Teriyaki Tofu Summer Rolls - Meatless Monday

For this (late) Meatless Monday, we'll be doing Teriyaki Tofu Summer Rolls! Very fresh, healthy, and delicious. These are also gluten free, dairy free, if you choose to not use tofu, then it's soy free, and they're also vegan. All around a well balanced meal/snack, and easy way to get in your veggies. So let's get started!

Ingredients: There are a few ingredients, but it's mostly for the tofu marinade

Tofu Marinade-
1/2 block of firm or extra firm tofu
1/4 Soy sauce - I like low sodium
2 Tbls Sesame Oil
2 Tbls Mirin (which is a sweet rice wine)
Pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Paprika to taste
I added salt to mine, but went WAY too heavy, so I recommend no salt, or much less than you think.

Summer Roll Ingredients -
Really any veggie that you like, I used;

Cucumber
Carrots
Snap peas
Spinach
Rice noodles
Rice paper wrappers

STEPS

Slice tofu into matchsticks, you can do any cut you like, but I preferred to do it this way, to make it easier to wrap.

If you get extra firm tofu, you don't need to press out the moisture, but I couldn't find it so I got firm. What I did, was take a cutting board with paper towels on it, place the tofu on it, place another cutting board with a frying pan on it and left it for about 20 minutes while I prepped veggies and the marinade.

MARINADE

Simply mix all the ingredients together and make sure tofu is submerged. I let mine marinade for almost 24 hours, but 30 minutes minimum is best.

VEGGIE PREP

Like I said, you can use any veggies you want, these are just my favorite in summer rolls. I sliced the cucumber as thinly as I could, chopped up some carrots, and simply left the snap peas and spinach whole. This is my veggie prep and the tofu in the marinade

COOKING TOFU

The tofu was very easy to cook, I did mine in the oven, you can fry it in a pan but I've had bad luck with that and it basically turning into scrambled eggs. So I just took a lined sheet tray, sprayed it with Pam, lined the tofu up, and baked it for about 45 minutes on 350 degrees, then I basted it with extra marinade and broiled it for about 5 minutes.

RICE NOODLES

For these, this time, I actually preferred them without it, but usually I do like them.

I believe they sell these at some grocery stores, but they're like a billion different kinds at any Asian market. Just follow the instructions on the package, usually just soaking it in hot water for a while.

ASSEMBLY

This is the tricky part! This definitely is an art form and takes practice, so do not get discouraged! For the rice paper, it's extremely easy to prepare. Get a bowl, I prefer a cake pan, as it's nearly the perfect size. Simply take the rice paper, turn it around in the warm water for a few seconds to soften it. 

Then, simply fill it with all your goodies! Just throw it all in together, but make sure not to overfill it, or the wrapper will split.

The best way that I've found to wrap them, is kind like a burrito. Roll it over away from you first, then bring in both sides, and roll away. Like I said, it definitely takes practice, but when it looks good finally is so satisfying! 

And then rinse and repeat! These are actually much more filling than you'd think, you get lots of good vitamins and minerals, healthy protein. Very delicious way to get in more veggies!

I paired mine with a Sweet Chili Sauce, which is like amazing with them!

I hope you all enjoy these, and tell me how they are!