This recipe for crunchy, bright vegetarian rice paper rolls from cookbook author and recipe developer Lara Lee is a cross-cultural twist on two street food icons, one from Vietnam and the other from Indonesia.
The first source of inspiration is refreshing Vietnamese gỏi cuốn, which translates to “salad rolls.” In addition to the popular street food, they’re often served DIY-style at home; guests can fill rolls to their liking from platters of wrappers, vegetables, noodles, and pork or prawns. The second is Indonesian gado-gado, a colorful composed salad with a spicy peanut dressing. The salad, considered a national dish in Indonesia, traditionally includes tempeh, tofu, vegetables, lontong, hard-boiled eggs, and emping or krupuk crackers. These fresh gado-gado rolls are Lee’s homage to both culinary traditions; wrapping the fresh ingredients of Indonesian gado-gado inside Vietnamese rice paper wrappers.
To make tight and neat rolls: Soak the rice paper rounds until they’re just flexible and take care not to overfill them.(Watch Vietnamese cookbook author Andrea Nguyen roll them like a pro here!) Perfecting your rolling technique might take some practice, but we’re using that as an excuse to make these again and again.
Recipe information
Yield
4 Servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Heat ¼ cup oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook peanuts, tossing, until slightly darkened, about 1 minute. Add shallots, garlic, and chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots and garlic are softened, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer peanut mixture to a blender; wipe out skillet and reserve. Add 5 Tbsp. kecap manis and ⅔ cup water to blender and season with salt. Blend, thinning with more water a tablespoonful at a time if needed, until smooth and a pourable consistency. Transfer sauce to a small bowl.
Step 2
Pat tofu dry. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in reserved skillet over medium-high. Working in batches, cook tofu, adding a splash or so more of oil if pan looks dry, until golden brown in spots, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels; season with salt. Cut into about 2" long matchsticks.
Step 3
Working one at a time, dip rice paper rounds into a large shallow bowl filled with hot water and let soak until pliable but not floppy. Transfer to a work surface and arrange 3–4 pieces of tofu, ¼ cup vegetables, and a heaping ¼ cup lettuce horizontally across center, leaving a 2" gap on each side (be careful not to overfill). Drizzle ¼ tsp. kecap manis over. Using moistened fingers, fold sides up and over filling, then fold side nearest to you up and over filling and roll up gently but tightly.
Step 4
Cut rolls in half on a diagonal. Arrange on plates with eggs and crackers. Serve with peanut sauce alongside for dipping.
