These healthy and refreshing Summer Rolls with Tempeh are easy to make and even easier to eat! Rice paper rolls filled with marinated tempeh, cucumber, carrot, red bell pepper, and fresh herbs pair perfectly with a homemade chili garlic peanut sauce.
Vibrant, seasonal fresh vegetables and a marinated tempeh are wrapped tightly in rice paper and dipped in a spicy, yet sweet peanut sauce. And we promise they taste just as good as they look!
Each rolls has a delicious balance of fresh vegetables and plant-based protein. Dipped in a protein and healthy fat-packed peanut sauce – this is the perfect summer meal.
What is a Summer Roll?
This easy and refreshing seasonal dish is inspired by Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Vietnamese Spring Rolls often consist of rice noodles, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, fresh herbs, and an animal or plant-based protein – all tightly encased in a rice paper wrapper. They’re typically served with a peanut or hoisin sauce for dipping.
For traditional Vietnamese recipes like Goi Cuon voi Tuong Dau Phong (Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls) check out Lisa from The Viet Vegan!
Top tips for making Summer Rolls with Tempeh:
- Let the tempeh marinade as long as possible. To infuse as much flavour as you can to the tempeh, it’s best to let marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes. However if you have the time, make it the night before and allow it to marinade overnight for the best flavour.
- Make the chili garlic sauce ahead of time. Sauces that are made ahead of time have more time for the flavour to mingle and develop. We like to make the chili garlic sauce as the first or second step so that while we work through the rest of the recipe, the flavours are developing.
- Use square rice paper instead of circle. If you didn’t grow up using rice paper, chances are you’ll struggle with rolling these like we do at times. We have found that using square rice paper is much easier to work with because there is more of it to work with. So you won’t get up with any holes in your summer rolls.
- Don’t soak the rice paper too long. We’ve made this mistake in the past. Rice paper really only needs a quick 10 second dip into some lukewarm water. When you place it on your surface and build the filling, it will continue to soften. If you soak it too long it will become too delicate and very difficult to roll.
- Watch your tempeh closely. Because the marinade has some sugar content, it can burn easily if you don’t watch the tempeh closely. Take it from us, because it happened to us multiple times. Keep a close eye and flip once they’re golden and crispy.
Recipe FAQ:
Do summer rolls keep well as leftovers?
While we haven’t tried everything, from our experience they don’t keep well as leftovers. The rice paper tends to stick each other and containers and tear. If you know of a great way to store summer rolls, share in the comments below!
Can you make summer rolls ahead of time?
We don’t recommend making the full recipe ahead of time. However you can make aspects of it ahead of time. Prep all your ingredients, let the tempeh marinate, and make the peanut sauce ahead of time for a quick and easy assembly when you’re ready to eat.
How to make Summer Rolls with Tempeh:
Summer Rolls with Tempeh and Chili Garlic Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 rice paper sheets
- 2 mini cucumber, sliced
- 1 medium carrot, julienned
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- ½ cup thai basil, or regular basil
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Marinated Tempeh:
- 227 g tempeh, sliced
- 45 mL (3 tbsp) soy sauce
- 15 mL (1 tbsp) sesame oil
- 15 mL (1 tbsp) maple syrup
- 6 g (1 tsp) miso paste
- 15 g (1 tbsp) chili garlic sauce
- 30 mL (2 tbsp) water
Chili Garlic Peanut Sauce:
- 80 g (⅓ cup) peanut butter
- 15 mL (1 tbsp) soy sauce
- 15 mL (1 tbsp) sesame oil
- 15 mL (1 tbsp) rice wine vinegar
- 15 mL (1 tbsp) maple syrup
- 5 g (1 tsp) ginger powder
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 30 g (2 tbsp) chili garlic sauce
- 2 tbsp thai basil, minced
- 2 tbsp peanuts
- water to thin
Instructions
- Mix tempeh marinade together in a shallow bowl and place slices of tempeh in to sit for at least 30 minutes.
- Combine ingredients for chili garlic peanut sauce in a bowl and mix, add enough water until you get your desired dip consistency. Place in the fridge until needed.
- Once tempeh has marinated, you can bake or pan fry them. We opted to pan fry them over medium-high heat with just a little oil until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate and let rest until ready to make the rolls.
- Add lukewarm water to a shallow dish and soak your rice paper one at a time. They only need to soak about 10 seconds then remove them a begin to construct your rolls on a wood board.
- To make your rolls, sprinkle soaked rice paper with sesame seeds then layer in cucumber, carrot, red pepper, cooked tempeh, cilantro and thai basil. Roll up your fresh rolls (carefully!) as you would roll a burrito. Repeat for each roll.
- Serve with peanut sauce and enjoy.
Video
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