This is one of my absolute favourite recipes to make – especially for dinner parties! I have not met anyone who didn’t adore these beautiful, crisp rolls and creamy, nutty sauce. Vietnamese Rainbow Rolls are healthy and modest, and you can add a variety of different vegetable julienne. I’m a big fan of stuffing my rolls with marinated tofu strips, avocado, carrots, red pepper, coriander, edible flowers, chilli and purple cabbage. This combination, together with the ButtaNutt satay sauce, offers all the flavours and textures you seek in a dish: sweet, savoury, spicy, soft, creamy and crunchy.
If you are making a big batch, the prep work could be quite a lot, so feel free to tick off some of the steps the day before – like making the marinade and dipping sauce and cutting some of the veggies. You can also replace the tofu with burger patty strips or Fry’s Family Food prawn-style pieces, which will eliminate draining, pressing and marinating the tofu. Also, a fun dinner party activity is to get your guests involved and teach them how to roll their own – not only are you sending them home with a new skill, but you’re also making your job a little easier.
Vietnamese Rainbow Rolls with Marinated Tofu and Buttanutt Satay Dipping Sauce
These beautiful, fresh rolls with its creamy and nutty satay sauce make for the perfect party pleaser! Serve it up as a starter, or better yet, get your guests to roll their own.
Ingredients
- One block firm tofu
- 16 rice paper sheets
- 1 Avocado
- 1 Red Pepper
- 1 Yellow Pepper
- ¼ Cucumber
- 2 Carrots, peeled
- ¼ Purple Cabbage
- ½ Cup coriander/mint leaves
- 100gram vermicelli / rice / glass noodles
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- Edible flowers for garnish
- For the tofu marinade sauce:
- 6 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic glove, minced
- 2 teaspoons ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon Silan date syrup/maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon siracha
- Juice of ½ lemon (from lemon mentioned above - about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)
- For the peanut satay sauce:
- 3-4 tablespoons ButtaNutt Almond Macadamia nut butter / unsweetened and unsalted peanut butter
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 fresh chilli, seeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon coriander, chopped
- 2 teaspoons ginger, grated
- 8 tablespoons water
- Juice from ¼ lemon (from lemon mentioned above - about 1 tablespoon)
Instructions
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and transfer to an elongated Tupperware (big enough for all the tofu to lie in flat).
Drain the water from the tofu and pat dry. Cut into 8 strips and lay flat on a paper towel. Place another paper towel on top of the tofu slices. Place a heavy object on top of the paper towel (for example, a book). I like using my cutting board and then I do the next few meal prep steps on top of the board as it applies pressure to the tofu. (Tip: I often replace the paper towels halfway through to drain more water).
On the cutting board, cut the carrot, red pepper, yellow pepper, cucumber and avocado into thin julienne strips and set aside.
Remove the paper towels from the tofu and cut each strip in half (so you are left with 16 strips). Place the tofu strips in the marinade - make sure every strip is covered in sauce. Set aside while you prep the noodles. Flip the tofu slices over halfway through.
Boil a kettle of water. Place rice noodles in a mixing bowl and top with boiling water. Stir through the noodles once they become loose. When the noodles are soft, drain the water and rinse the noodles with cold water to stop them from cooking. Add a tablespoon of sesame oil to the noodles to prevent them from sticking to each other. Set aside.
Make the dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisking until smooth.
Assemble your rolls:
Fill a big bowl with very warm water (the bowl must be big enough for one round rice paper sheet to fit in comfortable.
Hold the top of the rice paper sheet and dip into the water, hold underwater for 15 seconds (or until the rice paper sheet is soft), lift out of the water and place in front of you.
Place your cucumber sticks one thumb away from the bottom of the sheet. Place a little bit of rice paper noodles on top (it’s okay if they fall off). Place carrot sticks behind the rice noodles. Place a strip of tofu on top of the rice noodles.
Fold the empty sheet part at the bottom over the filling and tuck in under the carrot stick. Place a few slices of avo and red and yellow pepper against the roll. Hold it in place, while you place three coriander leaves, mint leaves or flowers one thumb away from the top of the sheet.
Fold the sides of the sheets in towards the middle (to make sure your second filling does not pop out on the sides) and finally roll the whole roll from the bottom all the way to the top. Seal the edges and place in a Tupperware container.
Repeat to create 16 rolls in total.
Notes
Cover the done rolls with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out. If you want to cut the rolls in half before serving, place cling wrap around them first, then cut with a very sharp, non-serrated knife. Remove plastic and serve with your dipping sauce. You don’t have to use the veggies in the order mentioned above, have fun and play around with different varieties.
