Healthy Plant-Based Summer Rolls Recipe, by Michelle Chua

For weeks I've been craving Vietnamese Spring Rolls and just haven't gotten around to ordering them.  So, I finally decided to try to make them for the first time.  I'm writing this after my happy dance of mindfully devouring the rolls pictured above, for which I'm excited to share the recipe for here.  After skimming a couple of vegan recipes online, I tailored this one to the ingredients I had at home at the time and for a healthy balance of greens, not too much rice ingredients.

Here are the ingredients I used:

1. Organic firm tofu, sliced into rectangular prisms
2. Organic red butter lettuce
3. Organic herbs: basil, mint and cilantro
4. Organic heirloom carrots, sliced into thin strips
5. Avocado, sliced into slivers
6. Broccoli sprouts (Read about it's cancer-fighting benefits here.)
7. Organic lemon half
8. Non-GMO Spring roll papers made of rice
9. Organic peanut sauce, 365 brand from Whole Foods
10. Braggs Liquid Aminos (in place of fish sauce, to make it vegan)
11. Braggs Nutritional Yeast (for a vegan boost of Vitamin B)
12. Organic black pepper
13. Organic coconut oil

STEPS:

1. With paper towels, pat the sliced tofu dry and set aside.
2. Lightly oil a frying pan or skillet with a tablespoon or small drizzle of coconut oil and let it get warm.
3. Place the tofu in the pan and lightly drizzle liquid aminos and crushed black pepper over them.  Check that the underside of the tofu is lightly browning on the edges.  Then, flip sides and drizzle a little more aminos and black pepper.  Do not overcook the tofu. I cooked it for about 7 minutes in total. This depends on how crispy you want it.  Mine was not crispy.

4. Soak one spring roll paper in a large bowl of warm water for 10-13 seconds, until it becomes more pliable but not too soft.  Then, drizzle some peanut sauce over it.

5. Place the rice paper on a dry plate and add on top, across the diameter: a large leaf of butter lettuce, 2-3 strips of tofu, 3-4 avocado strips, 5-6 carrot strips, a large pinch of broccoli sprouts and a few leaves of each herb to your taste preference.  Drizzle a love-squeeze of the lemon half over this, to your taste preference.
6. Tuck each opposite end of the rice paper inward, and tightly roll the paper as if shaping a burrito.  As you can see, I need some practice working with the sticky rice paper!  Feel free to share your comments below on your techniques for doing this neatly.
7. Finally, add some peanut sauce on a separate saucer for dipping.

To tame the pitta dosha, or fire-dominant mind-body, as categorized in Ayurveda, yoga's sister science of holistic health, cooling foods like these fresh vegetables can be helpful.  I see it as a salad in a wrap, perfect for summer.  Thus, I named this version Summer Rolls.  I hope yours moves you into a happy food dance, too!  Buen provecho!