How To Make Easy & Refreshing Vegan Spring Rolls
Janette Clark
Vegan spring rolls are a great recipe. An original creation by celebrity chef, Chef Akhi, these easy vegan spring rolls are refreshing and vibrant. They’re made up of simple ingredients, but the sauce adds a level of complexity to the flavor. After playing around with the original recipe, I made a few tweaks to suit my palette.
The key to rolling perfect spring rolls is having all your vegetables washed, prepped and laid out beforehand. Things need to happen pretty quickly due to the delicate nature of rice paper wraps, so you’ll want to organize a small area to work easily and efficiently.
Keep in mind that wood surfaces can be too porous for rice paper wrappers. Rather than rolling on your wood cutting board, roll on the kitchen counter or a marble board like the one seen below.
Ingredients
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper
- 1/2 English cucumber
- 5 stalks of asparagus
- 1 tbsp tamari sauce
- 1/2 head of small purple cabbage
- 1 medium avocado
- 1/4 cup cilantro microgreens
- 10 large rice paper wrappers
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut vinegar
- 1 tbsp agave nectar
- 1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1 tsp sriracha
Prepare the vegetables
- Slice bell peppers and cucumber, lengthwise, to ¼ inch width.
- Trim bottoms of asparagus and cut to the same length as the other two vegetables.
- Toss the asparagus in tamari sauce. Then lay the stalks in a heated pan over high heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes. You want the asparagus to remain firm and keep the vibrant green color but be slightly charred.
- Julienne cut the purple cabbage.
- Slice the avocado into thin slices matching the other vegetables in length.
Prepare the sauce
- In a small bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing coconut vinegar, agave nectar, sesame oil, almond butter and sriracha until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
Assemble the vegan spring rolls
- Fill a shallow dish or bowl with warm water and dip the paper wrapper in it for 15 seconds. Remove the wrapper before it becomes completely soft.
- Placing the wrapper on a clean surface, lay 2-3 pieces of each vegetable into the center. Add a generous pinch of microgreens and top off with a dollop of sauce.
- Fold one side of the wrapper over the vegetables, using your fingers to gather and tuck the veggies in.
- Then roll away from you from the bottom upwards, once.
- Fold one of the opposite sides over to create a closed end.
- Continue with the original roll until your paper ends, consistently tucking to create a tight spring roll.
Serve immediately with the remainder of sauce. Enjoy your vegan spring rolls.
Janette Clark, founder of Simply PUTT, specializes in home service, meal prep, classes and private events. You can follow her culinary work on Instagram at @chefputtie.
