Ingredients

The following ingredients have 16 Servings
  • 16 rice paper wrappers (mine were 22 cm diameter)
  • 400 g tofu, pressed*
  • 1 red pepper, julienned
  • 1 small cucumber, julienned
  • 2 carrots, julienned
  • ¼ small red cabbage, sliced thinly
  • 50 g vermicelli rice noodles
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
  • 2 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)
  • handful of fresh mint and coriander
  • 1 cup roasted (unsalted) peanuts**
  • 20 Deglet Noor dates, adjust to taste
  • about 4-5 tbsp / 60-75 ml lime juice
  • 2 tbsp / 30 ml tamari (for gluten free version) or soy sauce
  • 1 garlic clove, grated finely
  • 1-2 tbsp Sriracha

Instruction

  • Pit the dates and place them in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over them and soak for 10 minutes.
  • Prepare vermicelli noodles according to packet instructions.
  • Smash peanuts (in smaller batches) into a coarse powder in a pestle and mortar. Remove dates from the water and blitz them into a thick paste with a hand blender or in a food processor. Add lime juice, most of the crushed peanuts (reserve 2 tbsp to sprinkle inside the rolls), tamari, garlic and Sriracha. Save 2-3 tbsp to coat the baked tofu. Loosen the rest of the sauce up with a few tablespoons of water if it's too thick for dipping.
  • Heat up the oven to 175º C / 350º F. Line a baking tray with a piece of baking parchment.
  • Cut pressed tofu into 32 long strips. I cut each 200 g into 8 strips and then cut each strip in half.
  • Put tofu into a shallow dish and sprinkle with tamari or soy sauce on both sides. Let them sit in the seasoning until the oven is ready.
  • Place tofu on the prepared baking tray. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 mins, turning tofu sticks half way through.
  • Once the baked tofu cools off, coat it in 2-3 tbsp of the peanut sauce.
  • Dampen a clean kitchen towel and put on a clean surface. Prepare rice wrappers, one at a time, according to instructions on the packet. Put rehydrated rice wrapper on the damp towel.
  • Start filling the wrapper, but make sure you do not overfill. I put two mint leaves at the bottom, followed by a small clump of noodles, followed by vegetables and two sticks of tofu. I finished with some coriander, two slices of chilli, a few slices of spring onion and a sprinkle of smashed peanuts.
  • Once you finish with the filling, start rolling each like a burrito. Fold sides over and start rolling from the bottom making sure you hold the filling tightly with your other hand. It takes a few goes to get the knack of it.
  • Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you've run out of your filling or / and wrappers.
  • Cut rolls in half and enjoy them fresh, dipped in the prepared sauce.