It feels like spring rolls are everywhere at the moment. And for a good reason – they are a very simple recipe and they taste amazing. Well, the sauce needs to taste amazing, because the rolls themselves are very neutral. But pair them with a good sauce and you have yourself a lovely little lunch. I’ve made a little twist and made vegan spring rolls with fruit – belive me, you’ll love them.

What are spring rolls?

Spring rolls are a Chinese and Southeast Asian dish. We usually think of Vietnam when thinking of spring rolls, although they pop up in Indonesia, the Philippines, and China, as well as in Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and Macau, too. Each country has its own name for spring rolls, but we’ll stick with the English name.

Spring rolls are most commonly filled with vegetables and therefore naturally vegan, although you might find versions with meat as well. The fillings are wrapped in thin rice paper. In the Western countries the rice paper is different than in Asia. What surprised me a lot was how sticky the rice paper is once it’s soaked in water and softened up.

When talking to a friend who recently visited Vietnam, we speculated that they must be using a much fresher kind of rice paper. There, they serve rice paper and fillings separately and you make your own rolls on the spot. The paper is not as sticky, not as soft, and generally much different. But here we buy rice paper packed in plastic bags where it needs to stay edible for longer stretches of time, so it’s necessary to soak it in hot water. Soaking makes it soft, but also very sticky and somehow chewy. I need to travel to Asia and try their spring rolls myself.

I’ve been eyeing spring rolls for a while before jumping on the rolling train. Once I’ve tried them I was hooked. Although the rolls themselves have a very mild taste, the variety of sauces you can serve with them adds the perfect kick of taste and spice. The most common ones are Hoi San (soy-based), peanut dipping sauce, or Vietnamese nuoc cham (made with fish sauce). I made a kind of nuoc cham, but can’t call it that because the ingredients are quite different – the biggest difference being the lack of fish sauce. The tastes still follow the nuoc cham path – garlicky, salty, sweet, spicy, and a bit sour. If you want to check out these three most common spring roll sauces, check out this blog.

Making vegan spring rolls at home

I think I’m very lucky because I can get the most common Asian ingredients in a local supermarket. I’m from a small country with even smaller cities (would rather call them towns) and we only have an Asian supermarket in the capital city. But as I said, I can get most Asian foods that I need in the local store. That’s where I buy soy sauce, rice noodles, rice paper, etc.

The most important part of spring rolls is the rice paper. If you want to substitute it, you can’t, I’m sorry. No rice paper, no spring rolls. The fillings are up to you. Fill them up with different vegetables, add fruits, maybe some tofu, tempeh, or vegan chick’n strips, and you’ll have yourself some awesome homemade vegan spring rolls adjusted to your taste.

I think the most common fillings for vegan spring rolls would be carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and cabbage (white or purple), some people like to add avocado and I like to add strawberries and mango but apple would be great, too, which makes them into vegan spring rolls with fruits. Sometimes people add rice noodles to the mix, but I think spring rolls are better without them. To make a proper meal out of vegan spring rolls, we need some protein, which I already mentioned above: tofu, tempeh, or vegan chick’n strips would be the best options. Marinate them and grill them for even more taste, or do as I did and cover tofu or tempeh in starch to make it crunchy (see the recipe below).

Idea for a peanut dipping sauce

I have also mentioned sauces, which make a huge difference when it comes to the spring rolls. My favourite spring roll sauce must be this veganized version of nuoc cham – let’s call it vegan nuoc cham style sauce – that you can find below or a simple peanut dipping sauce. The last time I made it I used:

• Peanut butter (1-2 tbsp)
• Hoi San sauce (1 tbsp)
• Water
• Chilli

Mix it all well, adjust to your taste and BAM – you have yourself an umami-rich, tasty, creamy dipping sauce.

That’s all there is to mastering homemade spring rolls: good veggies, good sauces, rice paper, and some vegan protein. That’s right after you get used to rolling that wet, sticky rice paper. It’s a skill on its own and you’ll have to practice a little to get used to the paper, no way around it.

What do we love about vegan spring rolls with fruit?

-> They are fresh and perfect for the summer

-> A great meal to make with friends or take to work as a to-go lunch

-> They are a versatile dish that you can adjust to your preferences

Ingredients for vegan spring rolls

I’ve already mentioned all you need for vegan spring rolls with fruit, but to follow the recipe, here are the ingredients I used in my fruity version of vegan spring rolls:

Vegetables: red and yellow red bell pepper, cucumber, rocket or spinach – they bring freshness to the spring rolls and I have to be honest, I cannot imagine spring rolls without a bunch of fresh veggies.

Tofu: I used the most common vegan protein that most non-vegans hate, mainly because they don’t know how to prepare it. I don’t like to complicate, although marinating tofu in soy sauce would be a great move. I’m instead sprinkling it with cornstarch to make it crunchy on the outside.

Rice paper: As I said before, there’s no way around this one. You either use rice paper or you don’t have spring rolls. Rice paper is great because once you get used to working with it it’s quite stretchy and nice to work with. It’s also gluten-free, which makes the dish very light.

The sauce: agave syrup, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, chili paste, water – quite similar to the ingredients used in nuoc cham, but also quite different, which is why this is not nuoc cham, but just a nice sauce that tastes great and works perfectly well with spring rolls.

Wanna pin this recipe?

If you like Asian food, here are more ideas for you:

-> Curry Noodle Soup – great for summer and winter, warm, but light

-> Pad Thai Style Rice Noodles – one of the quickest and most popular Asian dishes, veganized, of course

-> Korean-Style Kimchi Fried Rice – loved even by those who don’t like kimchi

Are you recreating any of my recipes? Don’t forget to take a photo and tag me on Instagram @littlekitchenvibes

Vegan Apple Pie

Soft yet crumbly crust, juicy and incredibly tasty filling - this is what a nostalgic apple pie is like. Perfect for weekend baking with friends!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 12 pieces

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, european, vegan

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 250 g white flour or oat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 70 g almonds ground
• 1 packet vanilla sugar 8 g
• 50 g brown sugar demerara
• 100 g coconut oil melted
• 100 g plant-based yogurt any natural flavor

Apple Filling

• 800 g apples
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 50 g brown sugar demerara
• 3 tsp cinnamon

Method

 

1. Grind whole almonds into flour. Place white flour or ground oats, ground almonds, sugar, vanilla sugar, and baking powder in a bowl and mix with a whisk. Then add coconut oil and vegetable yogurt and knead to get a ball of soft dough. This dough will not become a flaky crust, instead it will be soft when baked, yet still crumbly.
2. Cut the ball of dough in half. Set one half aside to rest on the counter and not in the cold. Place the remaining half of dough in a greased pie tin. It's easiest to spread it out with your fingers and palms. It's also the least messy. Put the dough in the oven at 180°C for 13 minutes to pre-bake it.
3. Grate the apples together with the peel. If the peel bothers you, you can peel the apples beforehand.Do not squeeze the grated apples. We want the juice to stay inside as we want a juicy pie. Add fresh lemon peel, vanilla sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the apples. Mix well.
4. During this time, the pre-bake of the dough will be over. Take the dough out of the oven and place the apple filling on top of it. Press the apples against the bottom to fit as many of them as possible into the pan.
5. Divide the remaining half of the dough into parts and roll each into a thin snake. Place these snakes on top of the apple filling in the baking dish - 5 horizontally and 5 vertically. Carefully intertwine them to get a net or lattice. If desired, the pie can be decorated differently, or you can make the job easier and just grate the dough over the top of the pie to create a crumble on top.
6. Bake the pie for at least another 20 minutes at 180°C. When the pie is golden brown, take it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes to let the filling settle a little. It can then be served warm or left to cool completely. It goes well with vanilla ice cream or vegan whipped cream.