of protein like tofu, shrimp or meat. These are sometimes called spring rolls, as well. But, what most people think of when they say spring rolls is the fried version. They are similar to egg rolls, but wrapped in rice paper, then fried, instead of an egg and flour wrapper.

🗺 Cultural influences

According to Wikipedia, Gỏi cuốn or nem cuốn, salad roll, summer roll, fresh spring roll, spring roll, rice paper roll, is a Vietnamese dish traditionally consisting of pork, prawn, vegetables, bún (rice vermicelli), and other ingredients wrapped in Vietnamese bánh tráng (commonly known as rice paper or cold roll). Unlike other spring roll dishes which are believed to be originated from China, Vietnamese gỏi cuốn is the country's creation using rice paper.

The rice paper is filled with lettuce, herbs, veggies, a protein of some sort and then wrapped up like a mini burrito.

They are sometimes served with fish sauce, but they are delicious with a spicy peanut dipping sauce or sweet chili sauce.

Check out The Viet Vegan for an authentic Vietnamese fresh spring roll recipe.

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